Plugged Ears in Pioneer Square

7/17/15 Occidental Square

When I sketched the 200 Occidental construction site a couple of months ago, it was more colorful – two cranes and a concrete pumper. Today only a concrete pumper was visible, but it was much noisier – I was happy to have earplugs, which have long become a permanent part of my sketch kit, given my penchant for sketching construction sites.

7/17/15 200 Occidental construction site

Wanting to give my ears a break, I went around the corner to Occidental Square, the primary site of the Friday sketchers’ outing. I settled in to sketch the two large totems in the center of the park surrounded by trees (Frank is sitting against one of them at far left). Tubaluba, the featured Out to Lunch concert series group, started tuning up and testing mics for their noontime performance, and I happened to be sitting directly in front of the stage speakers. I actually like the kind of jazz they play, but not at that volume – again, my ear plugs came in handy!

To fill the last few minutes before our sketchbook sharing, I sketched a girl and her dad playing chess on the park’s giant chessboard. By that time, Tubaluba had started the concert, and once again, I was relieved that my ears were still plugged.

Interestingly, during each sketch, at least one passer-by stopped to watch and express curiosity and interest in my sketching. Shouting through our conversations to be heard through the noise and music, it was a loud morning, to say the least.

Whoever said sketching was a quiet hobby?

7/17/15 chess game at Occidental Square