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| 2/5/26 Volunteer Park |
The USk Seattle outing was for a choice of either the conservatory or the Seattle Asian Art Museum, both at Volunteer Park and both of which are free on First Thursdays. But when the day dawned with a clear sky and a forecast of temps in the 50s, I knew I wouldn’t be going indoors at all; I bundled up for outdoor sketching!
Seeking a spot where I could get a dose of vitamin D, I first sketched the memorial of William Henry Seward outside the conservatory (above). I’ve sketched this statue a few times before, including one during my first year of sketching. I remembered that experience and how the statue had gotten lost in front of a background of trees painted in the same value. I’m happy that I’ve learned at least a few things since then.
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| Across the street from Volunteer Park Cafe, 17th & Galer |
After a bite to eat at nearby Volunteer Park Café, I walked across the street to sketch a lovely bare tree that I had spotted on my way to lunch. Although the Capitol Hill neighborhood is full of Seattle’s oldest, most impressive trees, this one had beautiful light on its trunk, and I could stand in the sun myself to sketch it. It’s always about location, location, location.
This is definitely the final visit to the MiG-21 Project.
I went over yesterday to watch the crew take it apart. I sketched the already removed tail and another section under the wing and engine of the 747.
Today I went over but didn't sketch. I watched as they loaded the wings onto a flatbed truck. There were 5 flatbeds standing by for all the parts. They will be trucked back to the studio in California. There is no information on where it might go next but "negotiations are in process".
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| 1/24/26 Views from the Columbia Center's 73rd floor Sky View Observatory |
During my first few years of sketching, the ticket price to ride up to the Columbia Center’s 73rd floor Sky View Observatory was only $5. A small group of sketchers had gathered up there a couple of times, and I went up myself on other occasions (here’s a sketch from 2012, and another from 2013). Eventually, the ticket price crept up to the current price of $33, making it cost-prohibitive as a USk venue.
Lady luck and a kind ticket seller were with us this afternoon, however, when USk Seattle showed up. We thought we would have access to the entire interesting lobby area that’s open to the public on weekdays. Unfortunately, under a new policy, only the ticketing area to the observation floor is open on weekends. Taking pity on us on that cold day, the ticket seller offered us a generous group discount, so most of us opted to sketch from the 73rd floor.
And sketch we did! Nearly 40 sketchers enjoyed an inspiring afternoon in the sky.
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| Mt. Rainier and the Cascades to the south |
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| Mt. Baker to the north |
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| My 5-minute sketch of Columbia Center from 4th and Cherry |
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| 1/16/26 Museum of History and Industry |
A motorized and drivable stiletto heel, historic motorcycles and the vintage Rainier Brewery neon sign were among the many fun and colorful artifacts USk Seattle got to sketch at the Museum of History and Industry this morning. Although I’ve been to surrounding Lake Union Park many times, it had been ages since I was last inside the museum (2018, according to my blog).
Although it was tempting to sketch some of my old favorites, like the Rainier R, I started with the irresistible high-heeled vehicle near the entrance. After that, I went upstairs to see the featured exhibit, Kickstands Up! 125 Years of Motorcycling in the Pacific Northwest. I picked out a pink Harley with a mannequin wearing a women’s motorcycle outfit. Many other sketchers were attracted to the antique motorcycles and bicycles there. Luckily, we had the exhibit nearly to ourselves.
Down on the main floor again, I sketched a couple of permanent exhibits that I don’t usually get around to (below): a cross-section piece of an 800-year-old Douglas fir and John Gage’s sculpture, Wawona. Although I couldn’t show it in my sketch, if you walk inside the Wawona, you can see a glass-covered hole in the floor that reveals Lake Union directly under that part of the building. It’s an interesting tribute to MOHAI’s home inside the restored landmark Naval Reserve Armory. (On the top floor, the original periscope still exists, offering a cool 360-degree view of Seattle.)
Usually when I visit MOHAI, I enjoy spending some time near the water sketching the historic boats moored there or other parts of Lake Union Park. With temps in the low 40s and a bitter wind off the lake, I didn’t have it in me this time. Plenty of other sketchers were hardier than I was, though!
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| 1/9/26 Smith Tower from Madison Centre |
A new venue for USk Seattle, Madison Centre turned out to be one of our most comfy! Plenty of plush seating, floor-to-ceiling natural light, security people in sight but none concerned about what we were doing – it was an ideal winter location. And what’s to sketch there? Fantastic window views of some of downtown Seattle’s nicer buildings, a plant-covered wall, a double-sided fireplace, and an intriguing spiral staircase – just to name a few.
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| Library window washers |
I started with a sketch of my beloved Smith Tower through a window frame and part of that staircase in the foreground. Mid-sketch, I turned around to get a sip of water from my bag, when I spotted window washers dangling from the very top of the Central Library across the street! Yikes, watching people work up high gives me the jitters, so this one was quick (at left).
When I had first checked out this location months ago for USk potential, the spiraling central staircase had caught my eye immediately. Toward the end of the outing, I finally screwed up my courage to take on a part of that spiral. It was a fun challenge to capture the matte sheen on the black steps in contrast with the shiny, metallic handrails (below).
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| Madison Centre's stairway |
It was great to see a solid weekday turnout for Madison Centre, which will stay on our winter venue list!
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| 1/4/26 Columbian mammoth, Burke Museum |
I’ve sketched at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum many times, both at the old building and the current one, and I never seem to tire of the paleontology area. Who could resist the skeletons of huge creatures that have been extinct for literally eons? Apparently, no one: The prehistoric animal skeletons were by far the most-sketched artifacts at today's USk Seattle outing.
Although I’ve sketched the Columbian mammoth nearly every time I’ve visited the new building, it’s not necessarily because it’s my favorite (although it is one). Many of the smaller skeletons are backlit by the Burke’s floor-to-ceiling windows, which makes them harder to draw. I really wanted to use my black sketchbook, so I walked around to get the lighted side of its skull and amazingly enormous tusks (top of post).
Walking down to the lower-level entrance where the Burke’s mascot mastodon greets visitors (another favorite exhibit that I’ve sketched many times), I looked up at the Baird’s bearded whale skeleton hanging high above us all. I didn’t scale my sketch very well to accurately show how huge it is compared to Andika, who was sketching the mastodon on the floor below.
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| Baird's beaked whale's tail and Andika |
In the time remaining before the throwdown, I needed something I could capture relatively quickly. From the stairway landing below the third floor, I looked up again, this time spotting the Elasmosaur replica hanging from the ceiling.
A record-breaking number of sketchers turned out for this
winter weekend outing at Seattle’s gem of natural and cultural history.
