Wintergrass 2026

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.

Still Sketchin’ the Jammin’ at Wintergrass

 

2/21/26 Wintergrass at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency

Wintergrass, the region’s annual bluegrass festival, has long been a favorite of USk Seattle and certainly of mine. In the past, we’ve always avoided attending on the weekends, expecting that the crowds would make sketching difficult. To avoid our greater nemesis lately – the I-5 construction mess worsening commute-time congestion – we decided to give it a try on Saturday this year. To our delight, the crowds didn’t feel constrained or overwhelming at all. I enjoyed the enthusiasm of jammers and spectators alike.

It’s especially fun to see impromptu jam sessions break out among small groups of friends and even strangers. I had assumed that most of the gatherings of guitar, fiddle and mandolin players were friends, but I overheard strangers introducing themselves even as they played tunes together. I always think of it as parallel to Urban Sketchers: people who come together with their common passion to form an instant community.

At the trade show area, several massage therapists offered musicians their services.

In addition to all the musicians I sketched, my favorite subject was a huge, white Great Pyrenees (misspelled in my sketch captions) who kept walking into my sketches like a polar bear! He looked very sweet, and I was told that he attends every year.

Wintergrass: Great to Be Back!

 

2/20/25 Wintergrass at the Bellevue Hyatt

Wintergrass, the annual bluegrass festival at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency, has always been one of my favorite USk winter outing locations. With toe-tappin’ music everywhere and happy jammers jammin’, it’s irresistible if you enjoy sketching people. The last time I attended was in 2020 (just weeks before the pandemic hit), and I had sorely missed it. It was wonderful to be back this year!

On the first day of the festival when events were not yet fully under way, we had no crowds to contend with, yet just enough musicians were around to keep us busy. It’s a joy to sketch people who are so clearly passionate about what they are doing and enjoy doing it together (and we urban sketchers know what that’s about).

Wintergrass fun

This was my first outing to Wintergrass at the Bellevue Hyatt, and it was a treat. Music everywhere -- be it scheduled concerts, or just groups of friends who pulled some chairs together and switched instruments (and musicians!) as they went along.

The first group I sketched had a bassist and a banjo player - amongst many others, but I don’t draw that quickly. Or color that quickly, as I left these as ink drawings. They were a lively bunch and drew quite a crowd.

Then I moved over to a group of three guys playing farther down the hallway. This time, I just drew one and spent a bit more time and added color. I was using my iPad, so this didn’t require any additional equipment - in fact, I didn’t even set up my stool the entire day! I think this is the first sketch outing where I’ve done the whole thing standing up.

I headed upstairs and saw tables set up with a huge number of guitars. I didn't have the time to draw all of them, but since I was drawing digitally, I didn't have to. ;)

I was in a hurry, because I wanted to catch the concert at the KBCS stage -- the radio station for Bellevue College.

After that, I headed back downstairs and caught up with some of the other sketchers, where we chatted about our morning, and also about using iPads for sketching.

Then we got together for the throw down, where we had nine artists! We roped in a friendly bystander to get a group photo.

It was a great day of sketching, and I'll be back next year! (And possibly tomorrow!)

Also, for those of you who were curious about the specifics of my iPad setup, here are some of the details:

• I’m using the previous model of the iPad Pro 10.5”, which you can still buy "refurbished" from Apple. Most newer models, and all of the "Pro" models, support the Apple Pencil which utilizes pressure and tilt sensitivity. (Most normal styluses don't.)
• The screen protector brand I’m using is "iCarez Anti-Glare Matte Screen Protector". You have to buy the correctly sized one for your model of iPad. I vastly prefer this brand to the “ClearView” brand protector which is much rougher and harder on pen nibs. However, both are tricky to install without getting dust or bubbles under it. (It can be done - it's just tricky.) 
• The holder is the “Max Smart Tablet iPad Hand Holder Grip Handle”. Note that there are different sizes for some model iPads. Check to make sure yours will fit the one you order.
• All of these items are available online and should show up under those search terms. 

Music Everywhere

There was music all over the host hotel hallways and lobbies! We gathered for the 6th year in a row to sketch Wintergrass, a bluegrass festival held in Bellevue, WA.  And we had a good turnout.  On the left is Marcia, visiting from Michigan!  




While sketching the truck, below, I heard a flute! Once done with the sketch, I went to investigate. I found "Hall Crystal Flutes". They're made by James Hall out of glass
 I was enthralled. Have a listen. I was a serious flutist when I was young. I nearly bought one but decided it would be best if I was playing my modern flute more before I add another flute to my collection. Sigh.



Right after starting I went up to the second floor to one of my favorite spots. I found a seat next to a group of musicians and sketched a couple of them.



Next I went to the end of the first floor hall to find the old truck that Loretta mentioned. It is a 1941 Chevrolet 3/4 ton long bed named "Hank". Just as I finished, the two guitarists were packing up. Stuart, on the left, is also an artist so I gave him a USk card.



Lastly I stopped by a large group and sketched just a couple of the players. I noticed Steve's guitar only had 4 strings and he was playing the bass line. Normally, it would be a bass viol. I spoke with him briefly between sets and he said it was specially made for him by Taylor Guitars.



It was a good time. I'm going to think some more about that glass flute!

Still Drawin’ and Jammin’ at Wintergrass

2/22/19 Young musicians rehearsing at Wintergrass

I probably say this every year, but it’s difficult to sketch while your toes are tapping to bluegrass! For the sixth year, USk Seattle sketched at Wintergrass, the Seattle area’s annual bluegrass music festival at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency. It’s an annual favorite for good reason: Lively music is fun to sketch by, and all the jammers seem to be enjoying themselves. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

Guitar vendor

Friday morning seemed quieter than usual this year, and jammers hadn’t gathered yet. Hearing music from an auditorium, I slipped in to see what was going on (sketch at top of post). (Ticketed events are ongoing throughout the festival, but we never attend the scheduled events because so much free, spontaneous music is happening in the hotel’s public areas.) Several musical youth groups were rehearsing for later performances, all at the same time, so the music was . . . cacophonous. Still, it was fun to see fiddles and other instruments of all sizes to fit their owners.

I found a man selling guitars (he had a lot more for sale than I show in my sketch) in the vendor area. Some vendors had beautiful handcrafted mandolins, violins and banjos that were works of art themselves.

By the time I finished those sketches, jammers were starting to form small groups wherever they could fit a few chairs together. This is what I come to Wintergrass for: to sketch and listen to people making music spontaneously. It’s like the musical version of urban sketching!

Jammers

I wish I'd asked what this instrument was called. . .
maybe a type of steel guitar?

Fifth Wintergrass

This is the 5th year in a row that the Friday group of Urban Sketchers Seattle has sketched at the Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival in Bellevue, WA (across the lake from Seattle). It was our friend, Lynn, who first suggested it but she has sadly moved away.

This outing I completed what I think is a record number of sketches. Three of them were in the small, 5.5x5.5 square Pentalic Aqua book. There was also another milestone. I did not use pencil on any of these! All were drawn in ink with the Lamy joy pen.

There were a few new sketchers today. Welcome to all!  we had the sketchbook "throw down" and then a group photo and the end of the outing. 





One or two are missing from the photo. 

As usual, my carpool arrived early so I sketched one of the festival attendees sitting across from me in the atrium.



I found a group jamming in a convenient location with a bench on which I could sit. It's so much fun to listen to good, lively, music while sketching!



During my first walk about, I noticed two vendors of interest. I went back later.  Patrick, of Doc's Banjos,  played one of his banjos while I sketched. Even Daniel Smith's Quinacridone gold couldn't portray the luminosity of the skin on his banjos! He dyes them himself.   



Bent Twig Guitars came all the way from Montana. I was fascinated by the sculpture displayed on their table. I added Brady into my sketch.



I'm looking forward to #6! 

Toe-Tappin’ Sketchin’ at Wintergrass

2/23/18 Wintergrass jammers

It’s hard to sketch when your toes are tapping to lively bluegrass music!

For the fifth year, Urban Sketchers Seattle met at Wintergrass, the Puget Sound area’s weekend-long annual bluegrass festival at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency. I missed it last year because I was out of town, so I was especially looking forward to this year’s event, which is one of my all-time favorite sketch outings.

As I sketched the musicians who had gathered in the hotel hallways for impromptu jams, friends greeted and embraced each other, happily reuniting. Some had apparently come from distant states to participate in this long-anticipated event. I overheard them comparing program notes and planning which concerts and demos to attend. All morning, even as I heard the literal vibes of traditional music, I also sensed the vibes of happy people doing what they enjoy most – playing and listening to music. I don’t play an instrument, yet somehow their excitement felt familiar . . .

And then I suddenly realized what Wintergrass reminded me of: The Urban Sketchers Symposium. Instead of sketchbooks, pens and paints, they used fiddles, banjos and mandolins to express their common passion. Tapping and nodding to the music, I knew how they felt.

Joining forces at Wintergrass

This was the 4th year running that Urban Sketchers Seattle Friday group sketched at Wintergrass, the bluegrass festival in Bellevue.  However, this year we were joined by a few sketchers from Tacoma!  In fact, most of the sketchers were from Tacoma.

missing Gloria, who left early

For some reason, this year I wasn't that interested in sketching musicians jamming in the hallways.  So I took the skyway across the street to sketch "Fiori" the glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly in Lincoln Square.  Behind the spikes of purple glass is a glass panel waterfall that stretches 3 floors high.


I did find one group jamming away and made a quick sketch in the pocket Stillman and Birn Beta.  Both Frances and Beverly sketched this group from opposite sides.