Learning about Gas Works – in More Ways Than One

 

9/17/22 Gas Works Park

As often as I have sketched at Gas Works Park, and as much as I enjoy it, I am still daunted by the scope and scale of the gas works structures themselves. I usually bite off a chunk that I think I can reasonably chew (this post shows the typical bites I take). Even when I’m brave enough to tackle the entire main gas works assembly, I don’t scale it on the page to allow space for much context.

When Gabi Campanario offered a Great(er) Seattle Sketching Tour at the park last Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to see how the master does it while also learning more about Gas Works Park.

After hearing his brief lecture about the park’s checkered history, sketching the gas works along with its context tells a deeper story. For example, I didn’t know that Kite Hill had to be built up over an existing smaller hill as part of the park restoration. Including Lake Union (OK, it’s barely visible at left, but I got a bit in) is also important, because obviously having a water source for the gas works was critical.

Gabi has enhanced his viewing aid!

Guidelines like the sketchbook’s gutter (the horizontal center of the composition) helped to ensure that I wouldn’t run out of space for everything I wanted to include in the composition. My only regret is that I placed the bottom of the gas works too close to the bottom edge of the page, so I didn’t have space for a foreground element that would have added to the depth (the bike riders at left would have been nice to include in the foreground). But overall, using his suggestions, I’m thrilled that I was able to make a sketch that I could not have made the day before.

As I thought about the concepts he talked about, I realized they were no different from ones I learned in other workshops I’ve taken from Gabi. Or maybe I should say, they were no different from concepts he taught – I obviously hadn’t learned them (or at least hadn’t internalized what I’d learned).

I think this is another example of something I’ve observed about my own creative learning process many times: It often takes hearing and practicing the same concepts over and over to make them “stick.” And sometimes I might not be ready to learn a concept until I’ve had a certain body of experience behind me that prepares me to learn it.

In addition to being illuminating and informative, the sketch tour was a lot of fun! This time the participants included two professional architects – that says a lot about Gabi as a teacher!

The daunting gas works simplified by Gabi

Workshop throwdown

It’s Good to Be Back

 

6/13/21 Gas Works Park

Something I missed during the pandemic that no amount of Zooming or Facebooking could replace: sketching with my USk Seattle homies. For the first time in 15 months, we were back in action – at my favorite park!

Although the weather media had been giving dire warnings of “tropical storms” and 98 percent chance of rain all day, urban sketchers obviously live charmed lives, because we barely felt a drop or two all morning. I probably spent as much time catching up with friends as I did sketching, yet somehow I managed to capture four views of Gas Works Park – two facing the Space Needle and two thumbnails inside the old pump house. Being with my tribe is apparently inspiring.

This was as “normal” as I’ve felt in a long, long time. It’s good to be back.

Predictions of 98% chance of rain didn't scare us away!

10th Anniversary Gathering - Gas Works Park

Gathering of the Seattle Urban Sketchers on their 10th anniversary! At Gas Works Park on a gorgeous day and great to see many who have made that group so much fun participate with and learn from.

Ink and watercolor.

10 Years of Sketching Together

6/30/19 Gas Works Park

Although Urban Sketchers Seattle has sketched at Gas Works Park many times, today’s outing was a little special: We celebrated our 10^th anniversary of sketching together! In July 2009, Gabi Campanario launched the USk Seattle group a couple of years after officially starting the global Urban Sketchers organization. His very first post on the USk Seattle blog in May 2009 explains the impetus:

"Since launching Urban Sketchers last year I've been thinking that something important was missing from the original idea. Then I realized what it was. The main blog brings people from far away places together, but it doesn't necessarily connect the ones who are actually closer to each other, living in the same city. That's the reason behind starting this blog and perhaps others like it for other cities. With USk Seattle I'm looking forward to continue the friendship started back in March of 2008 with fellow local sketchers and to meet new ones in the future."

After that first post, several early USk members began posting on the blog, and then in July 2009, the first formal USk sketch outing was organized at Fishermen’s Terminal. The rest, as they say, is history. Our Facebook group now has 536 members, our Google group has 310 members, and our Flickr group has 274 members. Our blog has 59 correspondents.

Gail, Dave, Gabi and Mark (Frank got away before this photo
was taken) participated in the inaugural sketch outing. Gabi holds a photo
of the original group.

A couple dozen people, including one new member, sketched the park and then picnicked after the throwdown to celebrate. Five participants in that inaugural Fishermen’s Terminal outing were present today, too: Gabi, Frank Ching, Gail Wong, Dave Morris and Mark Ryan.

Sketching the park entrance and shelter from halfway up Kite Hill, the sound of a girl’s colorful kite snapped in the wind high over my head. The temperature was 70 degrees, and the sky was nearly cloudless. As I sketched, I thought about how much fun I’ve had and all the new friends I’ve made since I joined Urban Sketchers. I’m grateful to be part of such a rich community of people to share this passion with. Here’s to many more years of sketching together!

A colorful throwdown!

Gabi tells the group how it all started.

What a disaster this cake was! The cake itself was OK – a typical Costco half sheet – but I had ordered an image of the USk Seattle logo as a “customized cake topper” made of “edible ink.” It looked great when it arrived in the mail, but when I tried to peel off the backing, the sugar film started tearing badly. I left the backing on just for the photo, then tossed the topper. It’s just as well, because the edible ink tastes terrible! 

In case you missed it on my sketch, here's the official USk Seattle stamp, which was unveiled today!
Our logo was designed by David Hingtgen.

Kite Hill

3/16/19 Kite Hill at Gas Works Park

I’ve sketched at Gas Works Park probably more often than any other Seattle city park. The massive gas works themselves are almost always my focus; it’s hard to resist those mysterious, steampunkish structures. Today, though, I wanted to focus instead on all the happy locals reveling in the sunshine on Kite Hill. It’s been a long, record-breakingly cold winter, and just being able to take a walk without a down jacket felt like a celebration.

Eleanor's Eastlake

I really love my neighborhood, Eastlake. As a work-at-home freelancer, I make a point to go on a (sketch)walk once a day to get myself out of the house. There's always something new that catches my eye here. Here are some scenes I captured in my sketchbook over the last couple months:

A very clear day in January! These floating homes & live aboard boats obviously have a choice view of Gas Works, the Aurora bridge, and the mountains (when they're out).  

 Most of the commercial buildings in Eastlake don't have much charm, but the Hines Public Market, (est. 1924) is kind of nice - mostly because of its signage, I think. The Zoo tavern and Carrot Cafe are locally loved spots, but I wonder what it was like when the building was a real public market, back when Eastlake Ave had a busy streetcar route. Apparently there have been various beer-related establishments here since the 1930s. 

Same building two months later, seen from an elevated parking lot across the street. The same beer delivery van was parked in the exact same spot this time! 

The I-5 Colonnade (which I wrote about before) is a great place to go to sketch when it's rainy, as its roof extends for blocks and there are many cool views of the hilly parts of Eastlake, Lake Union, and Queen Anne across the water. My partner happened to be doing his last sailing lesson on this cold, wet day, and as he was the only boat on Lake Union it was really fun to watch him out on the lake from afar and include him in the sketch.

One of my favorite spots in the neighborhood, a pocket park off of an industrial stretch of the road, named for an activist who used to live in a nearby floating home. There are some amazing views of Queen Anne and the SLU skyline from the dock, and apparently you can catch some fish once in a while if you're patient (according to the fisherman). Despite it being January, the cherry tree here was starting to bud!?

Meet the Correspondent: Eleanor Doughty

I'm Eleanor (or Ellie) - nice to meet you! I'm a new Seattle transplant as of September 2017. I moved here from NYC (Brooklyn, Bushwick) for a few reasons, none of which have to do with working for Amazon/Microsoft/etc:

• I was super tired of having multiple roommates, but wasn't willing to pay twice as much rent to avoid it. Also my lease was up, and it's so horrible to move in NYC it was pretty much just as difficult to move across the country as to move across a borough.
• Having grown up exclusively on the east coast, it was time for a change!
• The west coast was the closest thing to moving to a different country before it would be logistically super difficult. I plan to stay here for a few years before moving overseas.
• I wanted to live in a place where you could see mountains. The Pacific Northwest delivers.
• The light on the west coast is different. golden. magical (when the sun is out).

I grew up in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., earned a BFA in illustration at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, and then moved up to Brooklyn for three years. There I co-founded the Brunch Club Sketchers group, which has a similar mission to USK. After the Chicago Symposium, I wanted to get more involved with the global Urban Sketchers community, and here we are!

I currently work as a freelance illustrator (editorials, architecture, private commissions, etc.) and hustle selling prints online & in craft markets around the city. My sketching style is pretty bold and energetic, influenced by my work as an editorial illustrator, where it's critical to use shapes to create striking, attention grabbing images that also communicate clearly. I got really into watercolors last year but drawing is my first love! I especially like sketching scenery from above or from afar, to see the true character of a landscape. The mood I usually try to evoke is lighthearted & a bit wonky and off-balance.

Although I sketch on the daily, I'm looking forward to this opportunity to write more & provide context to the things I draw. I realized that the drawing part is only half the battle in urban sketching – so now I want to work on my journalism skills. So far in Seattle, sketching has brought me many opportunities to explore the city and meet interesting people, as well as a good excuse to get outside and take advantage of nice weather when it happens. 

You can follow my work on Instagram or Tumblr or see my website at edoughty.com

Here's a flipthrough of my sketchbook from the first four months of my Seattle life (Sept. - December 2017), and some highlights below:

the Row House Cafe (left), a lovely Old Seattle style building unfortunately slated to be demolished in the near future, no doubt for more hideous luxury apartments. I really felt it was my duty to paint it...before going inside to catch their happy hour.

My first ever time going to Gas Works Park. There was a big forest fire somewhere that day so the surroundings were weirdly tinted and super hazy - a new thing for an east coaster. 

the Seattle Japanese Gardens w/ Ad Hoc urban sketchers. The fall colors were beautiful, especially in all the maples. Lots of photo takers were present as well, "appreciating" the foliage in their own way.

While we waited for our new apartment be ready for move-in (spoiler: it would eventually fall through), my partner and I went camping on the Olympic Peninsula. This was the view from our tent – pretty much unbeatable. A huge plus of living on the west coast: ocean sunsets.

Gas Works Park - From the Ground Up

Gas Works towers frame a peek-a-boo view of the houseboats, seaplanes and Seattle Ducks on Lake Union-sketch by Michele Cooper

Ground level, eye level and the leveling effect of art.

Several seaplane flights landed and took off over Lake Union Friday morning as USk Seattle ad hoc sketchers met on the grounds of Gas Works Park. Other individual watercraft such as kayaks and sailboats plied the waters on a lovely day at the end of summer.

At the summit of Kite Hill, there is an ornate 28 foot circlular sundial mosaic, created in 1978 by Chuck Greening and Kim Lazare. With it you can use your own shadow to tell the time.  From my vantage point atop Kite Hill, you could see the tourist boats like the Seattle Duck amphibious tours and the Seattle Ferry Service running the Sunday Ice Cream Cruise on Lake Union aboard the M/V Fremont Avenue boat.

Forecasts predicted rain, but it was warm enough to go without a jacket and I only felt two random drops. At least I hope those were raindrops. There were flocks of pigeons and Canadian Geese sharing the park with us today. 8.28.15

Kate and I, sketching at our waterfront table at Ivar's on Lake Union.

After sharing our sketches at Gas Works Park, Kate and I decided to have lunch at Ivar's Salmon House nearby. We looked for fellow sketchers who also planned to be there, couldn't find them and ended up at our own table out on the waterfront deck.

Looking under the University Bridge from Ivars-sketch by M. Cooper

If there's a better spot to be for lunch on a Friday on Lake Union, I don't know it. (I-5 crosses directly overhead on the Ship Canal Bridge, so the constant roar of traffic could be distracting until you focus on your sketch and enter the world of shapes, lines, tones and colors.)

University Bridge opening for a sailboat, the CycleSaloon paddle boat and Ice Cream Cruise

What a luxury! So many choices of scenes to capture! I finally decided to settle on a composition showing the south end of the University Bridge as it crosses Portage Bay. The drawbridge opened twice while we were there to allow sailboats with tall masts to enter Lake Union. The CycleSaloon paddleboat went by with passenger/paddlers under the awning. You can't drink and drive in Seattle, so here's the ultimate designated driver experience!

Soggy Morning at Gas Works Park

8/15/14 Gas Works Marina sketched in steady rain.

After all those consecutive days of beautiful sunshine, I had deluded myself into thinking it was the new normal. I woke to drizzle, but weather.com had predicted that the rain would stop by mid-morning, when the ad hoc Friday sketchers were meeting at Gas Works Park.

Perched on my stool under a tree for my first sketch of some of the gas works, I was still in denial as increasingly frequent raindrops blurred my Platinum Carbon Black lines. By 11 it was barely spitting, so a few of us walked over to the marina on the east side of the park to sketch the houseboats, and I insisted that the rain would be stopping soon. I looked out over Lake Union and immediately saw a challenging Shari Blaukopf assignment for myself: the reflections of the moored houseboats and dappled water. The rain did let up as I was drawing the houseboat on the right, but within minutes I had to pull my hood on again, and my sketch was starting to take on that dreamy look (or perhaps nightmare, depending on your perspective). The wet-on-wet-on-wet approach isn’t one of my favorite watercolor techniques.

8/15/14 Sketched under the dubious umbrella of a tree.

Happy World Wide Sketch Crawl Day

A view across Lake Union to Gas Works Park from the MOHAI dock.

          This month has been a slow sketching time for me. I managed to get off a few sketches of South Lake Union while volunteering at the Art Not Terminal Gallery, but storms and a dental implant kept me in for most of January. So I took advantage of our sunny weather to join the 42nd World Wide Sketch Crawl.

Honda Element across the street from Art Not Terminal Gallery

          After volunteering at the Seattle Chinese Garden, I took a minute to do a quick sketch of the Knowing the Spring Courtyard. The space features a variety of winter and spring plants including plums, cherries, bamboo and pines. 

A stone arrangement surrounded by pines dominates the court's south side. Plums (Prunus mume) provide a transition to the paved north side. In china, Pines represent longevity because of their ability to live for hundreds of years and evergreen needles. Plums represent hope and beauty because the trees are the first to flower in the new year, often before the winter snows have melted.