Exteriors (finally!)

Glo's Coffee Shop on Capitol Hill. Solo outing.

Tree in garden near Marshall Park, drawn with USk

Several shops across the street from the Funeral Home. Drawn with USk

Des Moines Farmers Market with Urban Sketcher Anjl Rodee.

Up On The Roof

Twenty years living in Seattle and I'd never been to the Freeway Park. Thanks for the impetus, Urban Sketchers!

Better late than never?

I'm behind in my USk posting. Let me catch up:

 Drawn with USk at MOHAI. Too cold for brushes and ink wash! I used markers and red Uniball.

 

Pike Place Market drawn for USk 10 x10 workshop

With USk at Grand Central Bakery but I forgot my sketchbook, so I did this in my lined journal

This was a commission from his girlfriend for the owner of Al's Tavern in Wallingford

First drawing from inside my new-to-me 2012 Prius

 Chocolati in Wallingford

 My dishes drying in the rack

Fisherman's Terminal at Interbay

 Drawing at Guitar Center in South Lake Union while Donna browsed

  

Hanging in the UW gift shop during Donna's lunch break

Sorry if this is overkill, I'll try to be better about keeping up. See you at SAM!

Visible Light Sources

I usually compose horizontally, but the tall ceiling at the King Street Station and the ornate detailing pulled my gaze upwards so that's what I chose to draw from the hard wooden pew-like benches in the main room. Determined to get it all done in two hours, I dove in with no pencilling, racing to capture as much detail as I could. The only thing I added after the time ran out were the dark reflections on the shiny floor.

Coincidentally, the day before I had drawn another vertical sketch at Fuel Coffee in Wallingford, and noticed another similarity- the visible light sources. I do a lot of squinting at my subjects now, trying to reduce the visible info to tone only. Color can be eye-catching but it's not part of my current self-imposed curriculum.

Last Week Around Town

Planet Java Diner

The Bounty, Stone Way

Mr. Allard's Classroom

Planet Java

In-class Demonstration

Out of necessity, my Gage class uses the still-life to practice the ink wash and Uniball technique. The class was conceived as an outdoor experience but the unpredictable Seattle weather and the after-dark hours of the winter class made that impractical. However, the approach is exactly the same: little to no penciling, committing to gestural contours, quick diluted washes and a little hatching.

The view from Ampersand Coffee shop

We arrived a little early, as usual, to scope out our subject. I drew the Pepperdock Burger joint a year or so ago (you can just see the sign in the distance of the new drawing), and I like how this little stretch of beach maintains it's California Surf town flavor, even on a chilly day like today.

New construction and postings for public hearings on even more development mean this will all be gone before too long and Alki Beach will lose its character to more bland condos, so see it while you can.

Jack Block Park

On a very early sketch crawl, years ago, the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at Jack Block Park. Donna had the idea to visit there on Memorial Day, as she'd never been. It was cool and breezy and perfect for sitting for a couple hours in the zone.

Bothell Country Village Mall

An overcast day so the lighting wasn't optimal, but a great turn-out with many new faces, including students from both my classes at Gage, and from my on-line class.

There's no place like home.

I took the bus downtown and walked from Pike Place to south of the viaduct, back up through Pioneer Square and Belltown. Then took the bus back to Wallingford to wander along 45th to the University district (where I bought for $3 a second-hand copy of Saul Bellow's Herzog because of a review in the current New Yorker), finally through Ravenna and around Greenlake. In the end, I came home and drew my studio.

Main Street Gyros

I've had my eye on this former Taco Bell (you can see the old bell logo design in the stucco) for a while, and meeting the sketchers in Pioneer Square was the perfect opportunity to knock this out. Somehow this little eatery has survived many incarnations and is now a Mediterranean/Greek place. It reminds me of Edith Macefield's place in Ballard, dwarfed by modern towers and busy traffic. It was a bright sunny day and over the hour and a half I sat near the curb drawing I sunburned the backs of both my hands.

Lunar Rover

Sat in the darkened room with the landing simulator games and drew the lines of this Rover while listening to the audio loop: "We got some guys turning blue, thanks for restoring the oxygen. We got some guys turning blue, thanks for restoring the oxygen. We got-" and so on.

The guard watched me and said, "I draw, but I never show anybody." I convinced him to show me his drawings on his phone, and they were beautiful detailed urban sketches in pen and ink! I hope he follows through on his promise to look us up.

I finished the ink wash afterwards from the trophy photo at left.

Café Days

I've been enjoying hanging out with Donna exploring the many coffee shops Seattle has to offer. We read the paper, sketch, I rough out my next comic-diary page and often just before leaving, capture the scene around us. Here is a sampling:

 Chocolati, Green Lake.

 Bauhaus Coffee, Green Lake

 Fremont Coffee, Fremont (duh)

 Revolution Coffee, Green Lake

Sunlight Café, Roosevelt

Green River

My extended maternal Irish family meets every August on Green River for our annual reunion. I drew this between inner tubing the easy rapids and cooking s'mores.

Mass and Space on Vashon Island

Sketching with another artist who has different preferences for subject is a challenge. I like to draw dense clusters of objects, while Donna focuses on the play of light in the spaces between objects. Urban Sketchers Seattle met on Vashon Island Friday. Having never been there before, Donna and I spent way too much time wandering around, comparing locations. We finally settled where she had a view of the Sound, while I drew the nearby clump of mailboxes.

The Pioneer Square Mission

I'd had my eye on this building for a while, but the weather hadn't cooperated when I'd made the trip in the past- overcast skies not giving me the high contrast shadows I use to define my subjects. When I heard the Sketchers were meeting in Pioneer Square on a sunny morning, I knew exactly what I wanted to draw.

Pepperdock Burgers

A beautiful morning on Alki Beach, with a good turn-out of Seattle Urban Sketchers with several new faces. I wasted about 40 minutes of drawing time waiting in line at Tully's, and the scene I wanted to draw was unappealingly backlit, but I still managed to get something down on paper. The owner of Pepperdock sent an underling out to ask if they could have the sketch, but I told him I only sell prints and gave him my card. After the sharing session and a chicken lettuce wrap at Fat Burgers, I went back and finished up the drawing (even though the shadows had all changed from my initial ink washes), only getting a little sunburnt on the back of my neck.

Pioneer Square, Seattle.

Georgetown Trailer Park Mall.

A perfect morning for a sketch crawl! And one could draw at this location many times and never repeat a drawing. With Fantagraphics and strong coffee only an eraser's throw away. I plan to draw here again. Good turn-out. Always happy to have joined in the fun.

Fremont, Seattle.

During a day-long bike ride around Seattle with Donna, we stopped for a cup and a sketch in Fremont. I think I'll add color, but I like these black and white stages, too.

Thursday afternoon figure drawing session at GAGE Art Academy, Seattle.