Watercolor Tulips

Looking back at another spring season full of tulips and time spent on the deck with watercolors.

Painting watercolor tulips in the sunshine out on the deck.

I divided up my Arches 140 lb. CP paper with painters’ tape and drew with a Micron waterproof pen.

I love the way natural light infuses the shadows with color! 

Quick Sketch Break

Looking down Spring Street

I took a quick sketch break at 5th and Spring Street between classes today. 10 minute pen drawing and then watercolor later in the day.

EDM - Day 8

Boots

Micron pen, Tombow dual brush pen, black ink waterbrush, watercolor

I'm smiling to myself as I sketch these boots. I wore them to my watercolor class recently, because I needed something comfortable to patrol the room during an intensive and active series of timed drills that I assigned to my students. One student said, "From now on, if I see you wearing those boots I'm going to run the other way!" I'm happy to report that everyone survived and actually outdid themselves.

Bradner P-Patch--Flowers, Funnels and Jello Molds, Oh My!

The arbor entrance on the East side of the garden at 29th Ave S.

Our Seattle Urban Sketchers Friday ad hoc meeting was at the Bradner P-Patch. It is one of 60 community gardens scattered across the city of Seattle. Originally started in 1987 as the Mt. Baker P-Patch, today Bradner has 61 garden plots of 200 square feet each.

The new year of 2013 was celebrated at Bradner Gardens Park with a new artwork on the trellis fence. It is a guardian for the bike rack on the basketball court. Artist is Clair Colquitt.
The official website has a list of the 7 themed gardens and the art installed in them.

I was instantly enchanted by the quixotic figures in the patch...they even have their own windmill!

As with anything for which one grows fond, I have my own nicknames for some of the "scarecrows" and sculptures that I sketched this morning. I even nicknamed a particular part of the garden, and you will see why:

The block headed gentleman with the yellow power tie seemed to be something inspired by Frankenstein, with nearby power lines to zap a bit of  life into him. The Zombie Rabbit (my nickname) may be a better figure for scaring crows than the usual man of straw.

 

Would this be Virginia the "Bride of Frankenstein" with her up-do of twig hair, dangling high heeled boots and pearl necklace? Perhaps she is named after the souvenir ashtray from West Virginia that creates her full lipped smile.

Fascinating and imaginative artwork can be found throughout the garden. Made with repurposed materials like scissors, clothing cast offs, toys, tableware, wheels, gears, broken garden tools, carved wood, teapots and jello molds, these designs enhance the atmosphere of partnership in this garden  between man and nature.

I made the following sketches in a 7x 10" Pro-Art sketchbook with my Micron pen....As in life, no eraser, and I'm serving them up fresh out of the garden before I cook 'em with watercolor and garnish with text.

Actually, my first sketch of the morning was the "Cabbage Patch Boy" with his shiny tea kettle head, overalls and missing b̶u̶n̶n̶y̶  lambie slipper. I nicknamed him after the familiar doll-like shape and the red cabbage patch that grows at his feet. On the same page I drew what seems to be some sort of salmon shaped barracuda mutation with chainsaw spines, an army helmet gullet and a forked tongue. It swims in a bed of lovely pink dahlias, but they have teeth, too!

"The Bride" just wouldn't fit in one piece, so I sketched her twiggy up-do and pearl bedecked gown. Then, I continued with her dangling high heeled boots and nearby accessories of pink cosmos and a purse-shaped wasp trap.

My last two sketches were in the "Garden of the Undead" (again, my nickname, but perhaps this is where perennials grow?). The Zombie Rabbit and aforementioned sartorial gentleman seemed energized by the power lines running through the background. I wonder if they lead to a  plasma-ion generator or perhaps the solar array atop the community building.  (I'm sure there must be a bolt in his neck somewhere.)

All in all, the Bradner P-Patch Garden seems very appropriate for the Emerald City.

Monday, August 10, at Sue Roberts' Studio

Approaching Guemes Island landing.

I am so glad that I decided to drive up early for our August 10th Anacortes Sketchers' outing! Missy kindly sent me a message about the rain, in case I wanted to wait until after lunch.

Our plan had been to walk on the 11:30am Guemes Island ferry (a 5 minute ride, sailing every half hour) and sketch on the beach while enjoying our own packed lunch. We had an appointment to visit artist Sue Roberts' studio after 1:00pm. I checked the weather and it looked like the rain would stop after 11:30, so I went early, as planned.

As you can see, it was still a bit overcast when I arrived at 11:15 am, but the rain had already stopped. Then I pulled over immediately after disembarking the ferry! Because here was a sweet little red "Gem" just waiting to be painted!

I thought this was the cutest, most colorful thing I would find on the island and set about sketching it immediately! I used my "perfect sketchbook", Micron pen, and my DYI Altoids Mini watercolor kit.

My sketch of the little red "Gem" parked at the ferry line shelter on Guemes.

I ordered fish and chips at the General Store for lunch. Janice and Bonnie were outside on the patio. What a view! It's right across the street from the ferry landing.  When my order came, the cook offered us an unclaimed order of crab and veggie summer rolls that someone had abandoned in their haste to catch the ferry. It was hard to get those two to wait for just a second while I sketched the crab rolls! Refinements added later.

The cook offered us free crab summer rolls with spicy sauce and ice water.

After sharing our lunch, we took off to visit Sue in her studio. I was wrong about the colorfulness factor! This being my first time at Sue Roberts' Tower Arts Studio, I had no idea what wonders awaited me!

Upstairs is a bedroom, converted from the original studio space overlooking the channel. Sue said it was too distracting. So she moved her major work studio down to the main floor.

Every piece of furniture is a delight to the eye.

I had half a man.....I mean, half a mind to cozy up in the reading nook.

 The beautiful color scheme and ceramic sculptures spill out into the garden and landscape outside.

As you gaze around the studio, there is no end to the imaginative collection of Sue's creations.

Everything is uniquely expressive.

 

If there is an earthquake here, heads will roll!

We got a tour of the studio from top to bottom and all around the grounds. Then we set to work.

So many choices of subject matter, both inside and out!

We tucked a couple of Sue's ceramic pieces in with all our afternoon sketches. Thanks to Annette for climbing to new heights for a great shot!

I stayed as late as I could to finish my sketches inspired by the afternoon at Sue's Tower Arts Studio. Color added at home.

Then, Sue gave us hot crab dip, chips, cool beverages and a homemade chocolate apple cake made just for us by Janice. Yum! Thank you, Sue, for an inspirational, fun and colorful summer retreat!

Nutmeg, the Balloon Fairy

Nutmeg, the balloon fairy, making a red puppy for Quinn

Yes, I did promise to post the entire sketch spread with the nest and eggs and etc. But I forgot that there was an important lunch date with my granddaughters and daughter-in-law in Bellingham today. Besides, after lunch we went to the Fairhaven Village Green and there was music, dancing, face painting and a balloon fairy.

I got out my Micron pen and did manage to find one more page available in my Pentalic Aqua Journal. I tried to draw discreetly, but she's a fairy and she caught me! I pretended that I wanted to buy something for my great granddaughter, but she knew what I was doing. Fairies are clever that way.

Bellingham Balloon Fairy, Nutmeg, at the Fairhaven Village Green

Bellingham Balloon Fairies live here.

Quinn watches closely as Nutmeg works her magic.

Sea Breezes, Flowers, fresh Penn Cove Mussels and Sketching Coupeville with ASk

Aqua Gifts on Front Street, one of my favorite gift shops.

These are the individual closeups of my sketches after a full day on Front Street in Coupeville on Whidbey Island with the Anacortes Sketchers.To see how these closeups look in the full spread of my sketchbook, please visit Anacortes Sketchers blog here.

Empty wine bottle and mussel shells from dinner tonight.

Almost every shop has flowers out front

I can remain standing on the sidewalk while I sketch and paint.

Instead of taking the ferry, I drove around the long way (about 70 miles one way) to meet up with The Anacortes sketchers today. It was the Monday after the Fourth of July weekend and there was an unusually large amount of traffic all the way from Marysville to my destination.

You drive around Penn Cove, famous for the freshest mussels anywhere, and come to Coupeville, this great little village with flowers on every doorstep and cool sea breezes mixing with delicious aromas from the waterfront bars and bistros.

Once I got there, I had to spend a little more time looking for parking since the town was also unusually busy. I finally settled on this spot in the shade on a side street, with a view of "Aqua Gifts" on the east end of Front Street and started sketching with my Micron pen and my Pentalic Aqua Journal.

There were sketchers all along the waterfront and even up the hill a block or two. Everyone enjoyed their own way of exploring the town, sketching, visiting, shopping, etc. At the end of the day, some of us went into Toby's for a cold drink and fresh Penn Cove Mussels. I got a pound of fresh mussels to take home and steam for dinner tonight. They turned out great!

Family Trip to Silverton, Colorado

As fireworks are zooming up into the air tonight, I imagine they aren't at any altitude near as high as we went on our recent trip to visit family in New Mexico. Here are some sketches from another high altitude (9,308 ft) excursion during that trip.....Silverton, Colorado.

A day in Silverton, CO. Zoom to see details or read my notes.

So on June 21, we drove from Farmington, NM, (already high altitude) through Durango and on up to Silverton, CO., for a rather late lunch. Grumpy's Restaurant and Saloon is part of the Grand Imperial Hotel on the other end of the main road (Greene Street) coming into town. The honky tonk piano played by Dale Elliott rang out the front door and into the street where we all had to admire the rare 4 wheel drive Checker Cab. The owner of the cab told us that the exterior is authentic but the whole inside has been redone, including the engine, etc.

Next we went into Grumpy's Saloon to listen to the piano and check out the menu. We got good service, since most of the tourists from the train* were just finishing their meal. Very good food, too. After we ate, it was time for a walk up and down the main street. While my husband and I often joined the rest of the gang in the tourist shops, sometimes we just took advantage of the many benches situated considerately along the sidewalk for sea level people like us. Again, verrrrry hot weather this June 21.

One of those benches was right outside the door of an ice cream shop with cool, air-conditioned breezes coming right across my shady seat. The view across the street is the back alley in my sketch above. It's not often that you can follow an alley all the way to a mountain.

Silverton as seen from switchbacks on HWY 550

*On a previous trip, we took the bus to Silverton and the train back to Durango. Silverton is linked to Durango by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark

Meanwhile, the air is smoky and filled with the smell of gunpowder tonight. The neighbors are going wild with their family displays of fireworks!

More photos from the Aztec, NM, trip

On the last day of a family trip to New Mexico, my granddaughter and I sketched at the ruins in Aztec, designated a World Heritage site in 1987, where the elevation is high (5877 ft) and the heat (98-100ºF) is "dry".   

Right now, with our current heat wave in the Seattle area, the daily temperatures are surprisingly similar to northwestern New Mexico but the breathable oxygen is definitely not. The terrain and vegetation are completely different from where we live in the Seattle area.

My granddaughter, daughter-in-law (#3) and I sat in the sweltering hot sun while sketching at the ruins in Aztec. I sketched the skyline in watercolor (#1) while my granddaughter did a pencil sketch (#4) of the restored Kiva.

We explored this restored 900-year old ancestral Pueblo Great House (Kiva). It's the only one in the nation which allows visitors inside. You could look up and see original timbers holding up the roof. There is a superb video tour of the Great Kiva on the Aztec Monument site. More information about the ruins can be found there as well.

All the overlooks, viewpoints and benches were in full sun and high on sweltering hot hilltops. So my granddaughter and I sketched as fast as we could and then escaped into the shade between sketches. We finally had to cool off indoors to add color later.

A Few Details:
The shade inside the ruins was comparatively cooler, perhaps right down to the low 90's. You can see the thick walls, where we posed our sketchbooks in a doorway recess. The original centuries-old timber preserved in the wall made it possible to see ancient thumbprints in the nearby mortar. I saw what looked like a bird and snake carved into another one of the stones outside. (zoom adjacent image lower right.)

The Aztec National Monument was established in 1923 along with Chaco Culture National Historical Park to the south. It has an area of about 320 acres (130 hectares). Built of sandstone, mud, and stones by ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians, these multilevel communal dwellings have over 400 rooms.  If you search, you can find the fingerprints of ancient workers in the mortar.


PS. Back home now and I finally have access to my own internet, laptop and camera card. I trust that you enjoyed these extra photos from a trip that is indelibly memorable to me. We plan to return, since this visit to the ruins was only for under two hours. (See previous post.)  By the way, did I say it was hot?

Sketching in Aztec, New Mexico

Mistakenly considered to be Aztec in origin by early white settlers, the site actually contains the ruins of a 12th-century Ancestral Pueblo settlement built by people associated with Chaco Canyon to the south. The Ancestral Pueblo people, formerly known as Anasazi, were ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. They lived in multilevel communal dwellings constructed of sandstone, mud, and stones.

100 degrees outside at Aztec Ruins, New Mexico

On this sweltering hot hilltop, my granddaughter and I sketched as fast as we could and escaped into the cool indoors to add color later.

A section of the ruins at Aztec, New Mexico.

Aztec Ruins National Monument, archaeological site in northwestern New Mexico, U.S. It is situated on the Animas River, in the city of Aztec, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Colorado state line. The national monument was established in 1923 and designated a World Heritage site in 1987 (along with Chaco Culture National Historical Park to the south). It has an area of about 320 acres (130 hectares).

Looking east across the Animas River from the ruins. 

From another viewpoint, I got most of the color before I couldn't take the 100 degree "dry" heat. At least my watercolor washes dried quickly.