Sketcher's Gathering Seattle Center - Winterfest

How nice it was to be able to sketch outside in December and then meet inside when my whimpy self got cold. I saw a post yesterday from a European Urban Sketcher blogging about putting alcohol in their watercolor water so the liquid wouldn't freeze while painting in minus 13 degree weather. Yes, I will shut up now about being cold.

I did this sketch of the dormant popcorn booth called Popcornucopia. It has been part of the International Fountain landscape for as long as I can remember.

Pen and ink with watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

Post Alley Busker

Though there was an Urban Sketcher event going on in the Bus Tunnel, my girls were going to a concert at Benaroya Hall a bit later so we decided to commute in together. A brisk beautiful fall day in Seattle made for a busy Post Alley and often making the subject matter dissapear. The young entertainer was quite good and his dog would sing on command.

I had tested a new ink pen (disposable) on paper before I did this sketch - no bleeding. What I didn't do was test in on the watercolor paper of my sketchbook. With the exception of the door, I was going to have to be satisfied with shading using water and a brush pen.

Pen, ink, watercolor pencil in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

2nd Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Gathering - Portland, Oregon

With Seattle sketcher Gail Wong, I rode a Bolt Bus down to Portland for the day to participate in this annual event. It was my first real trip to spend any time in downtown Portland and was impressed with the architecture and culture of the city. I definitely will be back to do more sketching.

This building caught my eye because of the color around the windows of what seemed like a warehouse, only to be told by a passing mail courier that in 2012 it was the site of MTV's 28th season of 'The Real World', probably one of the original reality shows.

There were over a hundred sketchers attending the event and I met many great sketchers whose work I've enjoyed online and can now put a face to. I went back to Seattle that night on the bus, a bit much for one hot day (90+). Next time I'll stay for the weekend and why not, Portland has a lot to offer a sketcher.

Sketching at Alki

The June sketcher's gathering took place on or around Alki Beach at West Seattle. Beautiful weather, too nice maybe, by the time I did my urban hike back to the truck I was quite burnt - the forgotten sunscreen still sitting on the bathroom counter.

Pen and ink with watercolor in a Stillman & Birn watercolor sketchbook.

The Board Game

I did the mass transit route to get up to Lake Forest Park, surprisingly easy (light rail and the #522). We had been invited to sketch during the annual flower and plant sale taking place at the Town Center. Though I did some sketches of plants and a local radio personality doing his show live, I couldn't resist sketching these three guys who were engrossed in their board game in the Commons upstairs. These guys were serious players complete with box of supplies/reference material and a hand cart to haul it with.

Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in a Stillman & Birn watercolor book.

Urban Sketchers Gathering October - Craven Farm, Snohomish, WA

This was done last October on a crazy packed Craven Farm in Snohomish. Ok for a sketch, but lacks a focal point and the subltle sky and clouds washed out. Next time.

Watercolor in a Stillman & Birn watercolor sketchbook.

The Seattle Urban Sketchers January Gathering at MOHAI

The Museum of History and Industry. Toe Truck second time around. Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in a Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook.

Toe Truck - Seattle's Museum of History and Industry

My wife works for the Puget Sound Blood Center who had their annual awards and holiday dinner at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). If you grew up in or around Seattle, you surely saw (on your way to the Seattle Center) the pink Lincoln's Toe Truck parked just off the Mercer exit.

That blast from the past now resides just inside the entrance to MOHAI and for this event, the backdrop to a no-host bar.

Pen and ink with watercolor wash.

Abslut Hot Dog Stand - Pioneer Square, Seattle

After the Seattle Urban Sketchers Gathering on the Seattle Waterfront - I walked south to Pioneer Square where there is a new (newer) food stand near the pergola and the Chief Sealth statue. Every half an hour of so I would have to take a break while all the people doing the Underground Seattle tour stood in front of me listening to their guide go over the story of the great Seattle fire of June 6, 1889.

Emerald City Trapeze Arts - Seattle

Last Sunday was the March gathering of the Seattle Urban Sketchers group and we found ourselves sketching at Emerald City Trapeze Arts - a teaching and practice facility for all things trapeze located in a classic old industrial building just south of downtown Seattle. They kindly let us sketch while a class was going on overhead and there were many interesting objects decorating the interior.

When you walk in you are ask to remove your shoes and it was the variety of foot wear that initially caught my eye. That and they weren't swinging back and fourth and doing back flips.....

Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in a Moleskine.

Albro and 13th - Georgetown (Seattle, WA)

This sketch almost never made it to the blog due to a 'senior moment' on my behalf. On a sketch trip to the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, I left my Moleskine sketch book sitting on the outside ledge of a window sill of a home design store called Le' OBJECTS. I didn't realize the book was missing until I went to scan this sketch. I lucked out that the owner of Le OBJECTS Tim De Clue had found the book and sent me a note letting me know he had it.

Very grateful to Tim for giving me the opportunity to get this book back, there are a number of sketches done recently I was very fond of.

This sketch is of the Ro Ro Tavern somewhere near Albro and 13th Ave. Right at the north end of Boeing Field.

The Fin Project - Urban Sketcher's Gathering

I came across this art installation at the eastern tip of Magnuson Park. Made from de-commissioned nuclear submarines these stabilizers are supposed to represent a pod of orca whales. This was also an Urban Sketchers gathering and despite the rainy grey day we had a great turnout.

Urban Sketchers at Stimson-Green Mansion - Seattle

This sketch is from the February Seattle Sketcher's Gathering at the Stimson-Green mansion. The building is beautiful inside and out and yet I chose to sketch the pathway between the mansion and staff quarters. Sometimes I look back at creative decisions and scratch my head....

A touch of watercolor, pen and ink in a watercolor moleskine.

Seattle Urban Sketchers - January gathering in the snow

We posed for this picture after the sketchcrawl at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. This was a great turnout considering the weather. I really should have stopped to sketch some of the great scenery while hiking back to the bus, but it was cold and I'm a whimp......Frank Ching took this picture, I'm second from the right

The graphite sketch is a sculpture of a monk at the moment of enlightenment, to be honest he looks like me trying to read a menu with out his glasses.

Took Metro into Seattle to meet up with fellow Seattle Urban Sketchers and spend time sketching exhibits at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (Capital Hill) out of the weather. Though there was a just a trace of snow when I walked in, a couple of hours later there was four inches of snow on the ground and not letting up. Capitol Hill is beautiful covered in snow and I enjoyed the walk to the Metro tunnel (downtown). It was much less stressful being a pedestrian in a snow storm……..Catching a bus home was a different story.

Coffee house sketches

Charles Dallum invited me to the Thursday Night Seattle Seahawk game versus Philadelphia. Went into town early via Metro and sketched people at Zeitgiest Coffee located a few blocks from the stadium.

Sketcher's Gathering Fairview Area Seattle

Alex and I met up with a huge crowd of urban sketchers for the May event. The first image is looking West toward Seattle Center. The second is of a small segment of the community garden and the rainwater catch barrel and pump.

SketchCrawl #31 Seattle Urban Sketchers April Event

We got together at the Amgen Footbridge at the north end of Elliott Bay. It was a great turnout and we were rewarded with a rare stretch of time with no rain (though I inhaled a colony of pesky gnats).

This sketch is of a fishing boat docked at the Smith Cove Waterway. I will add some color and finish under the dock when time permits. Great to have fellow Highline students Val Thompson, Alex Poorman, and Brian Mason join us. Hope they get the bug and want to become regulars.

I got in some urban hiking for this event, got off the bus at Benaroya Hall in downtown and walked the 2.5 miles through Olympic Sculpture and Myrtle Edwards Parks to get to our rendezvous. It is a beautiful region we live in (when it's not raining.....).

Pen and ink with grey marker in the Eileen VB sketchbook.

Six Arms - Seattle

Alex and I did our own sketchcrawl today, starting at Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square and then to the Pike-Pine hill climb. This sketch was done of the unique decor at the Six Arms Restaurant and Bar. Lots of whimsical piping and mysterious crows that have (as our waitress Celeste would say a 'Where's Waldo?") quality to their locations all over the establishment. Good food, the porter was OK, maybe a 7 on a scale to 10. No this picture isn't upside down - the crow was.....

Seattle Urban Sketchers Gathering

Our February gathering found us at Hale's Ales in Ballard. It wasn't a huge space but it was warm. This sketch was done near the entrance looking back to the brewing area.

Pen and ink with watercolor in the Marty book.