A classic at Washington Park Arboretum

The Ad-Hoc sketchers met at the Arboretum last Friday.  Yes, rain was predicted, and yes,  I did get a few drops on me, but I was sitting under a rather dense tree, near its thick trunk, so I was protected.

Since I have already sketched the view of the old bridge/walkway from below, on Lake Washington Blvd, I decided to sketch that classic view from above, where the bridge becomes a walkway from the main part of the park over to the much smaller strip of park west of the boulevard.

Having been one who has created large fully finished watercolor landscapes for 45 years, I still find it very difficult to break that practice...Nevertheless, I keep trying to do those "quick sketches."

Wet-on-Wet at the Arboretum

6/27/14 cherry tree

It was a good day for the wet-on-wet watercolor technique – whether I wanted it or not.

After a week of daily incorrect rain forecasts, it was finally correct on this morning that the Friday sketchers were planning to meet at the Washington Park Arboretum. We talked about a possible contingency location, but it was barely drizzling when we gathered there, so we decided to brave it.

When I was at the arboretum last week, I had spotted a large, elegantly asymmetrical cherry tree as we hiked along Azalea Way, so I made a mental note to sketch it later. Luckily, my sketch of it and I both stayed mostly dry.

6/27/14 umbrella plant

By the time I had finished, the drizzle was turning into a sprinkle that might have become an outright shower at any moment (You know how Eskimos purportedly have a thousand different words for snow? Seattleites have at least a hundred words for rain), so I thought I’d be smart and set up my stool under some wide trees. As I sketched the enormous leaves of the Darmera Peltata (umbrella plant), a young woman suddenly appeared with a camera, and I was delighted to have something to establish the scale of the leaves. Just then, a gust of wind shook all the trees I was sheltering under, drenching me and my sketch. I made the best of the mandatory wet-on-wet technique to finish it.

Day and Night

I was disappointed to miss the adhoc sketch outing. All the work from that looked great!  Here are two sketches I have done recently.  One was done in the early after noon on a bright sunny day.  The other was started at dusk and finished as the light dropped off so much that I couldn't see my page.

Bocce Ball Lawn at JM Cellars

Moon Gazing at the Japanese Tea Garden, Washington Park Arboretum

Pacific Connections Garden

Though the Pacific Connections Garden was unveiled in 2008...it is a new exhibit to me.  I just visited it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and then again today.  It is the first new exhibit in the Arboretum in 50 years and will cover a total of 14 acres.  This garden features plants from  forests of 5 different countries that are connected by the Pacific Ocean .  The commonality is that they occur along the same latitudes north or south of the equator.  These forest represent Cascadia region, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, and China.  The focal point amongst these gardens is an interpretive shelter  with a green roof.  The columns  were salvaged from trees on site and then carved with patterns that were inspired by indigenous art of the 5 different cultures.

Interpretive shelter @ the Pacific Connections Garden, Washington Park Arboretum.