Lauren's Graduation Party - Lake Saint Clair

Our best friend's daughter just graduated from college and the event was celebrated with a party at her grandparent's place on Lake Saint Clair located just east of Olympia, Washington. Nothing could make a person feel older......Congratulations Lauren Sutton, we are very proud of you.

This was done at lake side with pen and ink and a watercolor wash.

McNeil Island on the fly....

This sketch was done on the Anderson Island Ferry that passes McNeil Island and the penitentiary (I actually had to look up how to spell penitentiary....sheesh). Because this was done on a moving boat and time was limited, it kept me from overworking (and over thinking) the subject. Just glad it was a forty year old ferry with three guys downstairs peddling as fast as they can.

Sketched in a large Strathmore recycled paper sketchbook in ink with a watercolor wash.

Flat Tire? Where's the reset button?

I can't remember the last time I had a flat tire, especially in the Mazda work truck that I bought new in '86. Ok this was embarrassing, I didn't even know how to lower the spare from under the truck bed. Turns out there is a hole in the back of the pickup by the licence plate you stick the crank in, lowering it until you can crawl under the bed and drag out the tire. Did I mention the spare had been there since 1986....yeah it was flat too.
Now in this day of cellular communication you would think that a two flat problem could easily be resolved with a phone call, that is unless you have T-Mobile and are stranded east of Maple Valley, and area that gets as much cell service as the dark side of the moon......Time for a walk.

Canyon Sketch - Bend, Oregon

Painted this small watercolor on a past trip to The Eagle Crest Resort in Bend, Oregon. Coming across this makes me long for a sketch trip of any sort.

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.

The Test.....

Struggling to keep my eyes open at a Youth Symphony Concert (no Kiersten wasn't playing) and my wife let me leave at intermission to sketch at the coffee shop next door. It didn't dawn on me until later that she might have been testing me by giving me the option to skip the second half of the performance....Tacoma has a lot of the Theater District torn up for road improvement so there are lot of big equipment parked on the streets.

Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in the Molskine.

Gone but not forgotten....

My favorite sketching destination Jet City Espresso was forced to close their doors with the landlords refusing to renew their lease. Gone are my favorites like the old washing machine doubling as a planter, the vintage marquee 'OPEN' sign and all of the nick knacks inside. Nothing is as sure as change, seems to be a lot of change lately......This sketch was done in 2010 in a seldom used sketchbook. Pen and ink with a watercolor wash.

Sketched looking down through the building girders to 4th Ave. Very similar to my sketch from last year. They let us in an hour before the public to sketch the building, thing is, I think it's the public sitting around and reading in the library that is the most interesting to sketch. Glad to see such a huge turnout for both the Sketcher's event and Gabi's book talk. Very cool. The second scan was done in a small sketchbook during Gabi's talk.

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 Triptych

I've started to mix sketch scenes together, mostly out of frugality - watercolor moleskines are kinda pricy. An interesting musician that plays in my daughter's jazz group with a background consisting of a window display in downtown Seattle. Not comfortable with the fact that I placed a homeless guy selling newspaper so close to a young girl playing the flute. The last scene is on the #150 going to Seattle from Kent. Though I didn't represent it well, the big guy in the middle had this wild flowing hair topped with a fur hunters cap.....drawing on a moving vehicle is tough for me - I turn a little green.

Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in a watercolor Moleskine .