Chilly Folklife

5/24/19 Saxophone busker

5/24/19 Erhu busker

If you enjoy sketching buskers and other musicians as much as I do, the Northwest Folklife Festival is one of the best events of the year. I have fond memories of capturing people entertaining crowds with their music during this popular Memorial Day weekend event that unofficially kicks off our local summer festival season (here are sketches from 2017, 2014 and 2013). Sadly, today’s memories are mostly shivery rather than fond, but at least I enjoyed the company of fellow urban sketchers.

5/24/19 Inside the Armory

With the thick, gray sky foreboding rain, I managed to catch a saxophonist and a man playing an erhu (also known as a spike fiddle, according to Wikipedia). In between, I had to keep dashing inside the Armory to warm up. The most fun I had all morning was during the last 10 minutes before the throwdown when I tried to capture the postures of people queued up for food.

5/24/19 Queued up for food inside the Armory

The day did not result in my best sketches, nor did I enjoy being in the warm sun as in years past. But as I always say, a day of mediocre sketching is still better than a day with no sketching at all.

Chilly but happy sketchers!

Setting Up for Folklife

I did this quick sketch last month at Folklife with the Friday Ad Hoc sketchers (who were actually sketching on a Saturday). We were early, and the food vendors were still setting up their tents and tables, which made for an interesting shape-sketch.

Seattle Space Needle

Bet you didn't recognize it from my sketch, huh? While wandering through the Seattle Center during Folklife last week with the Friday Ad-Hoc group, I came around the base of the Space Needle just as the sun was casting some great shadows and lighting up the ring of concrete balls that circles the Needle. Last year I spent my time at Folklife sketching all the kooky characters who come to the music festival. So, this year I went for something different.

Warm and sunny Folklife

The Friday sketching group of Urban Sketchers Seattle has sketched at Folklife for some years now, since 2014, I think.  Today was no different but the weather was amazing... sunny and almost too warm.  This Memorial Day weekend is predicted to be the hottest in 22 years, reaching 85 degrees. 

I kept to shady spots to make several small sketches into a montage over my 5 x 8.5 sized page.  There was so much music in the air!  I met the weaver on the Monorail and asked her where she would be demonstrating. 



We met for sharing and a group photo.  Tom is missing from the group. 






A few more photos:   https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2017-0526-Folklife/

Folklife on the First Day of Summer

5/26/17 Didgeridoo player

OK, May 26 isn’t officially the first day of summer, but as far as I’m concerned, the Pacific Northwest has skipped spring altogether!

Urban Sketchers Seattle celebrated the start of the outdoor sketching season at the 46^th annual Northwest Folklife Festival. One of the last remaining donation-only music festivals in the country, Folklife has been a USk Friday event for at least a few times, but I guess I must have missed it in recent years, because the last time I went was in 2014. After having been away for several weeks, it was especially fun to join the other sketchers at this event, which is a field day for people who like to sketch people in action – especially buskers! And that would be me!

5/26/17 Warming up! Me, not them!

Despite all the sketching I got to do in Italy, I missed opportunities to sketch buskers there. (I’m thinking busking must be unlawful, because I saw only two the whole time.) Pulling out my sketchbook today, I felt more than a little rusty when I started with the South American band (you can see me warming up as I started with the guitarist on the right and worked towards the left).

I felt a little warmer by the time I got to the young harpist (playing the Star Wars theme, a popular tune today) and finally the didgeridoo player, with some practice in between on other musicians, a face painter, and a balloon man.

5/26/17 face painter

And speaking of warmer, we’re scheduled to have sunshine and temps in the low 80s the entire Memorial Day weekend, which is historically cool, wet and gray. It’s a long-deserved treat after a record-breaking soggy winter! Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

5/26/17 Young harpist

5/26/17 Balloon man waiting for customers

5/26/17 Jammin'

5/26/17 caricaturist

5/26/17 Relaxing in the grass, listening to music.

43rd Annual Northwest

I love Folklife. It's such a colorful and culturally diverse event. I managed to pick the weekend's rainiest day, Sunday, to get there. As I sat for my first sketch I figured out I needed to find a covered space and surprisingly there are plenty of them in Seattle Center --trees, outcropping roofs, covered walkways. Had I not forgotten my extra layer I would have stuck around and watched my hometown heros - Samba Olywa.

I've been wanting to try twig-sketching for a while and finally got my materials gathered, a good sized twig (or in my case a bamboo shaft), Chinese ink and some decently absorbant paper. It's not an easy tool; the pen dries quickly. I persisted and will keep experimenting. I like the rough quality and variable line quality. 

NW Folklife festival

I haven't attended a Folklife Festival since the early 90's, but the Ad Hoc group of Sketchers planned to meet there so I joined them on what became a very pleasant, partly sunny Friday afternoon.  Adding to the pleasure of sketching outside was the nice mix of live music.
Before I did this watercolor, I indulged in my love of trees, and pencil sketching.  These graceful deodar cedars were in a small grove just outside the west-facing door of the Armory Building.  Strange how often I've walked around the Seattle Center, and NOT noticed these trees.

Folklife!

Sphere juggler. This guy was amazing!

A year ago after our regular Friday morning sketch outing, Kate and I had made a side trip to sketch at the Northwest Folklife Festival in the afternoon. This year we decided to make the 43^rd annual Folklife fest the main sketching event. Although only a small group of sketchers showed up, it was fun to see the variety of views that caught our attention: Some focused on a particular musical stage performance; others sketched the color and festive ambiance.

For me, the life of Folklife is defined by the buskers and other “informally” paid street performers who stand under any shade tree, sharing their particular art form. (Some individuals’ “art form” consists of expressing their opinions on placards.) After I sketched a bongo drummer named Caleb who seemed to be having the time of his life, I dropped a dollar into his cup and showed him the sketch. Delighted, he also seemed surprised. “You come to Folklife to sketch?” he asked, and when I replied by saying it’s my way of participating and interacting with all the music and activities, he suddenly got it. “Oh, just like me!” Indeed, just like him.

Performance artist wearing a mask of flowers.

Bongo drummer

Accordian player

Steel drummers

The man at left is a Folklife volunteer. The other is . . .?

Bollywood dancing

Folklife Festival - Seattle

I've been going to the Folklife Festival for almost 30 years and over time it really hasn't changed much (a good thing I think). It has a tendency to get very crowded mid-afternoon even when it's raining. It's a celebration of music, cultures and many different lifestyles and has yet to disappoint when it comes to people watching and sketching.