Sunny Inside the Ferry Terminal

 

11/1/25 Colman Dock ferry terminal

The newish Colman Dock ferry terminal has become a USk Seattle all-season mainstay. If the weather is fair, the views from the pedestrian overpass overlooking the waterfront are spectacular. If it’s cold or wet, the terminal interior offers many of the same views facing Elliott Bay on one side and the downtown skyline on the other.

As last night’s deluge continued into this morning, I was relieved that we’d be sheltered inside the terminal building, but by afternoon, we almost didn’t need it: The sun came out over Elliott Bay, and several sketchers enjoyed capturing the cracks of light through the clouds. The Great Wheel, the Space Needle, lots of ferry passengers and, of course, ferry boats – we all had plenty of fun subject matter to find.

Cherries Dressed for Fall

 

10/29/25 UW Quad cherry trees

The University of Washington Quad during cherry blossom season is an annual event for USk Seattle. But those same cherries that delight us with spring flowers are a yellow-orange spectacle when they get dressed for autumn. Although we talk about it every year, we rarely get to have sketch outings for the cherries’ fall foliage. Targeting prime color is hard enough, but coupled with iffy and fast-changing weather, it’s almost impossible.

Kim went to scout the color on Monday. Checking the weather, she decided today would be the best day to try for an outing. Score! USk Seattle got the benefit of both prime foliage and sunshine!

Although I have sketched the Quad cherries when they weregreen, I’m not sure I’ve ever sketched them in their fall hues. More sublime than showy red maples, the orange Sakura still shine vibrantly, especially in late-morning light.

Cozy Drink & Draw

 

10/24/25 Drink & draw at Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood 

After walking through the deluge from our current atmospheric river, I was afraid I’d be all alone at the USk drink & draw. Happily, I was joined by four others who braved the torrents to get to Project 9 Brewery, where the heat lamps kept us cozy in the perfectly dry tent. (We could have gone indoors, of course, but it gets very loud in there, especially on a Friday evening.)

With one highly skilled professional artist and one who had begun drawing only a few months prior, both new to Urban Sketchers, I was reminded of one of many reasons I appreciate USk: People of all experience levels can draw and chat together while sipping beers and munching tacos. No judging, just fun!

Cold and Windy Swansons

 

10/22/25 Swansons Nursery

“Why do we always meet at Swansons in the morning when we know it would be warmer in the afternoon?” I complained to Kate when I arrived. (Note to self: Schedule the next time in the afternoon!) A fall and holiday season standby for USk Seattle, Swansons offers colorful displays outdoors and a cozy café for inclement weather. In addition, the staff are always friendly and welcoming.

It wasn’t raining today, but it was downright cold and windy. I stayed outside for as long as I could stand it, sketching some bright blue pots, even brighter leaves that had caught my eye in the tree section, and Mark sketching by the shopping carts.

After that, I had had enough of the chill. Retreating to the café for coffee and a snack, I spotted Natalie and Kim – ideal victims under a jungle of enormous leaves. Swansons is always a good meetup spot in any weather.

Swansons Cafe

Crows and pumpkins

 We met at Swanson's Nursery for our nearly annual outing to sketch their colorful autumn displays. We were just 5 or so at the beginning but at the time of the throw down we were 20. Welcome to several new sketchers!

I look forward to their employee scarecrow contest. I'm partial to crows and ravens. This is "The Cunning Corvid" and it was my favorite. During the throw down I met Mo who is the one who made it!

Continuing with the Corvid theme, I sketched this display of pumpkins with a bunch of crows. I thought I might want a couple to see how the crows at my feeder would react. But they were $20 each so too expensive to put outside to potentially be destroyed by the wild crows.

It was a bit breezy and chilly. Some, like Janet, were bundled up. Paul, however…in a t shirt and shorts! I referred to the nursery's carts as "mobile studio".

Thanks to Mo for taking our group photo.

Lots more photos here.   

SAM with WSU Students

 

10/10/25 Seattle Art Museum's Hammering Man

SAM interior

Every October, Washington State University professor Bob Krikac and his colleagues bring their interior design and landscape architectural students to Seattle for a variety of educational opportunities. Meeting with USk Seattle is on Bob’s agenda each year, and we always look forward to sketching with about 50 young people. Bob and the other instructors feel strongly that observational drawing on location is an important skill for any design student to learn (and I certainly agree). What could be better than giving the students that experience with Seattle USk?

This year we chose the Seattle Art Museum for our joint outing. In the center of downtown Seattle, the museum building itself, especially the huge Hammering Man sculpture, and surrounding buildings are great practice in architectural drawing. In case of rain, we could all duck into the museum’s free lobby area. (About halfway through the outing, we were happy to have that option, as the morning’s drizzle turned to rain.)

At right is "Little Cloud Sky," the long-term exhibit over the SAM lobby.

I got a good opportunity to sketch both outside and inside SAM, including the newish Little Cloud Sky long-term exhibit over the lobby. The herd of three-dimensional cloud faces is cute and uplifting, I guess. Compared to Middle Fork, the huge hand-built tree that hung over the lobby for several years, or the crazy overhead cars before that, these rubbery smiley faces are a bit underwhelming. They are, however, a deceptively difficult perspective challenge, so there’s that (if you’re into that kind of thing).

As always, it was invigorating to be around the enthusiastic students, who were all eager to draw.

One of our biggest throwdowns ever!

Cheerful but deceptively difficult to sketch!

Anthropological Study at Growler Guys

 

10/8/25 Mariners watch party at Growler Guys, Maple Leaf neighborhood

“Whose logo is that – with the trident?” A man on the light rail pointed to the cap of another rider.

“Mariners . . . I think it’s newish,” the man wearing the cap replied.

10/5/25 light rail

The one who had asked was one of three guys sporting Buccaneers caps. Visiting Seattle for the Seahawks game, the men chatted with the Mariners fan about football, baseball, and where they could get good grub near Lumen Field, where they were headed. Since they were not directly competing, their conversation was cordial.

Recently when I spent the day with my niece’s family, we had lunch at a small café’s counter. Within minutes, my nephew-in-law had engaged in a lively conversation with the guy who happened to sit next to him – about Huskies football.

Although I have occasionally exchanged friendly banter with Cougs or Ducks (the University of Washington Huskies’ historic rivals are the Washington State University Cougars and the University of Oregon Ducks), I’m not a fan of any sport or particular team. Yet I have always been fascinated by the instant bonding that occurs around sports. Strangers on a light rail train who would otherwise never strike up spontaneous conversation have enough to talk about to last four train stops. What other subject or interest could possibly bring people together the way sports can?

Like an anthropologist, I decided to do an observational study of this human behavior. The Growler Guys in Maple Leaf held a watch party this afternoon for Game 4 of the MLB playoffs. The Mariners had bested the Detroit Tigers the day before, and now the same two teams were playing again.

When I walked in toward the tail end of the game, I knew the Ms were in trouble: The mood was quiet and subdued. Some patrons were already clearing their plates and glasses, getting ready to leave, though the game wasn’t quite over. Others commiserated quietly. The final score was 3 to 9 in the Tigers’ favor.

Sketching probably would have been more fun at the previous day’s watch party when the Mariners had won. Still, the temperature was 62 and sunny on the Growler’s pleasant patio, where I had a good view of patrons watching the big TV. As a neutral observer rather than a fan, I had a great time on what was likely our last summer-y day before the cold and rain arrived.

Chilly Belltown

 

10/5/25 Belltown

It felt like eons since USk Seattle had met in Belltown near Fire Station No. 2, and in urban sketching time, it was – 2018!

I enjoyed such a great summer that I forgot how many layers I need to wear in October – three is apparently not enough! Sunday’s chill and stiff breeze all morning kept me on the sunny side of the street, so I decided to skip the fire station (lots of hardy sketchers sat on the shady side to catch it). My favorite view was the Space Needle reflected in one of Belltown’s glassy buildings (instead of the Storm flag in my 2018 sketch, the Needle was flying the Mariners flag, of course).

Next, I walked a few blocks south to Fourth and Blanchard, where Catherine Mayer’s sculpture, The Red Popsicle (which I also last sketched in 2018) is a whimsical landmark.

By that time, I needed a warmup at Uptown Espresso, where I sketched a couple of cars across the street. In the time remaining before the throwdown, I headed back to the historic bell in front of the fire station to make a quick sketch of it next to the red station doors.

The sun came out in time to warm us all up during the throwdown!

Sunny throwdown!

Gabi’s in the News!

 

Front cover of the Sept. 28 Pacific NW magazine

USk Seattle had an exciting 15 minutes of fame last weekend when the Seattle Times published a wonderful article about Gabi Campanario, founder of the global Urban Sketchers organization and inspiration to so many of us. (Photos for the article were taken by Akash Pamarthy during our outing on Beacon Hill a few weeks ago.) In addition to honoring Gabi’s journalism career, his long-running Seattle Sketcher column, and his founding of USk, writer Erik Lacitis featured several prominent urban sketchers and reportage artists worldwide.

My favorite quotation is this one from well-known reportage artist Richard Johnson:

“The parallel between urban sketching and field or combat art is the shared necessity of experiencing firsthand what you are drawing. Drawing in-person, in situ, from direct reference, captures life through a uniquely human lens. And it captures life in such a very human way that it can transport you to that moment again instantly. It doesn’t even have to be a good drawing; in fact, it probably won’t be, because drawing live, things don’t hold still, but even a bad drawing captures more of the real moment than any sketch from a photograph. For the average urban sketcher, that entails putting yourself out there in a street and drawing what you see, all while immersed in the sounds, smells and interruptions of it.”

Here’s the part of the article where Erik quoted me:

From the minute the online edition came out last Saturday, the USk Seattle Facebook group exploded with requests for membership! The explosion continued the next day when the print edition came out in the Times’ Pacific NW magazine section. (Clipped below are images that appear in the online edition.)

I’m thrilled that Gabi is receiving such well-deserved recognition for his contributions to journalism and for changing the lives of urban sketchers around the globe. And I’m excited that USk Seattle received a few minutes of fame, too!

The print edition included a few images that aren't in the online edition, including these cool ones of Gabi's colored pencils, other art supplies and sketchbooks in his studio.

South Lake Union Market Under the Spheres

 

9/27/25 South Lake Union

When we had planned the sketch outing to South Lake Union, we didn’t even know that the Saturday Market had moved from its previous Denny Park location (where USk met last year) to the center of Amazontown near the Amazon Spheres. It was a fun bonus to sketch some market people (and a dog).

Of course, it’s hard to ignore the Spheres themselves. I sketched them in my own sketchbook, but I also sketched them in the traveling sketchbook (below) that is circulating among USk chapters across the country (thanks to Kate Buike for coordinating USk Seattle’s and USk Tacoma’s participation). South Lake Union seemed like an appropriately iconic spot in Seattle to represent in the book.

My contribution to the traveling sketchbook.

Despite the day starting out with iffy weather, we still had a fantastic turnout and were rewarded with sunshine in time for our throwdown!

Sketchers did a great job of taking over most of the orange chairs on Amazon campus!