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!

RIP Shawn Yim

I spent my morning documenting the procession of over 100 buses honoring the memory of murdered King County Metro driver Shawn Yim, who was stabbed to death in December 2024 while on the job. It was the first time in 26 years this has happened in Seattle.

There were a lot of media folks on the bridge over 4th ave on Yesler this morning but I was the only one with a sketchbook. A little after 10am police blocked off the street and the buses started rolling through below us. The first one displayed "Shawn Yim / 21882" on its sign. (21882 is his King County Metro employee number.)

There were a few vintage buses in the procession along with tons of Sound Transit and King County vehicles, including maintenance vans and tow trucks. I saw drivers representing agencies from as far away as Grays Harbor & Skagit counties.

Using watersoluble pencils, I quickly drew some of the buses as they drove down 4th Ave, and added colors after the procession. 

 

Around 11, I finished up my drawings and headed to WAMU theater by Lumen Field, where the memorial service was being held. The cavernous space was pretty much full of people, mostly of safety vest wearing folks from transit agencies. A huge turnout.

I definitely teared up while taking notes from the speeches. It was good to get to know some more about Shawn Yim as a person. He seemed like a really kind guy and it's such a tragedy to lose someone like that involved in public service. The few speeches I was able to stay for had notes of humor, sadness, and anger.

I don't have any personal connection to Shawn Yim besides that I used to ride the #70 route a lot (the one Shawn was driving when he was killed), but I am a transit user. I want to show my solidarity with the workers who move our city and are put in danger far more than they should be.

presbyterian badminton

 

On Thursday evenings, people from age 10 to 70 gather to play competitive badminton in the gathering space of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Kent, WA.

Unlike most other courts, the surface is carpeted. It makes the game feel foreign to your body. Also, unlike the outdoor badminton you may have played in your backyard, this is a very fast-paced sport.

No one seems to know why there are badminton courts inside this place, but putting the space to use in the off-hours makes sense. There are also markings for basketball, but imagining that big heavy ball getting thrown around a space where there are stained glass windows makes me feel a bit stressed.

Despite the incongruity of playing in front of a giant wooden cross, it is a pretty nice place to play, especially when it's free. But because of that the sessions are quite busy, so you end up waiting a long time for your turn to get on the court. 

We went to New Hope a few times recently, when my partner was participating in a league. It's quite far from us, especially in rush hour traffic, so we probably won't become regulars. But I think it's interesting that it's a thing that's out there.

USK spring meetups

Sharing a few of my sketches from some recent-ish USk Seattle events!

Centro de la Raza for Cinco de Mayo.

I often pass through this plaza, but it's almost always dead quiet -- so it was nice to experience it crowded & lively for the celebration. I always appreciate the extremely bright colors often used in Mexican crafts, like the ones the guest vendors were selling, especially on such a dark gloomy day like this one. I stood under a tent shelter, mostly out of the wet, and did a quick sketch in mixed media.

Chinese Garden @ South Seattle College

This is such a classic USk Seattle location to me. I enjoy the clean, white walls of the structure, which allow you to appreciate the landscaping in contrast to it. Using white acrylic, I got it to pop off of my gray toned paper.

 Couth Buzzard Books + Espresso in Greenwood

I stumbled onto this cute little bookstore after our share event at the library. It was too cold to draw outside, so I cozied up at a small table and captured the vibe while sipping a cappuccino. It was fun listening to people come in and ask the proprietor very specific book questions.

Sunday in Ballard

Before the USk Seattle Meetup at the Nordic Museum, I stopped in Ballard a couple hours early to draw the neighborhood.

The art/frame shop nearby on Market St, Annie's Art & Frame, carries some of my prints for sale, and they have been asking me for a while for artwork of more Ballard spots. So I finally got over to the Farmer's Market and found a nice area out of the way to capture some of the activity there. Some friends met up with me to draw too. I exaggerated the orange of the trees with my tempera paint sticks.

 

 

I fully intended to scooter over to the Nordic Museum to meet with the USk group, but it started raining pretty hard and we sat down with hot drinks at Miro Tea and I couldn't get myself to leave. Especially since the street ahead was cleared of market stalls and parallel parkers, it was a great view! 

autumn light

 

I joined the urban sketchers at the Seattle Center on a beautiful October day, the kind that is impossible to resist (because you know there's not that many of those left). The architecture in this area is impressive, but doesn't interest me much for sketching. The trees were looking great though. Recently I've been inspired by artists like Jenny Adam and GEGYjiji to try and capture light in highly sensitive and emotive ways, so this is my attempt.

I liked the swoopy branches on this tree. I only had about 25 minutes before throwdown so I put paint down pretty fast and loose. There was a street performer setting up behind me, and I was kind of excited to be serenaded while drawing. But instead of being a charming musical experience, I was blasted by a wall of sound out of an amp that he played along to. The Harry Potter theme song was so loud I felt like I was in an IMAX theater. People seemed kind of into it, but also kind of annoyed because you couldn't carry a conversation 30 feet away. Maybe that was just me projecting.

While I was waiting for the watercolor in the previous one to dry, and for the street performer to be done (luckily he took very long breaks between songs), I started another quick sketch before our throwdown with the WSU students. I'm liking the way the kakimori dip pen is a little bit uncontrollable.

San Fernando's on Rainier

 

RIP to this restaurant building in my neighborhood. It stood on the corner of Charles St. and Rainier & was demolished early this week. The last bits of rubble were carted away on Thursday. 

I couldn't find much about the history of the building, but I did learn that before this there was a Vietnamese restaurant here. Vanishing Seattle has an amazing historic photo of 900 Rainier in the olden days, looks like it was a gas station.

So, in honor of all that, I wanted to sketch San Fernando's Roasted Peruvian Chicken before it was demo'ed. The building kinda had the energy of an animal waiting to be put down, which made me feel sad and aware of my own mortality :(

I'll very much miss the fried yuca and pollo smells as I walk past, and the creamy green salsa they included with your order. Family minivans would fill up the small parking lot on weekends.

this part of Rainier Ave is changing incredibly fast! There are now all these plywood cubes covered in Tyvec, chain link fencing and closed sidewalks... not my fave, but I have to remind myself that more housing is very needed here. This block will be home to a new 8 story residential/retail building.

And btw, San Fernando's is moving down to SeaTac and they'll reopen in a few months!

home office

 

Once, long ago, my good friend Shelby gave us a tour of her parents' home: one of those gorgeous old North Capitol Hill mansions. Her dad's home office -- a small room on an upper floor, with corner windows looking out over Lake Washington & filled with African sculptures, kid art, and loose papers strewn about everywhere -- struck me as a place I would like to draw. A few weeks ago, I heard that they going to move within a few months, which compelled me to the owner, Michael, if I could document that room.

Despite Michael assuring me he "left it unmolested" I was a bit devastated to see that all the papers and mess had been cleaned up before I arrived. Well, they are moving, and there was still a lot to take in. A clump of lanyards, relics of events pre-2020. Masks, elevated bowls, figures, and animals mingle on every surfaces. A few leftover scrolls of building plans lean over in the corner. 

 

While my watercolor dried, Michael gave me a tour of his collection, which spans several rooms. He told me the origin of each piece: Ivory Coast, Yoruba, Congo. Also the purpose of each one: none of these were meant to be strictly decorative, despite how they decorate most of the house presently. I wondered a lot about where they came from and who might have used them. Michael has traveled the world, but spent a lot of his youth in Africa, and feels artistically connected to this form of sculpture. So do I! I love the personality of each sculpture -- each are so specific, but you can feel the specific emotion they convey with face and body language. The contrast and balance of curve and straight lines has been inspiration for my own drawing work for a long time. 

Later, Michael and I ended up going out to dinner and talking about art and life! It was really fun to make that connection I never would have had without location drawing!

forklift quonset

 

I always pass by this building on my home → studio commute on Airport Way and always wanted to draw it, and finally the day came where it could happen. I adore quonsets, they always have interesting stuff going on in industrial or rural areas. A fun and different shape than the buildings we usually get. Kind of want to draw every one I see in Seattle from now on.

PDX Union Station

 

A simple marker + watercolor sketch of Union Station in Portland, that time when I rushed to the station in an overpriced Lyft, only to discover the train was 90 minutes behind schedule. Well, like all delays it was a great excuse to sketch. I tried out some new calligraphy markers I got from Cargo (my fav store in PDX) and eavesdropped on some great conversations in the building's smoking area: folks in town from afar, crossing paths on long journeys.

Colman Beach

 

I've found it's only a 15 minute, not-too-steep bike ride from my home to a few beaches on Lake Washington. I feel super lucky to be so close to an accessible and super beautiful waterfront for swimming and relaxing. Colman Park has a wonderful willow tree on whose branches I enjoy throwing up my hammock over the water. I did this sketch with markers + water from that spot, watching the Canadian Geese come out of the water and act menacing to the other parkgoers.

roadtrip

 celebrating being fully vaccinated, a friend and I went on a 5 night campervan trip up to San Juan Island and back. it was much more comfortable than my solo van trip in December, nice to have company, and wonderful to have it get dark at like 9pm rather than 4:30pm. also this place we live is so beautiful!! here are some sketches from my watercolor sketchbook.

our first night, we aimed to get to Larabee State Park by Bellingham, but found a perfect parking spot w/o overnight parking restrictions on Chuckanut Drive with a great view of the Sound.

the ferry to the San Juan Islands is always such a treat. I drew little thumbnails of some of the islands we passed. then we stopped at this little park outside Friday Harbor where there was an old cannery area. I didn't see any trace left of industry on the island, but it used to be huge here.

 

 

 

coming back down south via Whidbey Island, we stopped at Deception Pass. I opted to draw a view other than the bridge since I've painted it several times. it's always a fine balance of wanting to see a lot of things on a trip like this vs committing to staying in a place long enough to sketch it.

powell barnett park

 

Exploring Central District, I sat on a steep ridge on the edge of the park and sketched this view until a big dog came into the yard behind me and scared me away. Really excited to start drawing deciduous trees with leaves soon.

popcornacopia

while walking through the Seattle Center thinking about bygone days of USK meetups I came upon this little old popcorn cart with a broken window. the whole area has been pretty desolate since last year and I felt like this encapsulated that story neatly. grass & moss has started growing around it where the foot traffic doesn't hit, and I realized that that included right under the front window, where people once ordered food & refreshments.

charles st. in blue

Obligatory snowstorm sketch! I wish I drew more that day, but I didn't think the snow would melt so quickly. This is the view from the 3rd floor common kitchen in my building (none of the units have their own kitchens, but there's one on each floor) which has a view of a hill I've always kind of wanted to draw but didn't have a good reason to. 

I was in something of a rush that evening, so I didn't pencil sketch at all before inking, so it's kind of chaotic. My favorite part of this was doing the stylized blobby trees and the big lumps of snow covering the car.

past the mountains

 

I took a long-awaited weekend getaway with my pod of 4 to Soap Lake, WA recently (pre-snowstorm). The idea was to get out of the gloom of the Puget Sound cloud basin for a few days and get some vitamin D and fresh air! It's always dazzling to clear the Cascade mountains and find yourself in a completely new dry, open landscape. Shelby brought along a houseplant (seen between the front seats) for our journey, which actually felt very comforting. 

 

We hiked up Steamboat Rock one morning. The Columbia River Gorge is always so stunning. While sketching these scenes, I wished to be a bird 15,000 years ago, to witness the great flood: when the Missoula ice dam broke and blasted about 500 cubic miles of water (!!!) through this landscape.

Later I sketched my pod friends back at the cabin, where we took a singular bath in the Soap Lake water piped in from nearby.

 

On the way back to Seattle, Alex gave us a short tour of Vantage, where he used to rock climb. I sketched some climbers scaling the basalt columns in pencil & watercolored it at home. Then we got stuck in Snoqualmie Pass traffic for two hours and I reflected on the dramatic change of landscape (dry, open & sunny to a snowstorm in a high altitude forest) that just an hour's drive gets you in Washington.

looking up second

On an errand to get frozen dumplings in the I.D., I wandered into a little hidden park behind one of the office buildings by the Light Rail station, with a good view looking up 2nd Ave from a slight elevation above the sidewalk. It's very exciting to find places like that, even in an area I think I've explored quite a bit. And I have always wanted to draw the Seattle Lighting Fixture Co

I used a modified parallel pen with blue ink -- which feels so right in the cold winter -- and added some tone digitally. I will probably do a more thorough job painting this at some point.

three old houses

 Inspired by Suhita's endeavor to sketch hyper-local, I found this view in my neighborhood I had never noticed before. In our recent flush of sunny days, I did a few sketch sessions at this corner and drew these old houses, exaggerating the steepness of the hill to give more space to the skyline and Puget Sound.

Recently, I've taken to carrying a bag of peanuts around with me on walks to feed to crows. This sketching spot happened to be right in the territory of a pair of western scrub-jays, who would dart out as soon as I tossed a peanut to grab it off the sidewalk and go bury it in the neighbor's yard. Bird feeding and sketchwalking go hand in hand, though it definitely makes me a lot slower at drawing.

1000 mile drive

 one of my great goals for this year was to go on a long scooter ride/camping trip with my friends in the Snack Pack Scooter Club. Although I wanted to go out for like 3 weeks, we settled on 7 nights, which was actually plenty. the plan was to go east into the desert and we had a wonderful route planned out. but unfortunately the week we had blocked to ride was the beginning of the horrible fires that blew smoke all over Washington in mid-September. the poor air quality was one thing, but many roads were closed and the wildfires too close for comfort. so halfway through we changed our plan to be entirely on the west side of the mountains. however we still made the most of it!

we really limited our stops and spent as much time as we could outdoors & ate grocery store meals to avoid coronavirus contact, but we still found ourselves inside a few times. we didn't go in places that were too crowded, and obviously wore masks whenever we were around people, but we were aware there was a risk anyway. all of us got tested and quarantined once we were back in Seattle.

Day 1: I planned the first two days of the route & took the pack to City Hall Saloon, a dive in a tiny town north of Enumclaw. there are a lot of fun things to draw in the saloon's outside patio, like weird tiny motorcycles! the fires had by then reached the east side of Mt Rainier, so we discovered that many places in this area had lost power and people were panic-buying supplies. 

Day 5: many days later, the next thing I got a chance to draw was this beautiful rocky river by Verlot, in Mt. Baker National forest. the smoke was all over us by this point but it made everything look very soft and hazy. This was my favorite camping spot. it was so mossy and peaceful. My friend Alexander also took some time to sketch here (he's in the picture).

 

Day 6: we were freezing on this route (the sun being blocked by smoke makes everything much colder) so we stopped at Toby's in Coupeville while waiting for the Port Townsend ferry. Lots of stuff to sketch. in drawing this I fell back in love with my fude nib pen. 

Day 7: Timothy planning how to get us to Hama Hama in the most scenic possible way, using a motocycle riding app that takes you on curvy roads. We were breakfasting in a cafe by a small airport in Jefferson County, which was full of hanging little model planes.

Day 7: the main goal for the rerouted journey on the west side was to eat oysters. I finally got to see the famed white Hama Hama oyster hills. a million shells create mounds as tall as a small house It was only $1 more to get 3 dozen oysters than 2 dozen oysters, so we had a feast, and added to the piles.

Day 8:  Signs warn about fire danger in the Olympic National Forest. it rained on us that night, which was a chaotic camping experience, but allowed some relief from the smoky air quality for the last bit of riding back to Seattle. 

bonus: here is our route, with camping spots numbered. There were so many stunning roads, I can't even believe I live here. looking forward to go out next year and hopefully make it to the wild east this time. 

Scootering to Portland

In August, I was dying to get out of Seattle while the weather was warm enough for me to ride anywhere. Over 5 days drove down to Portland on my scooter, camping one night each way, and slept in a hammock in my friend's garden while in the city. My scooter friend accompanied me for one night.

Because I was avoiding the interstate highway, I took the long scenic route around Mount Rainier, over Mt. Saint Helens, and southwest through southern Washington into Oregon. And on the way back I went due north on the pretty side roads parallel to I-5 and the Columbia River. We stopped for a roadside burger at Scaleburger in Elbe off Route 7.

Before finding our first camping spot, we stopped in Morton for an outdoor beer and talked to an old timer at the pub about his Burning Man days ("not this year") and how the town has changed.

I didn't get much time to sketch because there was so much driving. On my last day, my phone died while I was camping in the forest, leaving me sans map in the middle of nowhere. I pulled into the first drive through espresso stand I found and the barista let me charge. While I waited, I drank a cappuccino and sketched their rusty pickup truck/sign. As thanks, I did a quick watercolor of the espresso shack and gave it to them.  

 It was a great and challenging ride!