Sunshine, Watercolors and Comics at U Village

4/19/24 University Village

The requested sunshine was delivered for USk Seattle at U Village last Friday, and we all agreed the temperature and conditions were nearly ideal: 66 degrees with a clear blue sky!

Arriving a little early, I found a sunny spot and started sketching immediately to stay warm. The rest of the morning continued apace – one small sketch after another until I filled a spread in my bright yellow Uglybook that seemed to reflect the day’s sunshine (top of post).

4/19/24 Why do I keep torturing myself?

I was having so much fun that I could have immediately started another spread, but I thought I “should” do a watercolor. Since I knew that comfy benches and tables were plentiful at U Village, I felt compelled to bring along my watercolor palette and A5-size Hahnemühle sketchbook. I found a suitable composition and even dutifully made a thumbnail first in my Field Notes, but I admit I didn’t enjoy using watercolors nor the result (at left) nearly as much as I do comic-style urban sketching with markers. I should stop torturing myself with watercolors and just embrace me doing me!

With that over with, I sighed with relief and happily pulled out my smaller A6 Hahnemühle for another comic-like spread (below). White paper enables me to use a little color – I’d be happy with that if I could just let watercolors go.

Lots of Umbrellas

 

7/13/22 U Village

University Village used to be one of my favorite places to sketch when I was first starting out. Easy to get to and with plentiful free parking, it was a convenient location to practice sketching people, trees, hanging floral baskets and especially tables with colorful umbrellas. USk Seattle has met there several times, too. In more recent years, though, parking got competitive, and then U Village underwent a huge, lengthy renovation that made going there difficult and messy. It fell off my list of go-to spots.

Part of that big re-do was adding lots of ramp parking, and now it’s easy to go there again. I don’t know if it was part of the renovation or a general pandemic response or both, but the retail center seems to have added even more umbrella’d tables! A sketcher’s paradise!

U Village is back on my list, and when USk Seattle met there yesterday, I think the other sketchers enjoyed it, too. In both of my color sketches, I took advantage of all those elements I mentioned enjoying there – people, trees, hanging floral baskets and especially all those umbrellas. (The woman at the table is sketcher Michiko and her 2 ½-year-old son standing on a chair. I was so impressed by how unbelievably patient he was the whole time his mom sketched!)

I made two quick thumbnails right before the throwdown to include more of the retail buildings and cars all around. Whatever you like to sketch, U Village seems to have it.

I even found a new-to-me shop that carries art supplies!

Six Arms...Three Sketches

Our Ad-Hoc group of Friday sketchers met yesterday in the warmth of the Six Arms, a rather unique bar and eatery located on Pine, at Melrose.  One could visit every day for a year, and still find fresh subjects each time!  This time I chose the very large, ?cast iron object that might be a ?pig-dog?  Whatever it is, one cannot miss noticing it!

I'm not sure why I haven't shared my other two recent Friday Sketches, but for the record, here they are...one from our visit to the U-Village, and one from the day a few of us met at Jefferson Park in the Beacon Hill area.

Lamy Safari pen with Noodler's #41 Brown ink and watercolor

F-C Albrecht Durer W/C pencil with wash

University Village Cold Crawl

Amidst the ordered and prepared retail environment of U Village the Dante's Dogs cart and the tower crane stood out as temporary and functional structures on opposite ends of the spectrum.

39th WW Sketchcrawl at UVillage

Our 39th World Wide Sketchcrawl was Brrrr Cold!  But luckily we avoided the hail storm that hit us in the late afternoon.  The task was to find a warm place to sketch.  No rain but the wind was biting.
I was able to do two sketches outside. Only the first in front of Room & Board was done all on site in one sitting.  The second sketch I drew but had to leave for a warmer place before I could add watercolor.  I came back after lunch to lay on watercolor.
The third sketch was in the nice warm Starbucks coffee shop... with a steaming peppermint mocha.

Pasta & Tea

I focused on Pasta & Co for my first sketch because of nostalgia. When it first opened in the early 80's I was living in California. While visiting Seattle my sisters introduced me to fresh pasta at the U Village store and upon returning to CA I bought a hand-crank pasta machine and convinced a friend that we could start a business making fresh pasta and selling it at our local market. 

We planned well for a number of months, concocted recipes and inquired about regulation kitchens, while managing the four toddlers we had between our two families. We were never able to get beyond the stainless steel kitchen requirement, but the whole experience was fun and memorable. I still have our recipe sheet with my favorite pesto recipe. 

So in honor of memories of California days...



I laid down a few pencil lines before starting then switched to my pen. Before I started with color I swiped my eraser on the page and smeared right in the center of the page. See that rain coming down just above the door?

Remembering California didn't keep me from shaking with cold after an hour of sketching in the courtyard so we found the new TAZO concept store next to Starbucks. I sipped tea, thawed out and quickly sketched the scenery. 

WW Sketch Crawl at University Village

pencil sketch draft 4B on Aquabee 93#

 I took Gabi's recent post to heart and decided to warm up with a pencil sketch, choosing my composition. The construction crew was working and the crane was re-positioned twice during this draft. I did not like either crane position..but wanted to challenge myself with a crane sketch.

After choosing my focal point and editing out some extra umbrella tables, I began the sketch with a Staedtler 0.1 fine tip pen. Suddenly the construction noise began indicating the crane was going to re-positioned. When it ended up like this, I quickly sketched it with the fine tip ink pen before it moved again. Challenges were to not overdraw the support structure.

Staedtler 0.1 and watercolor on 140#, highlights with Uniball and PITT artist pen

I finished the sketch in ink, trying to use line and contrast to draw the eye to Mrs.Cook's. I added watercolor splashes with more intense color at my focal point. Challenges were to not overpaint.
I added a few highlights with Uniball, PITT artist pen and few touches of intense color highlights when I got home. I was dressed for cold, but my finger tips were numb after two hours outside.

University Village

4/13/13 fountain pen, Zig markers, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

For the 39^th World Wide SketchCrawl, the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at University Village on a bone-chilling morning. I saw several hardy sketchers braving temps in the low 40s, shivering in their hats, gloves and parkas to sketch U Village’s sheltered but unheated shopping corridor.

 

Not me. Kate and I headed straight for Room & Board, the store that moved into the space vacated by the (sorely missed) Barnes & Noble last year. Just outside the store proper was a hospitable set of outdoor furniture in a heated and sheltered area – an ideal place to sit and sketch comfortably. I settled in with a mocha from Starbucks to sketch the parking lot facing Crate & Barrel. I think I filled my quota of car sketches for the rest of the month.