Mount Vernon sketches

On a trip to Mount Vernon to visit with friend and fellow urban sketcher Frank Bettendorf in his adopted home town. Pen, ink and wash in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Two sketches from last weekend's Seattle Urban Sketchers Gathering at the Seattle Chinese Gardens located on the South Seattle Community College campus. Warm beautiful day!

Pen, ink and watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor book.

In transit

Took Light Rail into Seattle to attend a Photoshop lecture at the Adobe campus. These sketches were done on the commute.

Pen, ink and watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Tacoma Urban Sketchers Gathering - May 2017

Going loose at the monthly Tacoma Urban Sketchers Gathering. Construction site at Freighthouse Square, man did it feel good to sketch outside in the sunshine.

Sketches from the West Coast Urban Sketchers Gathering - San Diego

I flew down to San Diego last weekend to participate in the 3rd annual West Coast Urban Sketcher's Gathering. Great weather, outstanding scenery to sketch, met a bunch of fellow sketchers from other cities and learned some dos and don'ts as Tacoma puts on this event next year.

The Bell Tower sketch was done on a Strathmore 6x12" watercolor sketch pad. The other sketches were created in a Moleskine watercolor sketch book.

The Old Town sketch was done under comfortable grey cloudy skies. The rest of the weekend was spent in the Southern California sun working on my farmer's tan. Many thanks to Jim Bumgarner and the San Diego Urban Sketch Group for putting on a great and enjoyable event.

Sketches from Santa Ynez Valley vacation

Three sketches from in and around Solvang, California.

Tacoma Urban Sketchers Gathering - May at Freighthouse Square

Freighthouse Square is experiencing a healthy rejuvenation which is nice to see and fun to experience. The dental office located across the street north of the square, is a most unique entrance to a dental office as it leads you into the back corner of a warehouse building. The skeleton of an old dental chair wrapped in Christmas lights, resides on top of the office entrance.

Pen and ink with watercolor in a watercolor Moleskine.

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.

Windy Ellensburg

Tamra and I went over to Central Washington University to watch Kiersten and the CWU Marching Band perform at halftime of the football game. So windy.

This was the last sketch in the Stillman and Birn Beta series sketchbook. Pen and ink with watercolor.

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.

Leavenworth Sketch

Looking west from the gazebo on Front Street. This sketch didn't do the beauty right, it was more gorgeous than that. In a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

Watson Summer Cabin - Lake Twelve

I was invited out to experience the annual picnic of the Watson family who have a summer cabin on Lake Twelve just east of Black Diamond, Washington. Great food, great people and entertainment by Happy Hans and Band made for a relaxing afternoon. I picked this spot (a bit away from the crowd listening to the band) for it's view of the lake, the only down side was being down wind of the bon fire. Stopped at the store on the way home and the cashier asked if "something was on fire?" My art bag still smells like smoked salmon.

Pen and ink in a Stillman and Birn Beta Watercolor sketchbook.

The Old Church - West Coast Urban Sketchers Gathering - Portland

This was the morning sketch done for the Noon sharing. It's embarrassing the amount of sketches I don't get done in a day. This is 'The Old Church' located at SW 11th and Clay St. was built in the 1880's.

Pen and ink in a Stillman & Birn Beta watercolor 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.

The Ryan Canyon at the Dinner Bell - Chelan, WA

It would be so easy to write a couple of pages about this sketch and the family homestead in Chelan, Washington; I'll try and keep it shorter. 

The family ranch was homesteaded in 1901 and located some 15 miles north of Chelan. As a young teen, I spent my summers in Chelan working in the apple orchards (thinning) and staying with relatives both in town and at the ranch, a gift that only years later did I realize was priceless and too often taken for granted.

Currently the family is working hard to change this canyon into a wedding ceremonial site. What was a canyon floor planted with alfalfa, has been transformed into a beautiful and naturally landscaped setting for marital unions complete with willow trees whose leaves in the afternoon subtle breeze is just as likely to put you in a meditative state (in my case sleep) especially if you were sketching. The planted grass canyon floor is a stark contrast to the brutally picturesque and stunning canyon walls that frame this remote piece of heaven.

This visit was a 4th of July family reunion complete with skillfully barbequed meats and every traditional type of side dish possible. I was able to take advantage of the time before the food was ready to take a stroll down the canyon to sketch; I had already picked a point of view from a family walk earlier. I sat down and was joined by the family heard of horses who originally thought I might have some food for them all, but settled for grazing around me as I sketched.

This sketch was done about half way to the wedding site looking back to the ranch. Pen and ink in a Stillman & Birn beta watercolor sketchbook.

As soon as I heard the dinner bell (actually a triangle) some half mile up canyon, this sketch was over.....there are very few things in my life that might trump the creative process - hunger for a good home cooked meal is one of them.  

Where Did I park That Jet?

This was a January sketch, which means my whimpy backside didn't get out of the car. I drove around south Seattle for a while and ended up in the parking lot of the Museum of Flight. From where I was sitting it looked like the jet was brought in by just another soccer mom with a slightly higher budget than most...Yea I know. Three engines on one side, two on the other. I'm not just whimpy, I'm lazy.

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

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.

Garrison Keillor at Benaroya Hall

Tamra gave me tickets to see Garrison Keillor for Christmas. I have always been a fan of his and the radio show A Prairie Home Compainion. I did this sketch from a photograph just in case I could get him to sign the sketchbook (the opportunity didn't happen) , evidently the photo wasn't recent, he did look a touch older.

Urban Sketchers Gathering International District - Seattle

It was cold and wet, hell all of March was wet. The green awning is the Fortune Garden Restaurant I believe. Pen and ink with watercolor.