Next Sketch Outing
Saturday, Sept. 13: Georgetown Steam Plant
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| View of the mountains from I15 North route towards Page |
This Spring break we visited Page, Arizona. The drive from Las Vegas to Page was 4 hours 30 minutes. It was amazing to see the change of terrain, vegetation and weather. Whenever I was on passenger seat I sketched most of the roads. The roads were with less vehicles and as far as the vision goes one could see barren land, blue sky and mountains in background. Curvy, bumpy and straight roads. The bright sunshine was throughout with us which I literally enjoyed.
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While seating on passenger seat, I sketched these roads. These curvy roads making their way through red rocks.
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| St.George, in backdrop was green mountains and in front red rocks rocked! |
Antelope Canyon lies on the Navajo land east of Page and the only way to see them is by taking a guided tour. Antelope Canyon is a breathtaking destination. Two different slot canyons make up Antelope Canyon and both offer very different experiences.
For Lower Antelope we opted Ken's Tours and time slot was 4:00-5:00 pm, 60 minutes tour. Pre-booking of these tours is a must! A group of 8-10 people is allotted to each guide. Our guide Christen escorted us to Lower Antelope. It was very windy and sandy. No backpacks, purses, sling bags are allowed inside the canyons. Only cameras, cell phones and things that fit into your pockets and in mine, I carried Field Notes, white gel pen, Pentel paint brush pen and pigment pens. Field Notes are very handy and I thank Tina for making it available for me. Lower Antelope is famous for its ladders. To get there, you have to descend through the steep ladders. The space inside the canyons is very narrow and all the time sand particles are falling from the upper surface. It was thrilling experience to climb down those ladders.
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Industrial Park which is visible at a distance from Lower & Upper Antelope
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Sketching inside these canyons was wonderful. These are very quick sketches as we have to stick to our guides and follow them. To save my time on coloring I chose Field notes(Red) to give sandstone effect and used white gel pen for light. Though all sketches might look similar but the feel through these curvatures was stunning! I was drawn by the unique topography and sweeping red curves. Its beautiful to see the sunbeams shinning in through the canyons and I felt connected with Nature. Lower Antelope is a one way hike and comparatively less crowded.
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| Upper terrain(contours) of Lower Antelope Canyon |
The curves are formed by water and wind rushing through the middle of Canyon. Lower Antelope also referred as 'The Corkscrew".
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The beautiful red curves wanna be a part of today's world.
Through our imagination, these curves resemble a 'Smiling Shark'
from Finding Nemo and many more such fictions.
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The black dots are Iron oxide deposits.
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Next day at 10:00 am was the time slot for Upper Antelope Canyon. It was 90 minutes tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tours. The military truck took us to the entrance of Upper Antelope Canyon. The ride was adventurous, lots of sand and dust in the air. Gib our tour guide narrated entire history of canyons and helped us taking photographs.
The sketching experience inside these canyons was different as it was flat ground and more crowd. Upper Antelope Canyon is a mix of warm colors - reds, oranges, yellows and browns. The entrance and exit is same here and hoards of people can be seen. The beam of light through the slots is worth seeing.
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The Roller coaster ride of Military truck till the entrance of Upper Antelope.
Sandy, dusty and hot weather.
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Layers of rocks and vegetation is still making its way.
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It was the best time to visit those light beams. The light beams are the biggest perk of visiting Upper Antelope Canyon. It was completely different and incredible sketching experience! and Yeah! another tick on my bucket-list!!
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It feels like a 'Glowing candle'!
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Sun light passing through cliffs!
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It was almost noon and perfect timing to see the beam of light.
All photographers were in their positions to capture those sun rays.
Truly magical!!
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29th January 2017, Hing Hay Park was my first sketch crawl with Urban Sketchers Seattle and today at Third Place Commons monthly outing I successfully completed a year with the entire group. A memorable journey!! I was a complete new comer to the group. No known faces except seen Gabi's work. The group welcomed me and I soon became part of this wonderful family. The entire year I explored new places in Seattle with USK. Tina's mantra "Urban sketching is not a hobby, its a lifestyle", soon imbibed into my daily routine. The constant inspiration and encouragement from fellow sketchers is a boost. Each person has different style and nothing good or bad, its simply the spirit to enjoy every bit of Sketching. I am fortunate to be an Urban Sketcher because of which I could revive my sketching passion.
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| Interior view with crowd, Kitto Japanese restaurant in background and Kathleen Keckler |
Today's outing at Third Place Commons had sketchers all around. My first sketch was of the interior view capturing the sitting crowd around tables. The bright red color of chairs, flags and Kitto restaurant logo stood out boldly. As Kathleen Keckler too was wearing her reds, I outlined her.
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| Giant Chess Board and Steven Reddy |
My second sketch was of the giant chess board along with a girl playing the pieces. I was able to capture Steven Reddy into my sketch. Third Place Commons is a place where all kind of people one can see, right from toddlers to old people. Indeed a happening place!
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| Young man with his laptop |
I winded up with a young man's sketch who was continuously looking at his laptop.
Its a pleasure to meet fellow sketchers, exchange knowledge and mark it as an unforgettable experience. Last but not least Thank You! Gabi for this astounding creation and my fellow sketchers for immense support and motivation always. Happy Sketching! Wel-come all new comers!!
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| Decorations and Winter village |
This was my second visit to the Seattle Center, last visited during Diwali festival celebration in October 2017. The 'swoopy' curves at the ceiling attracted me and to get better view of the entire decoration I went on First floor. I captured flowing curvatures and main attraction of Winterfest i.e. winter village and replica of King street station with clock tower. The entire ambiance was cheerful.
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| Stage performance , Hanging Lighted Snowflake and Ice-Sculpting |
Alongwith Winter village display, small kids were performing Gymnastic skills on the stage. It was amazing to see them and crowd cheering those young ones. Later, I went to Fisher pavilion where my daughter was Ice-Skating. Though wanted to sketch there, but it was very crowded. Outside the pavilion Ice-Sculpting activity was going on. It was chilly and windy, still sketched the artist with his assistant while sculpting. On the way back for meet, I saw two musicians playing their instruments inspite of cold. Did a quick sketch in my pocket sketchbook and was able to draw Urban sketcher Tina Koyama.
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| Musicians and Tina having conversation |
Me and my family spent whole day in exploring the area around Seattle Center Armory. I came across a bike which was standing at the Key arena. This was my first time to sketch bicycle. I was thrilled and excited to sketch it. Though it became more windy in late afternoon but didn't wanna miss this opportunity.
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| First sketch of Bike |
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| Swansons Nursery Collage |
I took 311 bus from Bothell to downtown Seattle and later D line till
Swansons Nursery. It was 1 hour 40 minutes journey. The entire route was spectacular as fall was in its peak. After reaching I took a glance of entire nursery, saw different plants, shrubs, dinosaur topiary, hay maze, tractor: lots to sketch. I zoomed down to my favorites. I started with Jack sparrow & his boat which was displayed at the entrance. It was fun to sketch this character and view kids reaction to it. The bright orange pumpkins were catchy and organised systematically, smaller ones on one side and bigger on the other. The huge pots gave contrast to bright orange. Before I could finish this pumpkin display, two kids came wearing pumpkin costume. I immediately tried to capture one of them and again got back to real pumpkins. The scarecrow was another attraction here. Later I visited the Hay maze where children were having fun in the maze. The stacks of hay, goats, small pumpkins for carving everything was under one roof for children to enjoy. With hay maze & kids, my Swansons Nursery Collage was ready.
Here I also sketched the man wearing stylish hat, who was explaining a girl about the goats, in my pocket sketchbook. Great Halloween display and sunshine at Swansons Nursery.
The monthly outing of Urban Sketchers Seattle was at the iconic pop-culture hub,
Funko store in Everett.
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| Funko from Wetmore Avenue |
The weather was bright, sunny with chilly winds. Being Sunday I was accompanied by my husband and daughter too. I was running late for sketching. I selected a spot near the bus stop on Wetmore Avenue diagonally opposite to Funko, to get the entire view of 1920's historic building and also the warmth of sun. This entire structure is remodeled with the display of huge pop-icons. I did the pen work only as my hands were getting numb, so left the coloring part for later.
After taking the stroll of store around, I sketched the pop entities Harry Potter and Pink monkey with fluorescent green jacket at the front entrance. Funko has only one floor and other floors are used for offices. I met other sketchers here, who were sketching the front view.
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| Pop-icons at Front Entrance |
My daughter was thrilled by Harry Potter section inside the store and she bought her favorite character : Hermione Granger.
It was fun to sketch these characters which have so much impact on kids and adults alike. I loved the sign board with tiny lights and revolving crown icon.
Before going for the meet-up I did
Funko sign board and few more pop-icons displayed on the building. I was fascinated by these highest selling geek figures made up of vinyl and bobbleheads. Unfortunately I was unaware of many of these characters.
Indeed a great Sunday fun, at Funko!
Hello fellow Sketchers!
I am super excited to be writing my first post for Urban Sketchers Seattle blog. It's a great honor and pleasure to be a part of this forum.
My name is Ujjwal Mahajan. I was born and brought up in India. By profession I am an Architect and Product Designer. Me and my family moved to Seattle, Bothell in 2015. My husband is a Software engineer and we have a lovely daughter studying in Elementary school.
Since childhood drawing and sketching was part of my life. At the age of 9, I started doing oil paintings and had inclination towards art, thereby choosing the field of Architecture. Sketching is like meditation to me and I enjoy every bit of it.
I was introduced to Urban Sketchers group and Gabi's sketches by my brother, 9 months ago. The concept of visiting new places and sketching them live with actual surroundings appealed to me. It was a door opening to my passion and Urban Sketchers Seattle group. Thus, the journey started of carrying a sketchbook and a pen always!
My first sketch crawl with USK Seattle was in January 2017 at Hing Hay Park, Chinese New Year celebration and it was a completely new beginning for me.
With USK Seattle I revived my architectural sketching skills, working on perspectives, trying different mediums, exploring new places and many more, it's simply amazing! Till date it's being so energizing, encouraging, meeting new people, sharing knowledge and learning new techniques each day. For a new comer like me, it is a warm and welcoming experience.
Apart from sketching, I enjoy traveling and calligraphy. Fortunate to move to a city like Seattle, which is full of natural beauty and artistic talents. I have been visiting new places in and around Seattle, capturing all the memories through sketches in my Travel sketchbook. Following are few sketches.
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| Center for wooden boats, Seattle |
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| Meadowbrook Park, Seattle |
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| Landscape Arch, Arches National Park, Utah |
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| Ballard Locks, Seattle | | | |
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I look forward to share my experiences through sketches and stories here. I'm thrilled to be a Urban Sketcher Seattle Correspondent.
Happy Sketching!! Let's 'see the world one sketch at a time'.
My blog : www.ujjwaltushar.com
Flickr : ujjwaltmahajan
