Iconic in Fremont

6/24/22 J.P. Patches and Gertrude (sculptor: Kevin Pettelle), Fremont neighborhood

As many times as I have sketched in the Fremont neighborhood, I’m still always torn when I visit. On the one hand, Fremont is full of so many beloved icons (the Troll, the Fremont Bridge, the topiary dinosaurs, to name just a few favorites that I’ve sketched multiple times) that I never tire of sketching. But I also feel like I should branch out once in a while and sketch something less iconic or at least previously unsketched. Last Friday with USk Seattle, I couldn’t resist three icons, but at least I attempted one new subject.

The Saturn Building

First up was the sculpture of J.P. Patches and Gertrude, which I had not sketched since 2012, so I felt that a second sketch was long overdue. Since I had initially sketched it from J.P.’s side, this time I went around and took on Gertrude’s side. Probably only natives and long-time locals are familiar with J.P. as the host of a live-broadcast children’s TV program back in the ‘60s. Gertrude, J.P.’s sidekick and “girlfriend,” was actually a man. (Who knew that a man in drag would host a children’s TV show? Quite progressive for the ‘60s, even in Seattle!)

A water tower I hadn't sketched before

As we both sketched the sculpture, I discovered that Paul is also a Seattle native, so we chatted about all the local children’s TV shows we had grown up with. He went to high school with Stan Boreson’s son! I have had no such brush with fame, although my Brownies troop did appear on J.P.’s show once.

Feeling happy and nostalgic, I made a couple of quick thumbnail studies for my 30-day challenge: the Saturn Building, which I had sketched only last month, and a water tower visible from the J.P. sculpture, which I had not sketched before. There – something previously unsketched and less iconic!

The meetup location was the statue of Lenin, which I have sketched several times. Although I wasn’t planning to sketch him again, I had about 15 minutes to kill before the throwdown – just enough time for a small portrait.

So the icons won again. It’s a losing battle in Fremont.

New to me in Fremont

Yesterday was our outing to the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. We haven’t been there as a group in years and I haven’t either.

I had a list! Two of the locations were either new to me or had new elements. I skipped a couple of the iconic statues and didn’t have time to get to the fourth item on my list, the dinosaur topiary.

Our plan was to change up the usual method of our sketch outing and meet for lunch at 1130. So I arrived about 10 to start sketching my list!

Sometime in the intervening years I learned about the Berlin Wall fragment. I lived in Germany for five years before the wall came down and had visited Berlin at least twice.

When I arrived, there was a woman sitting on it, which added to the composition.

I read about the Troll Forest installation in the Seattle Times. Kim Hall built the “Troll’s Knoll Forest” arch. I sketched from the opposite side in order to have a view of the troll’s profile. The little hill next to the troll is being gradually developed into Troll’s Knoll Park.

My last stop was the Lenin statue as that was also our meeting place for the sketchbook throw-down. I had sketched there before and in that post is some explanation about the statue. In addition to the red paint on the hands there is now a splatter of paint in the Ukrainian colors.

And, finally, the throw-down:

Lake Union Park with New Friends

 

6/18/22 Space Needle from Lake Union Park

Urban sketchers and fans of products from Traveler’s Company and Art Toolkit have a lot in common: They all love documenting their days, and they all love fun sketching tools! Seattle urban sketcher and Traveler’s rep April Wu invited USk Seattle to help introduce urban sketching to users of Traveler’s Company art journaling materials. In addition, Maria Coryell-Martin, developer of the Art Toolkit, gave a demo and showed her popular portable watercolor kits at the event yesterday. It was fun to meet new sketchers, and we hope they’ll continue to join USk at future outings.

The chosen location, Lake Union Park, is one of my favorites, and it was a productive afternoon for me: Several compositional studies, a couple of which made the cut for larger, color sketches. A bonus was the gesture sketches I got of the many critters hanging out near the water.

First on my list of priorities was documenting the Space Needle, which was recently repainted in its original “Galaxy Gold” to commemorate its 60^th birthday. I tried a composition with the Needle next to the Museum of History and Industry’s old clock, but I didn’t like it enough to do a full-color sketch. A walk around the park led me to some large purple allium flowers that seemed a perfect contrast to the orange Needle.

As many times as I’ve sketched at Lake Union Park, I don’t think I had captured the Center of Wooden Boats building before. To me, it’s not a very interesting modern building, so I looked for a composition that would frame it. While I sketched, some aggressive Canada geese walked right up to me, honking their demands for food! Anyone who gets in my face like that should know they will be sketched.

April (at right) and Maria (in cap) introduce urban sketching to fans of Traveler's products and the Art Toolkit.

Great turnout of many first-time urban sketchers as well as long-timers!

Summer Workshop

July 29-31 at various locations in Seattle. 

USk Seattle member Gail Wong and Virginia Hein are offering a workshop here at the end of July.  See flyer below for information.  Register by contacting Gail, as indicated at the bottom of the flyer.  If you can't quite read Gail's email, it is glwarc@..

Their book, The Urban Sketching Handbook Spotlight on Nature: Tips and Techniques for Drawing and Painting Nature on Location, is released on June 14!  This is in celebration of this new book and will focus on some of the concepts and techniques presented in this new Urban Sketching Handbook.

Even if you don't attend the workshop, save the afternoon of Sunday, July 31 for a group sketch outing with the workshop participants at Ballard Locks.

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