Golden Hour Drink & Draw

 

10/23/26 Project 9 Brewing Co., Maple Leaf neighborhood

Baloo and another dog (top), who was with
a different party. 

Project 9 Brewing has two large outdoor seating areas: a sheltered area on the north side with heaters, and a (potentially) sunny patio on the south side with lots of umbrella’d tables. When I first arrived for Friday’s drink & draw, I scoped out both areas to see which would be more comfortable. At 4 p.m., the sunshine was brilliant, warming the otherwise chilly afternoon. I picked the sunny patio, which gave us a lovely golden hour glow.

It was fun sketching backlit Stephanie, Abby and Kaisa (top of post), whom I could see easily at the next table. I was pleased that I had captured all three of their likenesses relatively well (and believe me, I don’t say that often when I sketch other sketchers). 

The most fun, though, was my favorite model of the evening, Jenny’s dog, Baloo. In fact, the quick colored pencil sketch I made from an unusual top view of his head (below) was especially satisfying. (Now that we’re nearing the end of InkTober, you think maybe I’m craving pencils?)

With the bittersweetness we all feel at this time of year, we fondly reminisced about our drink & draw last April, when the same sunny patio was a joyful preview of summer to come. This time, we sighed about the oncoming Big Dark. By sundown, it was too cold to sketch, so we called it a night.

Ahhh, pencil -- how I've missed you.

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.

New Drink & Draw Venue

 

8/14/26 Phinney Station, Phinney neighborhood

I feel like I say this every time, but USk Seattle showed a record-breaking turnout for last week’s drink & draw on a gorgeous afternoon! The venue, Phinney Station, was new to us, but I knew from sketching the final World Cup match there that it looked ideal – and it was! We filled up quite a few of their plentiful umbrella’d tables in a huge area. Two food trucks offered different foods, and bringing in outside food was also welcome. Of course, I’m always pleased by dog-friendly venues.

As usual, some folks new to Urban Sketchers joined us for the first time. Several others had come to previous drink & draws but had not yet joined us for regular sketch outings yet. One mentioned that while a general outing still feels intimidating, a casual sit-and-chat over brews feels more comfy and familiar. I’m happy that we have gatherings that are approachable at whatever level people feel ready to participate.

A New 4th Tradition

 

7/3/26 Old Stove Brewery Gardens, Ballard neighborhood

A typical weather pattern lately, the overcast morning gave way to sunny skies by late afternoon for USk Seattle’s drink & draw. We met this time at Old Stove Brewery Gardens in Ballard, which was the location of a drink & draw on the same occasion last year: the day before the 4^th of July holiday.

I usually write more observations or overheard dialog on these types of pages, but I was too busy with good conversations this time!

With good conversation over brews (and my grilled corn on the cob) under (mostly) shaded tables, we thought we were a small turnout. Halfway through, we discovered a bunch more sketchers inside the brew pub, where they had been viewing a World Cup match. Our group turned out to be much larger than we realized at first! By the time of our throwdown, the match was over, so everyone came outside.

It was a fun way to kick off (did you see what I did there with a sports mixed metaphor?) the holiday weekend. And now that we’ve done it for two consecutive years, it’s a tradition, right?

Have a safe holiday!

Nothing Better

 

4/24/26 Project 9 Brewing Co.

On a lovely late afternoon, USk Seattle met at Project 9 Brewing for the first unsheltered drink & draw of the year. We had a great turnout, including Lisbon artist Mario Linhares, who was in town to give a presentation and workshop through the University of Washington’s Landscape Architecture Department.

Other sketchers who had never come to a USk outing before and long-timers who hadn’t come in a while all joined us on Project 9’s sunny deck. And why wouldn’t they? A warm (but not hot) Friday afternoon, sketching with good friends while sipping cold beverages – does it get any better? We all agreed that it doesn’t.

Consolation Drink & Draw

 

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.)

At 6 p.m., we could take group and throwdown photos by natural light, and we haven't even turned the clocks ahead yet! Hallelujah, the Big Dark is finally over!

Cozy Drink & Draw

 

10/24/25 Drink & draw at Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood 

After walking through the deluge from our current atmospheric river, I was afraid I’d be all alone at the USk drink & draw. Happily, I was joined by four others who braved the torrents to get to Project 9 Brewery, where the heat lamps kept us cozy in the perfectly dry tent. (We could have gone indoors, of course, but it gets very loud in there, especially on a Friday evening.)

With one highly skilled professional artist and one who had begun drawing only a few months prior, both new to Urban Sketchers, I was reminded of one of many reasons I appreciate USk: People of all experience levels can draw and chat together while sipping beers and munching tacos. No judging, just fun!

Meetings and Reunions Under Overcast Skies

 

8/29/25 Gasworks Brewing on Lake Union

I don’t know if it was the weather (overcast and cooler), the location (Northlake), or that it was the Friday before Labor Day weekend, but USk Seattle had record-breaking attendance at our drink & draw!

The venue, Gasworks Brewing, is one that I had checked out several months ago for drink & draw potential. Although it is a fabulous location right on the north shore of Lake Union, it has one serious flaw: Very few of the plentiful tables have umbrellas. What were they thinking? Given some of the scorchers we’ve had this year, I had dismissed it as an option for most of summer, but the end of August cooled down enough to make me optimistic. It must have helped to keep my fingers crossed, because the day ended up mostly overcast and cooler – just fine for sketching the lake and each other without shade.

It was especially fun to meet Naoko, a sketcher from USk Tokyo, who has been traveling with her husband across the US the past couple of months and will continue on to further adventures before returning to Japan. I was thrilled when I found out Seattle was on their itinerary! It’s always special to finally meet someone I’ve followed for years on social media.

In addition, several sketchers who had not attended USk in quite a while (more than a decade for two of them) joined us at this drink & draw. It was a happy reunion for those of us who knew them back then. We also greeted several newcomers who made the drink & draw their first outing.

All in all, it was an ideal way to start the holiday weekend before saying good-bye to an excellent summer.

Naoko wears both a USk Japan T-shirt and a UW cap (her husband Nobie is a former Husky!)

We don't usually do a formal throwdown or group photo at drink & draws, but this one felt like a special occasion!

Good to see Jackie after nearly a decade!

Welcome back to Will, whom we also hadn't seen in at least a decade.

Naoko was on a mission to sketch every drink & draw participant!

Alice (foreground) is another sketcher we hadn't seen in years.

Special Guests at Drink & Draw

 

5/30/25 Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

Sunshine and warm weather have a way of bringing people out! One of our biggest turnouts ever at a USk drink & draw included a special guest who came all the way from Pune, India. An enthusiastic member of USk Pune, Rajeev was in Seattle for his daughter’s wedding and brought his whole family to Project 9 Brewery – and they all sketch!

Rajeev (at left) and his family