Magnuson Park, Seattle

Yesterday, I posted the right side of my sketches from Magnuson Park. I kept the two sections on the left blank until I could at least make an ink drawing of a composition I had in mind. It's funny, because the small sketches on the right side of the page are from my view to the left of where I was standing, and the opposite is true of the left side of the page, seen below.

My view from under the tree

My Micron Ink sketch

Anyway, I needed to wait until I had access to my good brushes. The Aquaflow waterbrush carries its own water supply, but the tuft leaves something to be desired. Why I chose to do those tiny credit card sized sketches with it is beyond me. Maybe it's for the same reason we do anything that's on the edge.....just to see if we can!

Entire 3-section spread

Flowers, Fins & Kites at Magnuson Park

2 credit card sized sketches in my 5x7" Journal

One could spend quite a long time contemplating the rich depth of meaning that can be experienced at Magnuson Park in Seattle.

The public art installation, "Fins", made of recycled dive fins from cold war nuclear submarines, resembles a pod of Orca. They are installed close to the lake, where wildflowers grow along a smooth, paved walking path. The huge property was formerly a US Naval Station, accessible to the public through a narrow sentry gate. No sentry watches the gate now.

My easel under a tree

There is a kite flying hill, where a lone figure assembled his kite, waited, tried and tried again, until he got the kite aloft. Meanwhile, USk Seattle sketchers spread out among the meadows, trees, buildings, climbing wall, and shoreline where they tried and tried again to record their experience of the day.

Whether it's international peace and cooperation, flying a kite, climbing a mountain or other seemingly insurmountable endeavors such as sketching on location, the message seems to be "try and try again."