Sign of the Primes

Dozens, maybe a hundred, parked Amazon vans may be a sign of this Quarantime.

This is another spot where I've wanted to sketch for a while now. I first noticed all these Amazon Prime vans a few months ago. They are in a large, otherwise empty, lot on the edge of the center of my suburban city. There must be at least a hundred of them! With more people not going into stores, we're buying on line for delivery. Amazon is obviously a big part of that. In addition to the gray Prime vans, there are dozens of white Herz rental vans.


On my way back from an errand, I decided to stop to get this sketch done. I found a nice shady spot to park the car with a view of this line of vans. From there I did a "windshield" sketch (tm Steve Reddy). I didn't get a hero shot as the vans all got driven away before I'd quite finished. As I often do, I didn't think about doing an in-progress photo when I saw the drivers gathering. It was a good thing I didn't plan on putting a lot of detail into the further vans as I'd only just gotten the first wash laid on when they all drove away!

Amazon Spheres, Take 2

7/14/16 Amazon spheres from Sixth and Lenora

The last time I sketched the Amazon spheres, I stood on the Seventh Avenue side of Lenora Street. The balls’ amoeba-like skeletal structure was still entirely exposed. This morning, two-and-a-half months later, I chose the Sixth Avenue side where I could stand a bit closer. Though still visible, the skeleton is now almost completely covered with a glass skin, and a few workers were way up at the top installing the last of it. 

Above them was one of the ubiquitous cranes towering over the north downtown/South Lake Union area.

Amazon’s Spheres

4/29/16 Amazon's spheres

Spheres, domes, bubbles, fly eyeballs – they’ve been called many things by locals and tourists alike. (Native “of a certain age” that I am, I can’t help but think of the Bubbleator from the Seattle World’s Fair.) They are definitely a head-turning addition to the north downtown area that is otherwise a canyon of mostly boring, glassy highrises. The spheres are part of Amazon’s brand-new campus of buildings. According to GeekWire, “the unusual buildings will be filled with more than 300 plants, including full-grown trees. It’s designed as a place for Amazon workers to meet, hangout and share ideas.”

After seeing the partially constructed domes in photos and David Chamness’s sketches, I figured I’d better get over there if I wanted to catch them still under construction. Strange as they are, they look quite cool compared to all the ordinary buildings around them. I predict they will be among the most-sketched structures around here in the summer months because they sure are fun to draw! 

Winter in July?

Sculpture plaza near Amazon - absent were any signs of people on this rainy Sunday morning in Seattle.

Living in Seattle we have mild winters, but unfortunately, sometimes summer looks a little too much like winter.