This Time, Lenin and the Bridge

 

5/23/26 Fremont Bridge and Lake Washington Ship Canal, Fremont neighborhood

Sketching in the Fremont neighborhood is always a game of “choose your icon.” The Troll, JP Patches & Gertrude, Lenin, Saturn, the Rocket (bonus points if you can get both Saturn and the Rocket in the same composition), the Fremont Bridge, the topiary dinosaurs – did I miss any? USk Seattle hit them all last Saturday on a cloudy afternoon.

Although I’ve sketched all of them multiple times, I picked an icon that I may not have sketched as often. It was breezy and chilly by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, but I wanted to start with a peek-a-boo view of the brilliantly blue Fremont Bridge.

After walking around Fremont for a while to warm up, I ended up at the statue of Lenin, where several other sketchers were already settled in at the former Soviet Union leader’s feet. Always a bit daunted by the formidable monument, I walked across the street for a more distant view (below). I chose a purple and green palette that would contrast strongly with Lenin’s red hand.

In fact, the red hand was just what I needed to fill the short time remaining until our throwdown, when the sun finally came out.

Statue of Lenin

Throwdown at Evanston Plaza

Inside Google

 

5/15/26 Sixth floor of Google's Valley Building, South Lake Union

Inclement weather is usually an urban sketching inconvenience, but last Friday it worked to our advantage (at least for some of us). Ikroop, a sketcher and Google employee, had invited USk to join her artist colleagues to sketch together at Lake Union Park. If the weather turned unpleasant, we had the option of going inside their office building a short walk away. Since we all agreed at the meetup that it was too cold and windy to sketch at the park, we took advantage of their invitation to take us inside.

Initially skeptical about what we would have to draw inside an office building, I was surprised – and impressed! In addition to sweeping views of Lake Union, Queen Anne Hill and downtown, the sixth floor employee lounge had colorful, cushy chairs, lots of tables, a visiting dog and even pinball machines.

We ended the sketch outing across the street at Flatstick Pub for a drink & draw. Sketching South Lake Union’s glassy buildings, I got to know a few new sketchers I hadn’t met before while enjoying my brew and snacks.

5/15/26 Flatstick Pub, South Lake Union

Google throwdown...

A small group of sketchers who were late for the initial meetup got left behind at the park. Hardy sketchers and good sports, they opted to sketch at Lake Union Park anyway and had their own throwdown!

...and simultaneous Lake Union Park throwdown!

Rare Himalayan Blue Poppies

Small group today, but the flowers are just GORGEOUS. Come down to Federal Way's Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden to see ALL KINDS of rhodies, but especially the rare Blue Himalayan Poppies that are blooming now. It's a beautiful serene spot with lots of trails to explore!

Thanks to Roxanne, Sharon and John for joining me in our merry band of sketchers!

Fishermen’s Terminal for USk Week

 

5/6/26 Fishermen's Terminal

For our second outing during International Urban Sketchers Week, USk Seattle chose Fishermen’s Terminal, which we think of as our inaugural site. A bit chillier and windier that day than I found comfortable, I ducked in and out of pockets of shelter from the wind (and found a boat aptly named Windswept).

I found small vignettes of fishing boats, the Fishermen’s Memorial Monument, and other nautical pieces to put together on the page. Floral arrangements were still in place in front of the memorial, where families gather each May to remember lost fishermen. Many names of fishermen who have died at sea are engraved in paving stones, and it’s always moving to see how many were very young.

Bittersweet at Gas Works Park

 

5/2/26 Cranes are poised for destruction at Gas Works Park

Back in February when I participated in a “heart bomb” for Gas Works Park, the decision to dismantle some of the historic structures had been tabled by the city. There was still hope to find alternative solutions that would address safety concerns while retaining the structures. 

The usual park residents

Then in April the Historic Seattle organization reported that one Seattle department had ordered another city department to remove “character-defining features (catwalks, platforms, railings, ladders, pipes, etc.), or “appurtenances,” on the iconic towers by May 15. It seems a decision had been made quickly without the knowledge or involvement of landmarks preservation organizations (see the full story and context at the link above).

USk Seattle had been thinking of a different location for our May 2 outing for International Urban Sketchers Week, but we made a quick decision to meet at Gas Works Park instead. We had to sketch ASAP if we wanted to capture as much of the original structures before they were forever changed.

Knowing that it would be the last time we’d see the gas works as they had always been, it was a bittersweet outing, and USk Seattle came out in full force. The blow was somewhat softened by the amazing weather: Temps in the low 70s with sunshine and a soft breeze off Lake Union! I was among the many sketchers who sat or stood comfortably in full sun without feeling too warm. What a treat!

I stood at the top of Kite Hill for most of my sketches so that I could include the backside of the gas works, where cranes were already in place to dismantle pieces that could be climbed. While it’s tragic that several trespassers have fallen to their deaths over the years, it’s important to note that the entire area has always been surrounded by fencing with signs everywhere prohibiting entry and climbing.

It’s also a great spot to capture kite fliers, people and dogs enjoying the sunshine at the crest of the hill.

Top of Kite Hill

Because I’m feeling sentimental about my favorite city park, I’m showing below some of my many sketches of Gas Works Park from the past 11 years.

1/19/26

4/18/25

9/17/22

9/2/21

6/22/17 The piping and catwalks that cast these cool shadows will soon be gone.

7/2/16

9/9/15

Nothing Better

 

4/24/26 Project 9 Brewing Co.

On a lovely late afternoon, USk Seattle met at Project 9 Brewing for the first unsheltered drink & draw of the year. We had a great turnout, including Lisbon artist Mario Linhares, who was in town to give a presentation and workshop through the University of Washington’s Landscape Architecture Department.

Other sketchers who had never come to a USk outing before and long-timers who hadn’t come in a while all joined us on Project 9’s sunny deck. And why wouldn’t they? A warm (but not hot) Friday afternoon, sketching with good friends while sipping cold beverages – does it get any better? We all agreed that it doesn’t.

The Future is Finally Here

 

4/19/26 New Judkins Park Station and Mercer Island Station platform

Preamble:

For the first decade-plus of my career, I worked for the Municipality of Metro Seattle, which used to manage and operate the Seattle transit system. As tunnels were being burrowed for buses through the main downtown thoroughfare, disrupting traffic and businesses for years, most of the marketing was about how the new transitway would eventually be used for the region’s as-yet-to-be-built light rail system. This work wasn’t just for ourselves; our children and grandchildren would ride the light rail! (Much potential there for public relations copywriters like myself.)

That was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The 2020s, when all of it was slated to be completed, seemed like a very long way off. I’ll be sitting in my rocker by then, I grumbled, envisioning my 21^st century self. Meanwhile, my current tax dollars were already paying for that wonderful light rail system that I would be too old to use. (Even if I wrote it myself, the copywriting wasn’t enough to convince this grumbling taxpayer that it would all be worthwhile “someday.”)

Four decades later, I’m happy and grateful that I have lived long enough to enjoy that dream-like future (and I no longer begrudge my tax dollars). The light rail has been my most convenient form of public transportation for several years now.

My lunch at Dough Zone at Redmond Towne Center and Downtown Redmond Station

From my perspective, though, the pinnacle of the light rail system was the connection that opened only last month: After multiple, lengthy delays, each putting me one step closer to my rocker, the link between Seattle and the Eastside across Lake Washington was finally completed!

(Delays notwithstanding, this cross-lake link is an engineering marvel: It’s the first train in the world to operate on a floating bridge, which was, itself, the first in the world in 1940.)

Art at Downtown Redmond Station

During all those years that I had to commute to the Eastside for the second leg of my career, how wonderful it would have been to take a comfortable, modern train instead of bumpy buses or, most dreaded, my own car! I’m not grumbling about that, though. Now that the light rail can take me almost anywhere in the Puget Sound region that I’d like to go, I can enjoy easy, very inexpensive rides for fun in retirement instead of commuting to work.

All of that was just preamble (or maybe just amble). Today’s blog story is much shorter:

Kate, Jane, Ellie and I rode the new light rail connection all the way from Seattle to Redmond Towne Center last Sunday. Our mission was to scout the best stations for sketching potential and related amenities for a future USk outing. For me, it was also a satisfying sense of closure: Four decades of the promised future finally becoming the present.

Art and water feature at Bellevue Downtown Station

Bellevue Downtown Station

Jane, Ellie, Tina and Kate riding the historic rails!