In the early part of the morning yesterday it was pouring rain (finally...we need it). So I thought sketchers might not come to our outing at the SeaTac Botanical Garden. But several did and we had lovely weather. It was cool and sunny.
I found another cluster of sunflowers so that's where I started.
I had also planned to sketch in the small Japanese garden. There were several sketchers there.
Urban Sketchers Seattle and Tacoma came together to sketch in the Hanwoori Korean Garden in Federal Way. The garden’s name means “we are one”.
The feature is a colorful pagoda, Donghaejeong, built in the sister city of Donghae and donated to the park. I still haven't sketched it.
I started with an ink drawing of the side of the gate.
Then I painted the stone feature with the "Taegeuk:, which means "supreme ultimate" in Korean philosophy, representing universal balance and dual forces (um and yang).
A few more photos here.
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.
We met at the Hiram Chittenden Locks in the Ballard neighborhood. We had several visitors from away who are here to attend Sketcher Fest.
I wandered around a lot, undecided about what to sketch. I've been there a few times and was looking for something new to sketch...that was also in the shade! I settled on a shady bench with a view of one of the buildings partially blocked by a blossoming bush. The venue had two stamps, which I added to the upper left.
At the throw down we were a large group.
The Seattle Chamber Music Society is sending a Concert Truck to parks around the area. There is a single piano but 2 or 3 musicians playing a variety of music.
We met today at Coulon Park for performances by Andrew Armstrong, Jeewon Park, and Susan Zhang. They played Gershwin, Bernstein, Barber. Not to my taste. But the piano four-hands rendition of Starts and Stripes Forever (Sousa) was surprisingly good. Jeewon Park did a good job of that famous piccolo solo.
We had our group photo in front of the truck.
Then we were asked to come around to the back to show our sketches to the musicians. They were very happy to see them. Andrew said it made his week!
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.
Yesterday we took advantage of the fact that the Pacific Science Center waterworks courtyard is now free to enter. What a glorious day for sketching outdoors. Though the shade in the lower level of the courtyard was chilly, out in the sun it may have been 70 degrees!
I wanted to sketch the dinosaur sculptures in the courtyard but so many people were already gathered around. So I went to the other side to sketch turtles and a gull.
Next I wandered out to the Neototems Children's Garden. Among the other sculptures on the path there was an octopus.
And did the sketchers turn out! I counted about 40 people, though some may have left or are not in the group photo.
Several sketchers from all over met to sketch the blooming cherry trees at Renton City Hall. One from Gig Harbor, one from Redmond, and others in between. The small grove of Yoshino cherry trees seems to be at peak. The weather was perfect.
There were 6 of us but one had to leave early so not in our group photo.
We met at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). My objective was to see and sketch the new-ish installation, "Friends With You: Little Cloud Sky".
It is a "commission from FriendsWithYou, the internationally celebrated duo of Samuel (Sam) Borkson and Arturo (Tury) Sandoval III." It hangs from the tall ceiling in the main entrance lobby. "Little Cloud Sky (2025) is composed of 40 of the artists’ signature Little Cloud character, each custom made of plastic, four feet wide, and suspended from the ceiling of the Brotman Forum. The work is designed to spread positivity and inspire a sense of connection, encouraging museum visitors to reflect on the beauty of togetherness and the power of joy and nature."
I sat on the floor at the far end of the lobby to get the entire view of the little clouds.
I went into one of the upstairs galleries to see a new exhibit. I didn't stay there long but noticed that the sculpture "Mann und Maus" had been moved. I liked the positioning near a window through which I could see the "SAM" sign.
Probably because it is the weekend - Sunday - there were a lot of sketchers. At least a couple left early.
Sketchers from 4 local groups met at Southcenter Mall to sketch the massive Lunar New Year Dragon. It's been there for the past 3 years. However, new this year is a horse statue for this year's Chinese Zodiac animal, the Fire Horse.
Artists from USk Seattle, USk Tacoma, the Eastside subsection of USk Seattle, and the South Sound Sketchers from Olympia all convened.
Since I've sketched that dragon at least 4 times over 3 years, I elected to sketch the horse. I still have motor memory for horse confirmation from having drawn so many when I was young! This was a multicolored horse, covered in quilling designs. Paper quilling is the art of rolling, shaping, and gluing narrow, colorful paper strips to create intricate designs It is also made of foam.
In 2024 I'd spoken with Kate Z, the marketing manager and learned that the the dragon was made for a SF company in Shanghi. It's made of steel and foam, weighing 500 pounds. The Wishing tree is concrete, steel, and foam, weighing 750 pounds! The staff member I spoke with today said the horse only weighs about 70 pounds and is easily tipped over. Hence the four posted frame around it for protection.
We are back to making an annual visit to the Wintergrass Bluegrass festival in Bellevue. There are always lots of musicians to sketch while they jam together in the halls.
Several sketchers gather around a jam session.
There were a lot of sketchers.
This is definitely the final visit to the MiG-21 Project.
I went over yesterday to watch the crew take it apart. I sketched the already removed tail and another section under the wing and engine of the 747.
Today I went over but didn't sketch. I watched as they loaded the wings onto a flatbed truck. There were 5 flatbeds standing by for all the parts. They will be trucked back to the studio in California. There is no information on where it might go next but "negotiations are in process".
Yesterday I hosted the group at the Museum of Flight. I wanted to be sure we had a chance to sketch the MiG-21 Project before it leaves at the end of January. In fact, only a couple of us did sketch this temporary exhibit.
I'd already sketched the bead covered MiG when it was installed back in June. But I still had another view of it I wanted to document. I sat in the cold wind to at least get the line drawing done. Later it took hours to add the color using watercolor pencils!
The tiny aircraft stickers on the right are from one of the Museum's Security officers. I talked with him and gave him a couple of my stickers. I also added drawings from the exhibit in the Red Barn of the fantastical uniforms.
A small group today. Chen left early.
Yesterday (Tues., Nov 18) Urban Sketchers Seattle met at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral to see the temporary "Terra" exhibit. It's a 24 foot inflated high resolution globe. This was one of the most unusual sketch outings I've been on. I discovered it via St. Mark's YouTube channel.
The globe was made by Eric Morris of Orbis Globes and Earth Ball. I had a chance to talk with him about it. He also came to look at the sketches during throw down and talked with us, answering questions about the globes he's made. He's made thousands, including for NASA, museums, and the Vancouver BC Convention Center. I prevailed upon him to pose with us for the group photo.
From the cathedral's flyer: "The power of the TERRA exhibit is an opportunity to experience the 'overview effect,' a profound shift in human consciousness previously only made possible by viewing the Earth from space."
Eric is in the middle of the group.
more photos here
