Playing Catch-Up

Hi, Sketcher Friends!
Here are a few Seattle-specific sketches since last posting:

My nearest coffee shop, Grateful Bread on 35th in Wedgwood.

Drawn with my Gage students on the third floor of King St. Station.

The ugliest building I could find in my neighborhood, 65th and 25th in Bryant.

Waiting for students to arrive for my drawing class at Gage.

With students at Suzzallo Library, UW.

Exterior of the same Grateful Bread as above, and the Safeway entry across the street.

Again, inside Grateful Bread.

Drawn while chatting with Tom Ettel at the Whole Foods on 15th, south of Interbay.

The Shelter, Greenlake neighborhood.

Met with the Sketch Pistols, the sketch group organized by Dave Adams, at the just-opened Shelter in my Greenlake neighborhood.

Gasworks Park

When the group met at Gasworks last week, Donna and I arrived early and set up before the rain started. I had the basic lines drawn before the rain drove us away. Props to those sketchers who stuck it out. I went back this week to finish the drawing in the sun.

Gasworks Park Again

I was sitting here at my desk, shading this drawing I did today, thinking how nice it was at the park and on my long bike ride and how kind the rain was to wait until I was in for the night when I remembered I left my sunroof and windows open. I rushed down the stairs and outside to roll them up, and locked myself out of the building. Not wanting to disturb any tenants, I paced on the wet sidewalk, barefoot and in pajama bottoms trying to figure out what the room numbers might be for the two units that still had lights on at midnight. I made a few guesses and pressed some buttons but no one buzzed me in. Back on the sidewalk I tried calling up to the open windows. "Excuse me! Hello?" Nothing. I tried a few more buzzers. Nada. I had the car keys- should I drive to a friend's? Wait outside hoping someone would drive home this late on a Monday so I could walk into the garage behind their car? I dreaded waking anybody and getting barked at. The wet sidewalk was cold on my bare feet. Lightning cracked. Tired of waiting, I hit more random buzzers. "Who is it?" "Hi, sorry to bother you. I'm in 302 and I locked myself out when I shut my sunroof." He laughed and said he'd buzz me in. Thanks, nice young man with the pleasant voice in whatever unit that was.

One Sunny Sunday

Market and 22nd, Ballard, Seattle. Local characters came to chat, each with colorful stories: One was a retired Hollywood make-up artist, another was an old Alaskan fisherman with glaucoma, one couple wanted to sell hand-made roses, and another tried to scam me with a story of a stolen car.

Cameron Catering, Fremont/Ballard, Seattle

Inspired by the more complicated arrangements of Piranesi, I used a bigger tablet and drew the basic shapes in pencil before inking. Took about two hours just to finish the linework on site, another hour to ink it at home (I was watching Family Guy at the same time, so maybe I could have been a little quicker).