A New 4th Tradition

 

7/3/26 Old Stove Brewery Gardens, Ballard neighborhood

A typical weather pattern lately, the overcast morning gave way to sunny skies by late afternoon for USk Seattle’s drink & draw. We met this time at Old Stove Brewery Gardens in Ballard, which was the location of a drink & draw on the same occasion last year: the day before the 4^th of July holiday.

I usually write more observations or overheard dialog on these types of pages, but I was too busy with good conversations this time!

With good conversation over brews (and my grilled corn on the cob) under (mostly) shaded tables, we thought we were a small turnout. Halfway through, we discovered a bunch more sketchers inside the brew pub, where they had been viewing a World Cup match. Our group turned out to be much larger than we realized at first! By the time of our throwdown, the match was over, so everyone came outside.

It was a fun way to kick off (did you see what I did there with a sports mixed metaphor?) the holiday weekend. And now that we’ve done it for two consecutive years, it’s a tradition, right?

Have a safe holiday!

Greenwood Car Show Never Fails

 

6/27/26 outside Herkimer Coffee, Greenwood neighborhood

A little drizzle never keeps sketchers down! It apparently does, however, keep attendance down at the Greenwood Car Show, because the first couple of hours I was there were the easiest to walk and sketch my way through the show as I have ever seen it. It wasn’t my wettest show, though – that would be 2014, when it poured for much of the day. Rain or shine, it’s still one of my favorite summer events, which I’ve been attending nearly annually since 2013.

As is my tradition, after walking the full length of the show and back (“a mile-and-a-half of classic rides” is the show’s slogan, but this year it was probably closer to a mile; the drizzle kept potential exhibiters away, too), I stopped for coffee and a scone at Herkimer Coffee. Despite the Juneuary chill, I was dressed in enough layers to sit outside. This is always a fond moment for me at the show: Sketching whatever car is on display right in front of Herkimer and usually catching a dog, too (top of post).

Fully tanked up an hour before the USk Seattle outing even began, I started sketching in earnest. With the drizzle letting up, many exhibitors were busily wiping down their babies.

Although the Greenwood Car Show doesn’t feature many Monster Trucks, the one I sketched (below) became a favored photo opp for young kids and their parents.

Most of a block was taken up by a fleet of mini cars like the 1960 Fiat Limousette I sketched (below). I was happy when a tall, large man stood next to it, giving me exactly what I needed to show scale.

As it got close to the throwdown time, I spotted a finned ’57 Chevy Bel Air convertible from a beloved automotive era. I had just enough time to make a portrait of it (below).

After the throwdown, I walked the length of the show once more, this time with my camera instead of my sketchbook. By then, I was ready to head home – but not before catching a busker (have I ever been able to walk past a busker without sketching them?).

Ahhh, Greenwood Car Show, you never fail to be a highlight of my summer!

Sunshine for our throwdown!

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church

 

6/20/26 St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Capitol Hill neighborhood

The only other onion-domed church I’ve sketched in Seattle (and perhaps the only other one in the city) is St. Spiridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Now I can add St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church to my short list. Smaller and with fewer onions, St. Nicholas on Capitol Hill was undergoing restoration when USk Seattle met there. The front (top of post), where most of the sketchers gathered, was still showing signs of age and weathering.

After I finished sketching the front, I walked around to the back, which looked noticeably cleaner (at left). Beyond one of the onions, I saw a couple of downtown buildings down the hill.

As often happens, I had a few minutes to fill before the throwdown, so I walked a few blocks to Pine Street. Capitol Hill’s iconic utility towers marked the “top” of the neighborhood, and I had more wires to joyfully sketch.

The Capitol Hill utility towers from Pine Street

On this well-parked residential street, I got a
kick out of seeing all the sketchers squeezing
into spaces between cars to see the cathedral.

Cool Green Lake on a Hot Day

 

6/14/26 Green Lake walking path

Unusual for mid-June, temps were expected to climb to the mid-80s yesterday for USk Seattle’s outing to Green Lake. I encouraged anyone (including myself) who got overheated to retreat to the air-conditioned public library. Almost everyone opted to stay at the lake, though, where a strong, cool breeze and plenty of huge shade trees kept us comfortable. I was surprised by how pleasant it was all afternoon, despite the heat.

Green Lake

Purely conjecture, of course, but something about their 
body language made me think they were on a second date.

Filled with sunbathers, the beach looked like Malibu, while swimmers, paddleboarders and kayakers took to the water. It looked and felt like summer!

Since I’m such a frequent Green Lake visitor, the throwdown was especially fun for me. It’s like seeing the familiar through fresh eyes again.

A great turnout, even on a blistering day!

massive monkees day

 

Did you know Seattle is big in the world breakdancing scene? It's pretty much the opposite of the techy, online culture I associate with Seattle. It's in large part thanks to the Massive Monkees, the highly acclaimed dance crew that originated in Beacon Hill 30 years ago.

Massive Monkees Day — actually a weekend — is a breaking (as in breakdancing) competition hosted in Seattle on a more or less yearly basis, hosted by the It was hinted that this would be the last one — I hope it isn’t. Saturday was the semi-final round, and was open to the public at a block party in the Chinatown area.

I’ve sketched the faceted red arch of Hing Hay Park many times, but never seen it framing an event like this one. A crowd was gathered around a vinyl floor, where the individual footwork part of the competition was underway.

A few seated judges stared hard at the sneakered feet flying around the dance floor. I had no idea what they were looking for, and I was distracted by all the other athletic feats on display anyway.

Dancers flipped & inverted, their baggy t-shirts dropping open to reveal muscular torsos. They threw and twisted their hips in ways I have never before conceived. Bucket hats slid across the floor. Smiling in exertion, they jumped and gestured, daring their competition to best them. The crowd yelled & screamed in response to the most impressive moves. Reaction was involuntary and instinctive.

The ages competing ranged from about 10 to 50, and the kids competed alongside the adults. Part of the Massive Monkees’ philosophy is “Each one, teach one” - to instruct the next generation of dancers. The gathering at the park was almost all people of color, and Asian b-boys and b-girls appeared to make up the racial majority of participants.

The MC announced competitors from out of town — from Texas, Hawai’i, Boston, British Columbia, and Calgary. There were also some big names from Japan and Russia competing in the finals.

During an intermission in the action, I took out a few acrylic markers and sketched the scene in front of me. Using a brush pen, I tried to capture some of the characters in the crowd without being too obvious. For the dancer in the center, I took some pictures and used them as reference to add them in last — no way I could draw that fast!

A breaking competition is far from my usual circles, but I’m grateful I got that chance encounter in the park with these guys, and that I got a chance to spectate.

Although City of Seattle recognizes the Massive Monkees as a cornerstone of our artist culture, I’m not sure how much the general population here is aware of them. But now you are! I feel super proud of not only my city, but also my neighborhood in creating this undeniably cool bit of Seattle culture. 

 To see our hometown b-boys in action, I recommend watching this video. I dare you to tell me you aren't enthralled by them!

Overlook Landscaping

 

6/7/26 Waterfront Overlook Walk

A cruise ship was in, and soccer fans were already in town for the impending World Cup, which meant only one thing: Pike Place Market was more mobbed than usual on Sunday. Fortunately for USk Seattle, our outing focused on spacious Waterfront Overlook Walk, which feels unoppressive even when lots of people are enjoying this city gem.

After sketching there several times since it opened less than two years ago, what caught my attention this time was how lush all the landscaping has become. Lupine and many small floral bushes were blooming everywhere (which the bees seemed to appreciate). I decided to make the landscaping the “story” of my first Overlook visit of the summer (I anticipate more . . . some of my best-used tax dollars are here).

Sketching in the rain

It might have been prudent to cancel this morning's sketch outing at Hanwoori Korean Garden in Federal Way. But USk Tacoma had invited USk Seattle to attend. Rain was predicted, even thunderstorms. Also, it was time to celebrate USk Tacoma's 13th anniversary as their first sketch outing was June 7, 2013.

Several sketchers from Seattle came along with a few from the Tacoma group. We were a hardy bunch as it rained nearly the entire time. A few huddled together under the shelter of the roof of the garden gate. More were in the pagoda itself. And then a couple of us sketched from under umbrellas!

I was one of the sketchers sitting under an umbrella, painting a view of the gate. Sadly, the Federal Way city site doesn't have any information about this fairly new garden. I did find that Hanwoori means “we are one”. And that it was created in a partnership between the City of Federal Way and its sister city, Donghae, South Korea.

We ended early and a few people had already left. The Tacoma group posed with an anniversary poster.