Sunny Campus and U-District

 

10/2/22 Drumheller Fountain, University of Washington

Planning sketch outings in October is always iffy. Sometimes it can be crisp and sunny, but more often it’s wet and cold. We hedged our bets by going with the University of Washington campus, where Kane Hall has a wide, deep overhang in front. If it was wet, lots of sketchers could shelter there while still getting a great view of Red Square. Luckily, we didn’t need that shelter! It was sunny with temps in the low 70s, and except for a light haze of wildfire smoke on the horizon, we all agreed it was phenomenal weather for October.

Broken Obelisk

I warmed up with a small sketch of Drumheller Fountain (AKA Frosh Pond for the tradition of dumping underclassmen in) in my bright yellow Uglybook. The combo of colored paper and a white gel pen is the fastest, easiest way to sketch falling water! (I regretted that I didn’t have my red book with me, though, which makes the white gel pen pop even better.)  

Walking through Red Square, I spotted a sketcher with Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk sculpture behind her, which made another fun, quick sketch.

After that, I walked around campus for several thousand steps, looking for another subject, but nothing grabbed me. It seemed like all the buildings I was attracted to were either fully in shade or fully lighted, which are both difficult to sketch. I wandered off campus to Northeast 42^nd and 15^th Northeast, where an old brick building covered in ivy caught my eye (below). The green awning near the center is Magus Books, a used book store that has been in the U District since I was a UW student in the ‘70s. I liked all the contrasts among old, new, brick, steel and foliage. In a few weeks, the ivy will turn, and I’d probably make even better use of a secondary triad if I sketched it again.

U-District