Level Achieved at Pike Place Commons

 

9/23/22 Pike Place Commons

Almost a year since our last outing there, it was great to be back at the Pike Place Market with USk Seattle on Friday. Last year, still in my post-vax frenzy of wanting to sketch people again, I spent the whole outing sketching nothing but. This time I had a different goal: I wanted to make sure I had nailed the concepts I had learned from Gabi Campanario at Gas Works Park.

Post Alley

As a warm-up, I made a thumbnail of Post Alley, where the angles of awnings and rooftops came together in an interesting pattern (at left). Then I made my way north to Market Commons, the newest addition to the Pike Place Market. Looking out toward the waterfront, I was amazed by all the construction that was still going on where the Alaskan Way Viaduct used to be. I thought more progress would have been made since I last saw it a year ago. No problem, though – I found an excavator busily moving dirt from one pile to another (below).

Waterfront construction

It was time to get down to business. Pivoting 180 degrees from where I had made the excavator sketch, I looked up at the Market Commons building, which is full of eateries and shops. I could see its entire span from Old Stove Brewing’s tanks (on the right) to the edge of Steinbrueck Park (the umbrella at far left). Behind it were skyscrapers and apartment buildings. In the foreground were tables, foliage and fencing that kept pedestrians from falling down into the construction zone. It’s exactly the kind of compositional scope that I find compelling but that I would typically avoid. Using the scaling and measuring tips Gabi had given us, I quickly blocked in the extremes of everything I wanted to fit onto the page spread. Most of an hour-plus was spent drawing the complicated Commons building (I should have simplified it even more). Whew! I fit it all in (top of post)!

Although I still had a half-hour before the throwdown, I was too famished from the ambitious sketching workout to make another. I got a delicious snack from Honest Biscuit and stuffed my face with it as I walked to the throwdown at Steinbrueck Park. I had a terrific morning at the Market on a beautiful day!

Fellow light rail commuters

Learning about Gas Works – in More Ways Than One

 

9/17/22 Gas Works Park

As often as I have sketched at Gas Works Park, and as much as I enjoy it, I am still daunted by the scope and scale of the gas works structures themselves. I usually bite off a chunk that I think I can reasonably chew (this post shows the typical bites I take). Even when I’m brave enough to tackle the entire main gas works assembly, I don’t scale it on the page to allow space for much context.

When Gabi Campanario offered a Great(er) Seattle Sketching Tour at the park last Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to see how the master does it while also learning more about Gas Works Park.

After hearing his brief lecture about the park’s checkered history, sketching the gas works along with its context tells a deeper story. For example, I didn’t know that Kite Hill had to be built up over an existing smaller hill as part of the park restoration. Including Lake Union (OK, it’s barely visible at left, but I got a bit in) is also important, because obviously having a water source for the gas works was critical.

Gabi has enhanced his viewing aid!

Guidelines like the sketchbook’s gutter (the horizontal center of the composition) helped to ensure that I wouldn’t run out of space for everything I wanted to include in the composition. My only regret is that I placed the bottom of the gas works too close to the bottom edge of the page, so I didn’t have space for a foreground element that would have added to the depth (the bike riders at left would have been nice to include in the foreground). But overall, using his suggestions, I’m thrilled that I was able to make a sketch that I could not have made the day before.

As I thought about the concepts he talked about, I realized they were no different from ones I learned in other workshops I’ve taken from Gabi. Or maybe I should say, they were no different from concepts he taught – I obviously hadn’t learned them (or at least hadn’t internalized what I’d learned).

I think this is another example of something I’ve observed about my own creative learning process many times: It often takes hearing and practicing the same concepts over and over to make them “stick.” And sometimes I might not be ready to learn a concept until I’ve had a certain body of experience behind me that prepares me to learn it.

In addition to being illuminating and informative, the sketch tour was a lot of fun! This time the participants included two professional architects – that says a lot about Gabi as a teacher!

The daunting gas works simplified by Gabi

Workshop throwdown

10 year Blog-versary

 It was 10 years ago today that I was invited to be a USK Seattle blog correspondent.  I had in mind a grander sketch but the day got busy. 

There is a truly massive blackberry bramble in our neighborhood.  It runs 100 feet wide, at least a couple hundred feet long, and 20 feet high.  It constantly tries to take over our yard.  It was 5 years ago that the Homeowners Association last tried to cut it back.  Finally they hired a company to do so.  

Between obligations, I had just a few minutes to sketch the man at work with the machine.  I spoke with him after.  He said he was a little worried he was "in trouble...with L&I * or something, even though I know I'm not doing anything wrong"!  

 The mower in front has a huge spinning blade underneath.  It took down the entire bramble in just 2 days! 

 

*Labor and Industry...the state worker's compensation agency. 

In Her Honor

The Urban Sketchers Flickr group theme this week is the death of Queen Elizabeth. It seemed to me the best way to portray that as an urban sketch was these flags at the Museum of Flight.  At right is the tail section of the Super Constellation in Canadian livery.  We call it "the Connie".  

The weekly theme is found in the "discussions" section of the Urban Sketchers group on Flickr. 

Back to Green Lake

 Despite yesterday's uncomfortable air quality due to wild fire smoke, Urban Sketchers Seattle met in the Green Lake neighborhood this morning.  The air quality was better and we had a large turnout.

This is a very popular area due to the large park and lake.  It's quite far from where I live so this is only the second time I've sketched there. We met at PCC market so I walked down to the park.  On the way I saw a restaurant building I remembered from the previous visit and one I'd wanted to sketch.

From where I sat while sketching the building, I could see an arch in the distance, inside the park.  So I made my way to it and there were already some sketchers there.

From plaque on the arch:  "These terra cotta archway pieces originally graced the front entrance to the Martha Washington School Administration Building...The school buildings, located in southeast Seattle, were demolished and the site is now Martha Washington Park...The pieces...serve as the focal point to the Green Lake Shade Plaza."

I found more information on line:  "This impressive classical piece of architecture was in fact once part of the Martha Washington School for Girls. Built in 1921, the school was located on the shores of Lake Washington and consisted of Georgian-style brick buildings designed by architect Floyd Naramore. The school was operated by the Seattle School District and was intended to aid neglected and unfortunate young girls. It eventually closed in 1957."

We met back at PCC for the throw down (sharing sketches).  Several people had already left by the time we took the usual group photo.

Clearing Skies at Green Lake

 

9/11/22 Green Lake

Seattle Public Theater (formerly Green Lake Bathhouse)

Much to everyone’s relief, the smoke began to dissipate this morning just in time for Urban Sketchers Seattle’s outing at Green Lake. It had been six years since the group last met there. Since I walk there regularly and sketch in the neighborhood often, it’s fun and even inspiring when familiar sights are made fresh again by seeing them through the sketches of others.

I was in the mood for “classic” Green Lake: What types of scenes quintessentially represent what Green Lake looks like and, in fact, means to me? It’s not a huge lake – I can walk around it in three-quarters of an hour – so details on the opposite shore are fairly easy to see. Trees grow all the way around, and in many areas nearby houses built on the surrounding hills are visible beyond the trees. Anyone familiar with Green Lake would probably recognize these types of scenes.

I began with a rear view of the historic Green Lake Bathhouse (now called Seattle Public Theater) from the opposite shore (at left). Nearly a hundred years old, the Green Lake Bathhouse was originally used by swimmers to change into their suits and eventually became a community theater.

I have never sketched the Bathhouse building from the front – only from across the lake. In fact, the only other time I sketched it was last summer from a nearby spot. I really fought with myself as I sketched it this time: Compositionally, I knew that anything on the distant shore should be indistinct and less intensely colored than the foreground or middle ground. But my eye was also more interested in the warm-hued building surrounded by cooler trees, some of which were just beginning to show warmer fall colors. Which of my battling selves won?

Bicyclists at Green Lake Village

Another favorite part of the lake is one of the narrow “bays” where the opposite shore is actually very close (top of post). A guy sitting on the near shore gave me an ideal foreground element – until he got up to leave less than a minute in (he was staring at his phone; surely he should have stayed longer!). Luckily for me, I scribbled enough to scale him properly. The only other challenge was the constantly shifting light as the sun dodged in and out of clouds all morning. Residual smoke still hanging near the horizon gave the whole park a warmer-than-usual light.

Back at Green Lake Village for the throwdown, I killed the remaining minutes with a quick sketch of a young bicyclist and her mom. We had an awesome turnout of sketchers at “my” lake!

Seattle Teachers on Strike

 

9/8/22 Seattle teachers on strike

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of school for Seattle public school students, but the Seattle Education Association (the union representing Seattle teachers) delayed the opening by going on strike. According to the Seattle Times, “Demands from SEA include maintaining staff ratios for disabled and multilingual students as the district aims to provide more services in general education classrooms, and ensuring the district provides them with interpretation and translation services in meetings with parents and on official documents.” 

I don’t follow education news closely, but I figure that with all that teachers have been through the past few years, their grievances must be legitimate, and they deserve to get whatever they are asking for.

Today on the second day of the strike, I went over to Roosevelt High School. Parking several blocks away, I approached the school on foot. Expecting to see them pacing in front of the school’s front entrance, I was surprised to see a line of teachers marching toward me. I let them all pass, then tagged along behind them as they walked around the block. (I’m out of practice sketching while I march: The last – and only – time I did that was during the 2017 Seattle Women’s March. Like the pink hats we all wore then, the teachers’ bright red SEA T-shirts gave them visual solidarity and made them easy to sketch.) Sympathetic drivers honked their support as they passed.

Eventually the strikers took a break in the shade of one of Roosevelt High’s many large trees. Across the street in the shade myself, I could have easily taken more time (although I didn’t know how long their break would last). But the nature of the news I was trying to capture felt urgent, and I found myself sketching with unnecessary haste. As a result, my sketch turned out messier than I like, but I’ll chalk that up to the medium being the message.

Striking teachers take a break at Roosevelt High School.

Evergreen Washelli with Urban Sketchers

9/1/22 Bloedel bench at Evergreen Washelli cemetery

Farah's hairdo

Green, serene and full of sketchable monuments, Evergreen Washelli cemetery has been one of my favorite sketching spots for years. It was high time for Urban Sketchers Seattle to meet there.

I’d already sketched most of the major memorials in this 144-acre cemetery, but I hadn’t done the angel monument in more than seven years. On a cool, overcast morning that was a relief after the heat, I started with the angel. Just like I did in 2015 (I was reminded of it by my blog post), I thought to myself as I sketched that the angel had a Farah Fawcett hairdo. The other thing I noticed this time is the statue’s proportions. One of my most frequent mistakes during life drawing is that I often make the head too small in proportion to the model’s height. For once, I think I got the proportions right -- her head really is too small for her body (if she were human). Based on her head-to-body ratio, the angel would be about nine feet tall.

After that, I took a walk around the memorial park to find something I hadn’t sketched before. Functioning as a simple bench, a stark memorial was engraved with only the name Bloedel, which I assume is that of the local magnate Julius Bloedel, who is the namesake for various Pacific Northwest buildings and facilities. A lovely sakura, classically pruned like an umbrella, was right in front (top of post). I imagined that the person buried there must have loved cherry trees, and anyone seated on the bench would have enjoyed the view.

Controversial Doughboy

In the remaining minutes before the throwdown, I made a small sketch of the World War I Doughboy monument, which has an interesting backstory. According to The Seattle Times, “The sculpted, smiling U.S. infantryman once had two German helmets slung over his shoulder. The helmets were cut off surreptitiously decades ago, whereabouts unknown.” (Read the rest of the linked article to learn about the helmet that was found.) You can’t see it in my sketch, but the soldier does have a kind of creepy smirk. (I show his expression a bit better in my more detailed sketch made in 2015.)

The sun finally came out for the throwdown, where we had a terrific turnout!

Washelli

We met at the Washelli Cemetery on this cool morning.  There are so many interesting monuments to sketch in this large complex.

The American Doughboy is a WWI memorial sculpted by Alonzo victor Lewis.  It was unveiled on 5/30/1932 originally located in front of the Civic Auditorium but moved to Veterans Hall in 1962.  Then in 1998 it was moved to its current location.  

In the military section of Washelli there are veterans of the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War as well as other periods of service.

There is a controversy surrounding the statue.  "The sculpted, smiling U.S. infantryman once had two German helmets slung over his shoulder. The helmets were cut off surreptitiously decades ago". 

I couldn't find out anything about this memorial to the Quiring family, other than they seem to sculpt memorials!  It's a modern version of an angel.  The monument on the hill is for Thomas Burke.  That's Ray sitting under it, sketching.

In the Greek Orthodox section is this memorial to the Reverend Dr. A. Homer Demopulos, pastor of St. Demetrios Church from 1968-1993.  There was a particularly large cluster of crows in this area.  Many of them are molting.