USk Rides to the Eastside

 

9/13/26 Northwest African American Museum

I woke to hard rain on the roof and windows.

It was the kind of morning that if I hadn’t been the lead, I would have skipped the USk outing. Instead, I boarded the light rail in damp jeans to an outing I had helped plan and had been looking forward to ever since the 2 Line to the Eastside opened last spring.

The first stop of our two-part outing was Judkins Park Station across the street from Jimi Hendrix Park. I was relieved and happy not to be alone on this wet day – a small group of hardy sketchers joined me! Although most stayed in the park to sketch in the light drizzle, I ducked into the Northwest African American Museum, which I hadn’t been to in years (above). Its exhibits tell illuminating stories of noteworthy Black Seattle residents and other significant national figures and their contributions to American history and culture.

I found a window at the museum with a view toward the park’s large sculpture, “Butterfly Canopy,” which I tend to sketch every time I’m in the park. After that, with a short time left before the throwdown, I attempted a strange (and unsuccessful) composition of the edge of the Butterfly and the top of the museum (both below).

Jimi Hendrix Park

Throwdown at Judkins Station

After our throwdown, a handful of sketchers rode on to Part 2 of the outing: Bellevue Downtown Station. Most had not yet taken the light rail across Lake Washington, so it was fun to know that our outing was their first opportunity.

Riding the rails across the lake!

Famished by the time we got to Bellevue, I made lunch at Café Hagen my first stop. It was as good a place as any to finish a page of sketches for the outing’s second leg. Although we didn’t get the best weather, a day of sketching with USk is always better than a day without!

Cafe Hagen, downtown Bellevue

Throwdown at Bellevue Downtown Station

Full Moon Over Discovery Park

 

9/9/26 Discovery Park Radar Dome and Heritage District

After my scouting mission to Discovery Park in July, it was fun to finally meet there with Urban Sketchers, especially on a gorgeous but not-too-hot day. With 560 acres, Discovery is Seattle’s largest park. We decided to focus on the Fort Lawton Historic District featuring the 100-foot high Cold War-era radar dome or “Radome.”

Rising like a mysterious full moon over the district’s turn-of-the-20^th-century (still occupied) homes, the Radome was both bizarre and irresistible, at least to me. I sketched it twice, once behind the historic homes (above) and once from the former Ft. Lawton Parade Grounds (below).

Ft. Lawton Post Chapel

With a short time left before the throwdown, I sketched the Fort Lawton Post Chapel that I’d admired the last time I visited. The World War II-era chapel is somewhat plain and not very distinctive as far as chapels go, but I always enjoy sketching steeples.

Once again, we were treated to “ideal” sketching weather that was comfortable even in the sun (if you’re fast like I am). Most sketchers found hospitable trees offering large areas of shade. I wouldn’t mind if the weather stayed like this for the next three months! (Of course, it will likely end any day now.)

Soos Creek Botanical Garden, Auburn

What a fun time sketching at Soos Creek Botanical Garden in Auburn. Thanks, Kate, for the suggestion for a free place to admire sunflowers, and for getting things started!

It was quite a drive there and back, but we sure did get our greens on! 🌻🌻🌻 We even had a young sketcher-in-the-making along for the ride: Maddie. She kindly let her mum work away on her sketch with minimal fussing. 👼💛💛💛

Labor Day Weekend Friday

 

9/4/26 drink & draw at Phinney Station, Phinney Ridge neighborhood

USk Seattle kicked off Labor Day weekend in the best possible way with a casual drink & draw on Friday afternoon. I was happy to have Jenny’s dog Balloo nearby to draw several times. As many times as I seem to end up drawing Kathryn and Michael, this time I actually saw a resemblance!

On these waning days of summer, it’s always bittersweet to be able to sit outdoors comfortably in daylight, knowing that the Big Dark will be upon us all too soon.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

I got engrossed in conversation and didn't finish this one.

SeaTac Botanical

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.

 

more photos

 

“Summer Thunder” at Kubota Garden

 

8/30/26 Taiko drumming event at Kubota Garden

Since notice was very short, I wasn’t sure how many sketchers would join me at Kubota Garden for “Summer Thunder,” a taiko drumming event that also featured dancing and storytelling. I was happy to find at least a few folks there!

As soon as I arrived, I realized I hadn’t been to the garden in quite a while; I think the last time was in 2022. It’s lovely year-round, but late summer is probably one of the best times to be at Kubota. Some Japanese maples were just beginning to hint at turning; in a couple of months, they’ll be gorgeous. I could have spent a long time trying to capture layers of foliage, but on this sunny afternoon I was more in the mood for the festive taiko event (top of post).

Eventually I took a walk through the maze of the garden. No matter how many times I’ve been there, I always get lost on its meandering paths. I don’t know where I was when I found a pine tree that was asking to be sketched (a good eavesdropping spot, too).

Seward Park Trees

 

8/26/26 Seward Park

Although I visited Seward Park fairly often as a teen, after I moved further north as an adult, I rarely went there. I wish it were closer: It has a lovely 2.4-mile walking loop with Lake Washington on one side and a dense, old growth forest on the other. It’s one of Seattle’s more serene parks; even on weekends, it never seems crowded (unlike Green Lake, my own neighborhood park, which can look like Malibu beach on sunny weekends).

USk Seattle met at Seward on Wednesday when it was cool and overcast. Since the temperature was ideal for fitness walking, I began the outing with a loop around the park. Although the dense growth of trees is serene, it’s formidable to sketch; I was looking for an individual tree I could isolate easily in a composition. About three-fourths of the way around, I came upon an old snag with an interesting shape (at right).

When I completed the loop, I looked around for another sketch and found myself at a familiar spot just as the sky was clearing. I think the first time I sketched this stand of shoreline poplars (top of post) was with graphite in Kathleen Moore’s nature drawing course years ago. Another time I made a quick stop when I happened to be in the neighborhood. Anytime in the afternoon, the slender trees cast lovely shadows that I find irresistible.

Happy 50th Birthday, Freeway Park!

 

8/22/26 Freeway Park

USk Seattle was invited to a very special birthday party: Freeway Park’s 50th! Initiated by civic leader Jim Ellis, the five-acre park became the first in the world to be built over a freeway. The Freeway Park Association put on a fun event today to celebrate with live music, art activities, free tamales and popsicles, photo opportunities and other ways to enjoy the unique space that the park offers.

Gabi Campanario and Sketcher Press shared a canopy with USk Seattle to introduce park visitors to Urban Sketchers. Quite a few new members joined us, and I expect a few more will join the Facebook group and our mailing list later. And what a massive turnout: I counted nearly 40 in our throwdown group photo!

Since I hadn’t sketched at Freeway Park since before the pandemic (which was the last time USk had an outing there), the event was a good reintroduction for me, too. I warmed up with a few gestures of buskers and visitors playing ladder toss on the lawn (below). I was amused that the electric violinist and the Chihuahua both wore red shoes!

Although I’m not a fan of Brutalist architecture, that’s what the park is all about, so I found a spot to capture some of it (top of post). What I do appreciate about Freeway Park is the beautiful integration of all those hard, brutal, geometric lines with the organic softness of so many trees and other plants. It’s a unique urban space unlike any other in Seattle (or anywhere in the world, for that matter).

Now that Freeway Park is back on our radar, we’ll be sure to plan more USk outings there again.

What a turnout!

Sketcher Press and USk Seattle's canopy