New Drink & Draw Venue

 

8/14/26 Phinney Station, Phinney neighborhood

I feel like I say this every time, but USk Seattle showed a record-breaking turnout for last week’s drink & draw on a gorgeous afternoon! The venue, Phinney Station, was new to us, but I knew from sketching the final World Cup match there that it looked ideal – and it was! We filled up quite a few of their plentiful umbrella’d tables in a huge area. Two food trucks offered different foods, and bringing in outside food was also welcome. Of course, I’m always pleased by dog-friendly venues.

As usual, some folks new to Urban Sketchers joined us for the first time. Several others had come to previous drink & draws but had not yet joined us for regular sketch outings yet. One mentioned that while a general outing still feels intimidating, a casual sit-and-chat over brews feels more comfy and familiar. I’m happy that we have gatherings that are approachable at whatever level people feel ready to participate.

Visitors from Texas

Yesterday we hosted visiting sketchers from USk Dallas/Ft Worth at an unusual Seattle neighborhood park: Oxbow Park in Georgetown with the Hat and Boots! I laughed at myself for not making the connection of a park with cowboy hat and boots to visitors from Texas.

The p-patch held a riot of sunflowers. That's what I had to sketch but I included the birdhouses and some of the boot to hint at the location.

Down the street the huge spider sculpture had been moved from the garage roof to the small traffic circle.

Colorful Clouds of Belonging

 

8/9/26 "Clouds of Belonging" installed outside King Street Station

USk Seattle had one of its most colorful outings ever. “Clouds of Belonging,” a temporary installation in front of King Street Station, “is composed of large cloud-like forms that introduce softness, color, and light into the surrounding urban landscape,” according to the city’s Office of Arts and Culture. Artist Alex Proba invites visitors “to move through, pause within, and simply enjoy a bright, sculptural environment designed for connection.” As nearly everyone in the group focused on the sculpture, it definitely formed a connection for all of us.

After finishing the full-color version (top of post) from the railroad overpass, I was going to move on to other subjects. Then as I walked around, I found more viewpoints I liked, so I drew it twice more.

While I ate lunch in the courtyard outside International District/Chinatown Station, Mariners fans continually streamed out of the station and walked in the direction of T-Mobile Park (below, right).

At the throwdown back at the “Clouds,” USk Seattle came through with an impressive variety of compositions. The whimsical clouds were certainly inspiring as well as colorful.

The Scavenger Hunt is On!

 

7/25/26 Scavenger hunt at South Lake Union

Months ago, I viewed a YouTube video by Teoh Yi Chie showing an urban sketching bingo game that USk Singapore had put on. With sponsored prizes and a huge turnout, the game looked like so much fun that I was inspired to do something similar with USk Seattle. Bingo, however, has an element of chance; it’s not enough to simply sketch the objects – you had to get a certain number in a row. It would also be a lot of work to create multiple variations of bingo cards. I got an easier idea: An urban sketching scavenger hunt!

Shortly afterwards, I took a wander through one of my favorite sketching neighborhoods: South Lake Union. Within an easily walkable area, I jotted 20 things I saw (many of which I sketched myself). Some were specific, like the Space Needle, while others were left open to interpretation, such as “a cylindrical building” (SLU has more than one) or “something yellow.” I had so much fun developing the game!

The hunt was on! Last Saturday, a terrific turnout of USk Seattle met near the Amazon Spheres for the game: Whoever sketched the most items on the scavenger list during the three-hour outing would win. Prizes were donated by USk Seattle admins and Gabi Campanario of Sketcher Press – art supplies, sketchbooks and published art books. Thankfully, we had a lot of prizes, because I had under-estimated how many sketchers would be so successful: Eleven sketched all 20 items!

Since I had made the game myself, I didn’t compete, but I took my leisurely time sketching many of my favorites on the scavenger list. Compared to all the hard-working participants, I felt like a slacker: I even took a lunch break!

It was inspiring to see people helping each other figure out clues or find the subjects – a collaborative spirit instead of competitive. I got so much positive feedback about the game that I’d like to make it an annual summer event in varying locations!

An enthusiastic turnout!

These intrepid participants sketched all 20 scavenger items! (Not pictured: Ching Hung)

This fussball machine qualified as "something blue."

"Orange chair" was one of the scavenger items.

A Green Oasis at Kruckeberg Garden

 

7/24/26 Kruckeberg Botanic Garden

 

A dark-green, shady oasis, Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline would be ideal on a hot day – the garden felt like it was at least 10 degrees cooler than on the street. As the temps were only in the high-60s and low-70s last Friday with USk Seattle, I was actually a little chilly, thanks to the shade of all those old-growth trees. Still, it was serene and comforting to be within the lush, forest-like atmosphere.

Serene, that is, until I started looking around for something to sketch: All that green is formidable! While I enjoy the challenge of sketching layers of foliage (I even recently boldly stated that I’m no longer intimidated by it), Kruckeberg Garden is whole next level of layers of foliage! One challenge was looking for pockets of light to contrast all the dark green. While my first sketch (above) was that attempt, I don’t really care for the composition I ended up with to get that light.

It took me quite a while to find a scene for my second sketch. I kept looking for a single tree to anchor the composition, but many grew close together or just didn’t catch my eye. I finally spotted Mark sketching next to an enormous tree with an interesting shape; he gave the tree scale, which I always think is important in a composition.

The newly constructed walkway/ramp makes the garden's lower level much more accessible.

USk International Symposium Pity Party at Toulouse Petit

On July 17, we at USk Seattle had ourselves a little pity party since we weren't in Toulouse, France for the 2026 USk International Symposium ... but actually, in the words of Jenny, "It's not a pity party. It's a celebration!" Temps were in the 70s under clear skies, the NOLA food and USk company were fantastic, the ambience at Toulouse Petit in lower Queen Anne was perfect, and it was breakfast happy hour - with French press coffee and beignets so we had no complaints!  

(Apologies to Leanne and Jenny. I don't know why this app sucks these photos in sideways, and I don't know how to fix it! Still, I'd rather have you in here sideways than not at all. 😅)

The cherry on top was our wait staff Kathy-with-a-K's reaction to appearing in my sketch. 🤣🤣 So I traded it for a contribution to World Central Kitchen!

Kruckeberg Botanic Garden: Cool and Green and Shady

We stayed nice and cool on this hot July day down in the wooded vale of Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline (open Thursday- Sumday, in case you want to check it out!).

What a gorgeous place to do some art! I feel so refreshed after time out with The Gang (aka USk Seattle ) at @kruckeberg_botanic garden in Shoreline, about a half hour north of downtown Seattle. Definitely got my forest bathing🌲🌲🌲 in.