Several sketchers from all over met to sketch the blooming cherry trees at Renton City Hall. One from Gig Harbor, one from Redmond, and others in between. The small grove of Yoshino cherry trees seems to be at peak. The weather was perfect.
There were 6 of us but one had to leave early so not in our group photo.
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| 3/20/26 Wet Clay Cafe, Fremont neighborhood |
Kim discovered a unique venue in the Fremont neighborhood. In addition to a full pottery studio with classes, Wet Clay offers pottery-painting opportunities to those who prefer not to get their hands yucky. Potters spun their pots while others socialized as they glazed pre-fired pottery. In addition, there’s a café with coffee, pastries and sandwiches. And Urban Sketchers got to sketch it all as we sipped lattes and snacked. An interesting combo of fun stuff, right?
We’ll definitely be back there on another rainy day!
We met at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). My objective was to see and sketch the new-ish installation, "Friends With You: Little Cloud Sky".
It is a "commission from FriendsWithYou, the internationally celebrated duo of Samuel (Sam) Borkson and Arturo (Tury) Sandoval III." It hangs from the tall ceiling in the main entrance lobby. "Little Cloud Sky (2025) is composed of 40 of the artists’ signature Little Cloud character, each custom made of plastic, four feet wide, and suspended from the ceiling of the Brotman Forum. The work is designed to spread positivity and inspire a sense of connection, encouraging museum visitors to reflect on the beauty of togetherness and the power of joy and nature."
I sat on the floor at the far end of the lobby to get the entire view of the little clouds.
I went into one of the upstairs galleries to see a new exhibit. I didn't stay there long but noticed that the sculpture "Mann und Maus" had been moved. I liked the positioning near a window through which I could see the "SAM" sign.
Probably because it is the weekend - Sunday - there were a lot of sketchers. At least a couple left early.
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| 3/15/26 Mountains, Alexander Calder, Seattle Art Museum |
On a chilly morning following our freaky snowfall, I was more than happy to spend a few hours with USk inside the cozy Seattle Art Museum. Since my white pencil with black paper have been serving me well at art museums, both SAM and the Asian Museum, I gave them a shot on Calder’s work, Mountains, which I hadn’t seen before. All black, the sheet-metal sculpture stands with the dark elevators behind it on one side, so I walked around it to find an angle with a lighter-colored background (above). That’s when I discovered the round hole in the center – such a beautiful counterpoint to all the sharp angles.
That took longer than I wanted; by the time I was done, I was ready for lunch. As Kate and I chatted over our lunches at the SAM café, I caught a sideview of the whimsical Little Cloud Sky, an installation hanging over the lobby (the front view I sketched several months ago shows the clouds’ smiling faces).
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| SAM cafe and lobby |
I had time for one more sketch before the throwdown. I went back upstairs where a horse had caught my eye earlier. By contemporary artist Deborah Butterfield, life-size Pascal is made of steel and iron (below).
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| Pascal, Deborah Butterfield |
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| 3/13/26 Bellevue Square |
We all woke on Friday the 13th, the final day of the annual One Week 100 People drawing challenge, to the season’s unseasonable first snowfall! (This is the challenge's 10th year, and I've participated for 10 consecutive years!) As
I’m skittish about driving if I see even one flake falling, I gratefully accepted
Kim’s offer of a ride to Bellevue Square retail mall. It’s become an annual tradition
for USk Seattle to work on 100 People there. Despite the joint outing with Eastside
Sketchers, the snow must have kept many away, as we had a small turnout.
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| I apparently can't count while I draw! |
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| 3/6/26 Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood |
USk Seattle was hoping the weather would cooperate for an outing at the big Lunar New Year celebration in Chinatown/International District on Saturday, but rain was in the forecast. We decided to change the plan to a drink & draw on Friday afternoon instead.
With such short notice, I was afraid I’d be alone at Project 9 Brewery, but five sketchers came out to join me for brews, snacks and casual sketching. Our group size was just right for the cushy seats in the sheltered, heated patio area. Most sketchers had fun drawing each other, but no one was sitting directly across from me, so my victims were the usual random kind. (I did manage to catch the brewery’s house cat, whom I first sketched on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s probably the chillest cat I’ve ever met, wandering around to get petted by human patrons, unfazed by canine patrons, and napping and grooming on tabletops.)
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| 2/27/26 Fire Horse at Southcenter Mall, Tukwila |
I knew I’d get around to the dragon eventually, but I started with a new piece for the Year of the Fire Horse (above). Although I could have chosen from several different angles, the horse’s butt end gave me an interesting view. Ultimately, I regretted not using a larger sketchbook, as this symbol of speed and high energy seemed a little cramped in my square composition.
Since I’d sketched the dragon from the floor level previously, this time I went up to the second level for an overhead view. I spotted Mark sketching from the floor below, so I put him in, looking like he’d been scooped up by the dragon (at right). Unbeknownst to me until the throwdown, Mark had spotted me too, so I made a similar cameo appearance in his sketch (below)! (This is one of many things that make Urban Sketchers outings so much fun!)
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| Sketch by Mark Ryan (detail) |
Sketchers from 4 local groups met at Southcenter Mall to sketch the massive Lunar New Year Dragon. It's been there for the past 3 years. However, new this year is a horse statue for this year's Chinese Zodiac animal, the Fire Horse.
Artists from USk Seattle, USk Tacoma, the Eastside subsection of USk Seattle, and the South Sound Sketchers from Olympia all convened.
Since I've sketched that dragon at least 4 times over 3 years, I elected to sketch the horse. I still have motor memory for horse confirmation from having drawn so many when I was young! This was a multicolored horse, covered in quilling designs. Paper quilling is the art of rolling, shaping, and gluing narrow, colorful paper strips to create intricate designs It is also made of foam.
In 2024 I'd spoken with Kate Z, the marketing manager and learned that the the dragon was made for a SF company in Shanghi. It's made of steel and foam, weighing 500 pounds. The Wishing tree is concrete, steel, and foam, weighing 750 pounds! The staff member I spoke with today said the horse only weighs about 70 pounds and is easily tipped over. Hence the four posted frame around it for protection.
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| 2/25/26 Seattle Central Library, 10th floor |
Seattle Central Library is a handy location for winter USk outings: Spectacular (and challenging) floor-to-ceiling windows that offer good light to most interior spaces, plentiful seating and tables on every floor, and an onsite coffee shop. If weather permits, we also have the super-glassy, geometrically crazy library building itself.
Last Wednesday I decided to warm up with an interior sketch from the 10th floor (top of post). Although I was too lazy to draw the whole building that I could see through the diagonally girded windows, I was intrigued by the transparent pyramid on top (or maybe behind it?). I have not yet been able to find the name of the building.
After a lunch break, the afternoon warmed up a bit, so I braved the cold to find an angle on the library from Fifth and Madison (below). This is the same corner I attempted back in 2021, and it was no less challenging this time.
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| Library from the corner of 5th and Madison |
Back inside with only a short time before the throwdown, I warmed up with coffee and sketched a row of library patrons seated next to those crazily girded windows again. Although perspective on the building exterior was daunting, I enjoyed the much less formidable perspective challenge of seated, mostly still people.
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.
