It’s a Hot Rat Summer at Cal Anderson Park

 

8/17/25 Cal Anderson Park, Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park was busier than usual last Sunday. In addition to the weekly farmers market, the park was also host to a flea market that I wasn’t even aware of until then. Both events gave USk Seattle plenty to sketch that morning.

I began with an homage to Hot Rat Summer, a piece of renegade art that appeared at the park last year (above). Not just graffiti or even a painting, it’s a mosaic installed on an historic structure. According to Wikipedia: “Widely interpreted as a symbol of queer and trans resilience, the mosaic gained cult status and sparked broader discussions around public art, graffiti policy, and civic engagement.” The city has been painting over the mosaic regularly, and local residents have been removing the paint just as regularly. I was unaware of it until I read a Seattle Times article about the controversy just a few days ago. People stopped by to pay respects to St. Rat as I sketched, and small offerings had been left on the ledge below the mosaic.

For the rest of the outing, I rambled through the farmers market and flea market, capturing some people and dogs. Not too hot, not overly sunny, the morning had a relaxed summer Sunday vibe, despite the crowds.

Flea market at Cal Anderson Park

Capitol Hill farmers market

After the outing, I had lunch with a few other sketchers at nearby Lost Lake Café, where I’d intended to sketch my French toast, but there wasn’t much left of it by the time I got around to it.

Waiting for the meetup to begin and lunch at Lost Lake Cafe

Old and New Around the Roastery

 

5/7/25 Melrose & Pike area, Capitol Hill

Although USk Seattle had an outing at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery last year, I missed that one, so our outing this morning was the first time I’d sketched in the area in years – probably since before the pandemic. At the border between downtown and Capitol Hill, that vibrant part of town is one of my favorites to sketch. It’s an interesting mix of traditional and modern architecture.

Probably the most traditional and certainly most majestic building in the area is the dome-topped First Covenant Church. I did a wonky job this time, but I made a better rendition of it several years ago.

As a counter to that one, I also sketched the high-rise Nexus condo building, which opened just in time for the pandemic. It looks like messily stacked boxes that have been taped together just as messily. Because each “box” is slightly askew, I thought the design would hide any angle errors or sloppiness on my part, but it was still very challenging to draw. Compared to all the other identical glassy boxes downtown, I like this one’s distinctively funky look.

Around the corner from the Roastery is the Voodoo Doughnut shop that opened last year. Since I had already indulged at Portland’s original Voodoo (and decided it was overrated), I passed this time and instead sketched its corner (one of the area’s older buildings, which happens to be bright pink).

Eventually I went inside the Roastery to share a table with Michele and Kim. Of course, I couldn’t resist getting an overpriced but beautifully presented beverage – a seasonal ube coconut latte.

I’d like to get back to the area again this summer, either with USk or by myself – I snapped several photos to remind myself of things I still want to sketch.

Blossom-Sketching Marathon on Capitol Hill

 

4/3/25 Capitol Hill neighborhood

Time’s a wastin’! With so many pink blossoms and so little time, USk Seattle offered a marathon of cherry tree-sketching opportunities on Thursday. First, in the morning, we met on a quiet residential block near Holy Names Academy. Petal peepers and sketchers alike could walk slowly down the middle of the street, where trees arched over from both sides. Although not as mature, these trees are of the pink (not near-white) variety similar to my favorites on Sunset Hill (above and below).

Near Holy Names Academy

Immediately following the throwdown outside Holy Names, some of us continued on to nearby Volunteer Park, where more sketchers met for the afternoon session. A few of us opted to walk just outside the park boundary to Lake View Cemetery (below), where we had heard about a large grove of cherry trees. None of us had sketched these gorgeous, mature trees before! Actually, I think I did when I sketched there years ago, but it was fall then, so I didn’t know they were cherries. You can bet I put this location on my perennial petal-peeping list!

4/3/25 Lake View Cemetery

It was a long, beautiful day of pink!

Just before the throwdown, I made a quick sketch of one of the two
dromedaries outside the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

4/3/25 A few more bits from my fun day on Capitol Hill!

Aimless on Capitol Hill

 

8/31/24 Capitol Hill neighborhood

Despite choosing the location myself, I had a bit of difficulty settling down to a sketch or three on Capitol Hill with USk Seattle. After much wandering and dithering, I looked down the hill from an intersection and spotted downtown. Then I moved just a few feet, and the Space Needle rose into view!

Wanting one more sketch to fill the vertical space on the page, I looked up at an apartment building and saw intriguing shadows cast by the railing around a small lanai.

I’m not sure the page I made says “Capitol Hill,” but some outings just end up that way – a bit storyless. Regardless, the weather was fabulous, and after our mostly cold August, it was wonderful to get summer back again for Labor Day weekend. While most of the city was frantically trying to cram in the last of the summer fun, it was relaxing to spend the morning with USk doing what I enjoy most.

Pink on Capitol Hill

3/24/24 Capitol Hill neighborhood

Until I had learned about it from my yoga instructor last year, I didn’t know that this usually quiet street on Capitol Hill needed to be a permanent addition to my petal-peeping tour. I sketched there with a few friends then, but this year I felt greedy if I didn’t share it with USk Seattle. I even ordered up some sunshine that was delivered just in time for our outing on Sunday afternoon. The rain and wind the past few days had already sprinkled pink snow on the pavement, but we caught the blossoms just in time before they passed their peak.

(To maximize sketching opportunities on our limited dry days during cherry blossom season, a second group met at the State Capitol in Olympia the same afternoon.)

To give gouache another try, I found a typical Capitol Hill bungalow framed by pink on this residential street (at left). Then I followed my ears to the other end of the block, where a teenage violinist was busking for all the petal peepers (below). From the looks of the cash in his violin case, he seemed to be doing a brisk business, and he certainly gave a pleasant soundtrack to our pink fairyland.

When I turned around, I spotted a sketcher dwarfed by an enormous cherry behind him (top of post). Frustrated (as usual) by the gouache and watercolor I had used previously, I resorted to my tried-and-true brush pen and watercolor pencils. (I’m not sure why I keep trying paints when I like the results of my “usuals” so much more.)

Although sketching the cherries at the UW Quad will always be a mainstay, I have to admit that I prefer neighborhood streets like this one and my favorite in the Sunset Hill neighborhood. There’s something special about walking slowly down the middle of a residential street (moving to the sidewalk when occasional cars come through, always slowly as their drivers and passengers take in the splendor) lined with these majestic trees on both sides. I imagine it must be especially magical for the residents who wait for their block to transform each spring.

Note: My sketch of these trees last year is dated April 13 – three full weeks later than this year. A recent article in the Seattle Times talks about how the dates of cherry blossom peaks are giving researchers data about climate change.

Petal Peeping on Capitol Hill

 

4/12/23 Capitol Hill neighborhood

My yoga instructor’s blog had alerted me to a new stop on my petal-peeping tour – a long residential block on Capitol Hill with cherries on both sides of the street. Dashing out the day after I read her post, I caught the splendor in the very nick of time: A bit past peak, the blossoms were still glorious, but the drifts of pink snow were deep (above). It’s always bittersweet when pink season winds down, but that’s what makes sketching it precious and special.

But wait – did I say the season was winding down? In fact, I didn’t get enough, and I certainly couldn’t wait until next year. I went back the next day, this time with Ching, Natalie and Suzanne, who concurred that it was a sight to behold.

Once again, walking in the middle of the street whenever possible (where the view is best), I slowly took in the splendor on both sides before settling in for a sketch. At the south end of the long block, a small cherry tree marked the exit from fairyland, and behind it stood Holy Names Academy. All I knew of it was that it was a girls’ Catholic school; a quick Google search told me that it is Washington State’s oldest continually operating school, open since 1880.

4/13/23 Holy Names Academy

Sunny Cal Anderson Park

 

1/14/23 Cal Anderson Park "fountain mountain"

USk Seattle always orders up sunshine, and for a change, it was delivered on time for our outing on Capitol Hill! Meeting up at the light rail station, which was going to be our contingency shelter, most sketchers took advantage of the mild, dry weather to sketch outdoors.

Broadway Performance Hall

I walked to nearby Cal Anderson Park, where I hadn’t sketched since 2016. The “fountain mountain,” as the Doug Hollis-designed water feature is called by locals, wasn’t running water the last time I sketched it, but this time it was. Apparently it was repaired last fall after some damage, so several of us who sketched it were lucky it was no longer covered in scaffolding.

After that, I walked around the neighborhood a bit to find a second sketch. A reflective, metallic sculpture in front of the Broadway Performance Hall caught my eye. I liked the contrast between the modern sculpture and the historic building, which was originally built as part of Broadway High School in 1911. Finding a way to put them both in the same composition, though, was tricky – the best view would have been from the middle of Broadway standing on the streetcar tracks. I had to settle for the sidewalk, barely getting the top of the tower into the sketch.

For my last sketch, I ended up back at Cal Anderson Park, where two women were probably sketching the fountain. After all the rain and gray we've been having, it was so nice to see shadows again!

My light rail rides to and from Capitol Hill are short – less than 15 minutes each way – so I barely had time to sketch, but I did my best to catch a few commuters.

We had a strong wintertime turnout by USk Seattle, including a visit from Anya from Anchorage, who tries to sketch with us whenever she’s in town.