Playing "Hop Sketch" in Seattle

There is such a thing as a "sketch crawl". What Tina, Kate, Feather and I did today was anything but a crawl. We met at 10:00am at Husky Station, sketched for an hour, then hopped on the new Link Light Rail to Capitol Hill, Denny and Broadway Station. We warmed up at the Oddfellow Cafe, having lunch while sketching, hopped over to Dick Blick Art Supply for a bit, then back to sketch at the new Denny St Station for more transit sketching. I have coined the expression "Hop Sketch" to fully describe this game. But that's not all!

After sketching outside the new Denny and Broadway Station, sharing our sketches on a bench on the underground Link Platform, and getting a trophy shot, one of our party, who shall remain nameless, shivered her way home. That left three. We hopped on one of the new streetcars and rode the line down to 5th and Jackson, near Uajimaya and King Street Station. During the ride, I sketched the commuter with the hat pulled over his eyes. The stationery department at Uajimaya beckoned. As we ogled the gleaming display of Lamy pens, my husband called from Kng Street Station with an invitation to dinner. What? Who can be hungry surrounded by pens, inks, paper, and socks with funny  sayings embroidered on them, such as "My Favorite Vegetable is Wine" and "I Love You" (above the ankle) and "Weirdo" (below the top line of the shoe).

But then, we had to part ways. The new Amazon store at University Village was calling my name. That left two. Where they went from Uajimaya, I don't know. They may still be there.....sketching with their new Lamy pens, wearing their witty socks.

The Buoys Near the Boats

Seattle Urban Sketchers brought the sun out again at the Waterfront Activities Center at the University of Washington. In contrast to thunderstorms on Friday and cooler temperatures on Saturday, we found ourselves shedding our layers and searching for shade during our monthly meetup this morning.

I wanted to compare the old shell house with the new one, each located on the shore at opposite ends of the boat launching area. I started with the Conibear Shell House on the north side of the shore. Rather than sketch the buildings, I turned my back to the shell house and chose a view across the lake towards Bellevue. Like a giant bee, a yellow helicopter buzzed through the scene. The floating bridge was closed today and I could see at least three cranes along the stretch visible in the middle distance. As I worked, a man launched a paddle board and set out on his knees for the arboretum, navigating his way between the two orange buoys. Now and then a canoe would emerge from the right, through the lily pads and marsh grass.

Looking east toward Bellevue and the floating bridge under construction.

After finishing my first sketch, I was ready to walk along the shady waterfront path, back towards the Canoe House. It was interesting to see fellow sketchers stationed all along the way, focused on their own particular subjects. Zoom to see larger.

Now on the south end of the water sports area, I walked around the back of the old shell house. Many of the sketchers are in the process of reading "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown, and they wanted to be at the old shell house where the US. Olympic Champions did their training. I finally chose to draw the huge white bouys, specked with rust and tied to a tree.

A very nice couple stopped to ask if they could see what I was drawing. In an amazing coincidence, she turned out to be Helen, one of my former watercolor students out for the day with her photographer husband, David Barnes. They settled nearby to eat their lunch and I continued to draw.

I only had time to get the line work and a few tones in before I noticed it was time to share our sketches. As it turns out, David Barnes kindly agreed to take our group photo.

Color added to the "Buoys near the Boats." Watercolor Field Book by ProArt, Micron pen, watercolor and map collage.

I collaged a map section, showing the two docks; Conibear Shell House (in the red circle at the top of the map) and the Canoe House (in the lower right corner of the map, indicated by my arrow).

Mad Art at UW and Burke Museum

From September 13th – October 25th 2014, the University of Washington welcomes MadArt’s newest public art installation, Mad Campus, onto its grounds. In this exhibit, temporary, site-specific works are displayed in various outdoor locations on the UW campus. Inspired by their locations, from hidden nooks to well-frequented vistas, the selected artists have created new sculptures designed to be interactive.

Some of the "bird relics" that drew my attention.

Evan Blackwell's work is fascinating. His installation called "Relics of Experience" is located outside the Burke Museum in order to inspire a dialogue of inquiry and wonder about collecting as it relates to nature, history, and living experience. The piece is made up of a series of ceramic boxes that are filled with responses to and representations of various artifacts from the Burke’s collection.

I hopped on the floating bridge ($4.90 toll by mail....Thank You!) after teaching my class at Kirkland Arts Center. The campus chimes rang two o'clock as I reached the installation at the Burke Museum. I got $12 refund for my $15 parking at the kiosk on my way out at 2:45.
I made these sketches with my Micron, Lamy pen, Pentalic sketchbook and a few watercolor brushstrokes.

Seattle Urban Sketchers were there this morning, sketching Mad Campus. Can't wait to see their sketches!
Update: I got the date wrong for the sketchers, they are meeting up next Friday! It's not too late for you to join them!

My new tiny Pentalic Sketchbook

The University Book Store in Seattle has always been one of my favorite places. When our children were small, I took them upstairs for story time in the childrens' section. It was timed perfectly so that lunchtime was right afterwards. Imagine the swift run through I usually had to do downstairs in the art store!

No such problem while shopping with fellow sketchers last Friday! We ogled the beautiful fountain pens laid out in covered cases like rare jewels, found new supplies that we really didn't need (now on the wish list), and shared the reasons why we were buying our favorites.

3x5" Aqua Journal with my Micron Pen in the elastic holder

A friend told me about these tiny 3x5" Pentalic Aqua Journals, so I got one that day. An elastic brush holder is positioned at the top of the book and is designed to hold a travel brush or pen. The Aqua Journal is fitted with a ribbon marker, elastic band closure and storage pocket in the back of the book.

I have seen fellow artists using the 5x8" Aqua Journals, which will give you a nice sized 5x16" panoramic spread using both sides when open. So far, no results online for these really small 3x5" ones. I have already mentioned the Nature Sketch books (illus.) and recommended them to help my students work on daily sketching. In every instance, I really like the quality, weight and finish of their 130 lb paper. All these sketchbooks open out flat. It suits my direct style of line and wash sketching.

Why, you may ask, am I excited about the smaller size? I want to get over the idea of making a finished painting every time I'm out "sketching". Maybe if it's almost too small to see, I might think of it as merely a sketchbook and simplify my composition. It seems the more room I have on the paper, the more "finished" it appears to want to be. Don't hold your breath, though, I think it's my attitude that needs changing rather than the size of my sketchbook.

Hmmm. Maybe I should only paint things that are 30 miles away. Wait, isn't that a zoom feature on my iPhone camera? I have a pair of binoculars somewhere, don't I?

PPP with USk Seattle at the UW

You know how some agencies just love acronyms and initials instead of saying the whole phrase? Well, I've got one for you.....PPP stands for Paraty Pit Party. Kate thought it up for those of us who stayed here while some of our fellow sketchers went to Brazil for a fabulous symposium. She even made badges for us! What fun! Actually we are all very excited for those who are there and can't wait to hear all about the experience when they get home. In the meantime, there is an official page to browse and we will KEEP CALM & SKETCH ON.

One of my sketches from the meet with USk Seattle

We met in the UW Medicinal Herb Garden. The map shows where I was sketching, sheltered under some trees while it rained a bit. Make sure to see our sketches posted from that day. It's amazing how much there is to see, just in that one small area.