Big windows at the newly remodeled downtown ferry terminal

. . . allowed great views while we were snug and warm inside. It was cold, wet, and grey outside, but I never get tired of being near the water. And we had all the time we wanted inside.

Plus, I met really kind people. Despite the weather, all the sketchers were really upbeat (as usual). The WSF staff gave us a warm reception, and even joined us at the throwdown. 

Saturday with the Boys in the Boat

This past weekend was the opening day of boating season in Seattle and the Windermere Cup races at the University of Washington. Lots of people and boats, gray drizzle, but for me, the highlight was getting to sketch the interior of the actual UW Shell House made famous in both the popular book and the recent film, The Boys in the Boat.

That story–a true story–is about a ragtag group of University of Washington rowers who beat the national favorites and traveled to Germany to race in the 1936 Olympics. In front of Hitler, they WON the gold medal! A proud moment for our country and a legacy that is still celebrated here in Seattle and especially at the UW. Drawing this space was an emotional experience, I felt like I was connecting with that legacy and the young men who lived and worked in this very same spot.

This drawing was challenging! It’s an enormous, fairly complicated space that was initially used as an airplane hangar, and the backlighting from the windows made it very difficult to see. Scaffolding was in the way too, but I kept calm, measured with my pencil, and drew in each bay of structure. Then working left to right, I started to draw in the details…some I couldn’t see well enough to figure out, but I think I got close enough!

Let's say THANK YOU to Daniel Smith, September 5 at 10am

My fellow sketchers and artists, 

You've probably heard the very sad news that this pillar and center of our arts community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond is closing permanently in November. 

For decades at the Mother Ship of the world famous Daniel Smith Fine Art Materials, its wonderful staff and management have generously nurtured and promoted our arts community--from bringing in world famous artists to offer a constant stream of incredible workshops and demos, to hosting book signing events to support local authors (like me!), to providing a place where local talent can teach classes on a regular basis, to providing a meeting space for organizations like the Northwest Watercolor Society, to constantly and creatively offering support and learning opportunities to our arts community in countless ways both big and small. 

And of course there is the amazing array of supplies in their huge, light-filled space, the friendliest and most knowledgable staff with whom we've become friends, and much more. I spent many a morning perusing the aisles and finding just the right brush or paint or pen, always staying at least an hour longer than I had planned. If it's possible to be emotionally attached to a store, well, they've achieved it. We will all miss this place so much!

In light of these sad changes, NOW is the time to say THANK YOU to everyone at the DANIEL SMITH flagship store!!!!!

Let's say thanks in our Urban Sketchers way by showing up for a sketchcrawl on Sunday, September 5 at 10am. Wear masks! We can sketch inside or outside, then post our work on Instagram with the hashtag #thankyoudanielsmithstoreseattle (yes, it's long, but worth it!)

Even if you can't make it on September 5, why not create your own thank you post and share it to the hashtag -- a place where the DS owners and staff can see how much they are loved and will be missed. Let's also encourage other artists we know to create their own posts and share their favorite memories to this hashtag. 

As they permanently shut their doors, let's say a huge Urban Sketchers THANK YOU to John, Thom, Patrice, Janice, our own Sue Heston, and everyone at DS!!! 

(And kudos to the store also for maintaining ALL of their full-time staff during the pandemic and beyond, they have all pivoted to working on the production side!)

San Diego Maritime Museum

Russian sub and vintage wooden ships at the San Diego Maritime Museum.

Say Hi to USk Albuquerque-Santa Fe

Some of you may know I have been traveling in New Mexico this month. I have done a lot of sketching, and I plan to get a post up with lots of sketches soon. But I wanted to put up these sketches I did with the USk Albuquerque-Santa Fe chapter on Saturday.

The first thing I do when I travel is check for a local USk group - and I lucked out here. I had to laugh when the organizer, Jay, said it wasn’t going to be a very exciting sketch outing and, because of the cold, they were meeting at a Starbucks! Just like home, except for the cowboy hats! But I had a great time with lots of chat about art supplies, sketching and I even found someone to reminisce about Porto with.

And it turned out to be perfectly warm if you found a sunny spot outside. So I sketched the lovely view of the parking lot with Domino’s Pizza in the background. Seriously though, if you are in NM, look these guys up ‘cause they are a ton of fun and they love to sketch!

Catching up.

To fit everything I liked about this view at Bothell Country Market into one drawing I had to do some squishing. Might be time to get a landscape sketchbook with longer pages, but then habits die hard.

I gave a private lesson at Suzzallo Library at UW. My student and I sat side-by-side and drew this view at a comfy table. 

This view of Suzzallo was drawn with my class from Gage Academy as a demo.

The atrium across the street from the market on Winslow Ave in Bainbridge, drawn a few weeks ago with Urban Sketchers Seattle.

Sitting on a blanket with my partner, as we drew The Shelter on the east side of Green Lake.

A sketch from behind an antique shop in Wenatchee, where I'll be giving an Urban Sketchers-themed "sermon" at the Unitarian Church this Sunday, followed by a workshop at Radio Station Gallery and Pub.

A Great Turnout at the Wallingford Center

We had a terrific turnout of about 22-24 people to sketch at the Wallingford Center today. Guest hosts Kathleen Keckler and myself (Sue Heston) managed to herd 18 down to the central staircase for the group photo, but I know we lost a few on the way! There were also 5 or 6 new and newish sketchers, so Welcome!
It was a chilly morning, not quite drizzling, but several people sketched outside anyway. I settled on this view of the main entrance with it's graphic white columns and black trim. Those doors lead directly into Trophy - a decadent cupcake shop which several of us got lured into. Don't say you weren't warned!

Travel Sketching Essentials, April 21 at 2pm

Have you ever wondered what equipment Urban Sketchers use on their travels? Well, I have bought and tried it all, hauled it to 5 continents, and I’ve seen what inventive things other sketchers use too.

To help everyone get ready for their summer sketching, I’ll be sharing my best tips and tools, showing recent Italy/England/India sketches, and giving a quick demo at an open, free event at Daniel Smith in Seattle.  

TRAVEL SKETCHING ESSENTIALS

Saturday, April 21

2-4pm

Daniel Smith Art Store in Seattle

http://seattledanielsmithevents.blogspot.com/2018/02/free-demo-travel-sketching-essentials.html

And come early, as the world-renowned watercolor artist, Alvaro Castagnet, will be giving a watercolor painting demo the same day from 11am-12:30pm.

Hope to see everyone there!

Thanks to Laurel Holmes for this photo taken at steamy Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Best View of... a Water Tower?

The Ad Hoc group met on Friday at Maple Leaf Reservoir Park where, allegedly, the best view of Mr. Rainier in Seattle can be had. I wouldn't know. We waited patiently. Our local guide - Tina - told us exactly where to sit. But, as so often happens, the clouds and haze refused to lift and this is all I got...



On the other hand, I nabbed another water tower for my small collection. This is my third this summer and they are fun to draw!

Chicago Inspired Pioneer Square Sketches

Saul Steinberg drawing at CAI.

I saw the Saul Steinberg exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute and was inspired to try his more minimal, high-contrast style of capturing architecture. I did a couple while still in Chicago, and continue to explore drawing without ink washes now that I'm home. An added bonus is seeing my town through different eyes and a whole new subject to look for when sketching. 

Then for something completely different tried to draw the running water at the Waterfall Garden. 

Pioneer Square Doorway

First Ave Building

Waterfall Garden, Pioneer Square.

May Sketches from Events in the City

Pen, ink and watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Stimson-Green Restroom

The Stimson-Green Mansion had a lot of good viewpoints to choose from, and I was tempted to sit downstairs in the musty kitchen because of all the hanging pots and pans, but decided to save it for next time. Instead I went for the restroom upstairs. Although it looks like I'm on the throne, I sat on my camping stool in the doorway should anybody need to get in for more legit reasons. No one did.

Green Lake Sketches - Worth the Wait

Even if last week's storm was a bit of a dud, I think it was worth postponing our monthly meet for a week. There will be plenty of time to sketch indoors during the drizzle this winter, so yesterday's sunshine was was a lovely gift!
As often happens for me in a new neighborhood, I had a hard time settling on one scene. I wandered about and ended up with three smaller sketches, each maybe 20-30 minutes? It was really a problem of too many choices as Green Lake has so many of the things I like to sketch - gnarly old trees in the park, narrow alleyways between buildings and an abundance of coffee shops!

Starbucks Roastery

I got to the sketchcrawl early to scope out a view, but it wasn't until Steven Reddy pointed me in the direction of an upstairs view--once I saw it for myself, I knew I had to attempt this. As usual, I get about 10 minutes into these complicated views and ask myself, "What was I thinking???"  But I plow ahead and hope for the best.

This is the initial blocking out of the sketch--can you guess what vertical corner I drew first?

And this is the completed pencil and watercolor sketch. I think at least half of the pencil work
ended up on the back of my hand, so it all got a little too gray and murky!  
Got very dark in the space too, so while I painted 95% at this spot, I did take it outside near a window to add the last bits...while I sipped a green tea latte next to Sunil's talented family of sketchers!

Click on this view to see it larger!

For anyone interested, I have some Seattle Urban Sketchers workshops coming up called Good Bones in which I teach basic perspective sketching made easy and also an intro to watercolor the next day. If you are interested, please read more on my website www.stephaniebower.com or on the Urban Sketchers workshops page (thank you, Gail Wong!)

You can also find a 50% off discount link on my website for my Craftsy course, "Perspective for Sketchers"...Craftsy offers several really great classes taught by a cadre of familiar Urban Sketchers.

And finally, I'm also very, very honored to be teaching in Manchester at the symposium this July! Hooray!!!

Capitol Hill Starbucks Roaster and Melrose

With vacuum tubes, conveyor belts and whirring churning caldrons, Starbucks has turned their roasting process into a Willy Wonka coffee factory. This hammered copper roaster was lit to be the show piece of the lower lounge.

At Boren looking west down Pike I framed the Plymouth pillars between the entrance to Tango and the trolley strand pole. The perspective down Pike gives  some depth to what was otherwise a flat skyline.

Urban Sketchers Gathering - Craven Farms

Okay a bit late, this was done last October on a crazy packed Craven Farm in Snohomish. Ok for a sketch, but lacks a focal point and the subltle sky and clouds washed out. Next time.

Watercolor in a Stillman & Birn watercolor sketchbook.

Ballard Sketchcrawl

Fooled by the sunshine, I set up on the corner of 22nd and Market and too late realized I wasn't going to make it in the cold without my gloves and scarf. I whipped this out in record time and headed to a vintage shop I'd never drawn before so I could sit indoors. 

As I drew this, I thought my pens were leaking tiny little drops of water. Then I realized the roof was leaking. It smelled like grandma's attic and the radio played such sad music: In The Still of The Night, Save The Last Dance For Me, I Am Music. To make matters worse, the sun began calling to me, insistently, but now I was trapped inside, midway into a drawing. But the elderly woman who owns the place was kind and curious about why I would want to draw her dusty old junk and came outside to wave as I drove off.

Urban Sketching - Tacoma

Drawn from the warm confines of Tully's in the Stadium district of Tacoma. On the left is Stadium High School which has a very 'Hogwarts School of Wizardry' feel to it. Yesterday was beautiful day for sketching (probably good for yard work too but we're not going there....). Pen and ink with watercolor in a watercolor Moleskine (and in case Santa is reading this, that is my favorite sketchbook).