Rear Views of the Center of the Universe

 

8/15/26 Lake Washington Ship Canal path, Fremont neighborhood

Lenin from the rear

Fremont, AKA the Center of the Universe, is one of my favorite sketching neighborhoods, and I was happy to be back there with USk Seattle. Although I’ve sketched the (in)famous statue of Lenin many times (and I’m sure other long-time sketchers have, too), I never seem to tire of his strong angles and challenging lighting from all the trees around him. This time I tried a fresh perspective – from the rear (at right).

After that, I took a long walk around Fremont to look for my next sketch and to soak in the happy Saturday-afternoon summer vibe. I found myself on the Lake Washington Ship Canal walking/biking path, where I stopped to see how the topiary dinosaurs (which I’ve sketched several times) were doing. Some years, they have looked shaggy or somewhat bald, but they were looking good last weekend. With temps in the mid-70s by then, I walked all around them to find a view that I could sketch in shade (top of post). Coincidentally, the only shady view was again from the rear. Unrecognizable in my sketch, the mama dinosaur’s rear end is on the far left.

The more inviting view was of the shadow pattern crossing the Ship Canal path, a power tower and the Aurora Bridge in the distance.