Silverton sketches, closeups

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. 

Summer Island Vignettes

A view of Mt. Baker and Jerlyn sketching in Bonnie's Garden

Today, I spent a wonderful afternoon with the Anacortes sketchers at the home of one of our artists. The summer air was fresh and warm, the garden bountiful and the hospitality warm and welcoming. After roaming the house and garden, I found a shady spot with a view of Mt. Baker. Cloud shadows played across the mountain's shapes, creating a variety of undulating rhythms.

After a meander through the glade with its own pond and tiny island, we came back to the table where fresh flowers and chocolate tempted us. Everywhere you looked, there was another path, a grouping of potted blossoms or a place to sit and muse.

I spent a lot of time today just soaking it all in. I think you would have, too, if you had been there.

Giant Coffee Cups to Jackalopes - in Fremont, of course

The Fremont sketchcrawl:
Gail gave an overview of the area as sketchers arrived at the back patio of the Way Station Coffee House. There was a plethora of eclectic subject matter for Seattle Urban Sketchers to choose in the Fremont district on this warm, breezy Sunday morning, June 14, 2015.

The Burke-Gilman Trail runs right along the middle of today's four block area. There were plenty of cyclists, walkers, etc. out this morning.

As I sketched my backyard view of the Way Station, I realized the scale of my coffee cup went from a Giga-Grande to an espresso, relatively speaking. There are enough other sketches out there on the USk Seattle blog with proper scale, if you need it.

Next, I took a walk northwards up the street and was stunned by the exterior of  Drunky's Two Shoe BBQ! Horseshoes in the pavement, a "Road Window", big Western Style false fronts on the building and a shiny Airstream in the back. This part of Fremont isn't as polished as the area down by the Fremont bridge, but it is every bit as eclectic. I think it has a kind of  60's vibe.

The top of the Air Stream sported a TV antenna and an olive green matte finish.

Mike, the Pit Master of Drunky's BBQ, says that the Air Stream in which he now lives was once the first place where Drunky's sold their BBQ. A few of us went back to the restaurant for lunch after sharing our sketches.

I played peek-a-boo with a couple of chickens fenced between the patio and the sidewalk.

A racoon modeling a box of Cracker Jack, gas mask, emergency water and possibly Howdy Doody.

There were too many things I wanted to sketch as I gazed upwards during lunch. I managed to sketch the crocodile head and the jackalope, then wrote a short list of things to sketch next time:

• Chainsaw Chandelier, see Tina's and Gail's sketches from lunch, Kate did the fern with a horse jumping out of it
• Wall mounted taxidermy: bass, mountain sheep, deer, pheasants
• O'Keefe style cattle skull
• Chicken (live)
• American Flag with 13 stars
• Velvet Elvis
• Velvet Elvis with Jesus
• A Dodge grill, possibly from a pickup truck
• A canoe on the roof, but over the doorway
• Bronze rooster and pink flying pig
• Bear Trap
• Pig on a tire swing hanging from a ceiling fan
• Oh, and the bar has tractor seats.

Grey Morning at Fishermen's Wharf

The morning started out a bit cold and nippy with overcast skies for the Friday Ad Hoc meeting of Seattle Urban Sketchers today.

I started out with the stone Qingdao Eagle monument on the west end of the dock. This sculpture commemorates the relationship of the Port of Seattle with its sister port of Qingdao, China. I used my Pentalic Aqua Journal, Micron pen and my DYI Altoids watercolor kit.

By now, my nose, ears and fingertips were becoming a bit cold for comfort, so I walked around to the south side of the nearby building.

Options for sketching indoors resulted in my choice of Wild Salmon Seafood Market. The sandwich board outside advertised the fresh selection of the day: Trout, Halibut, Black Cod, Tuna, Swordfish and Petrale Sole.

Lavender light from an overhead sign beckoned me over to the scales atop the counter. Overflowing a tray on the scales was a beautiful fresh King Salmon weighing 14.45 pounds. Workers behind the counter told me that it was fresh from our Pacific NW coast. They were kind enough to leave it there long enough for me to sketch it. I may have gotten carried away with the lavender lighting, though.

Now that I was warmed up a bit, I moved back outside to continue my counterclockwise circuit. I had enough time for one more sketch. It was a grey day, so I looked for one more subject with a subdued color palette. The crab traps piled high on the nearest boat fit the criteria. By the time my sketch was finished, the sky had cleared up, the sun was out and it was time to share our sketches.

A lively discussion while sharing our sketches in the sun.

Note: I had to correct the date on my sketchbook. June is the 6th month, duh!

My 2015 Sketchbook Project is coming to Texas and California in June!

Here's a quick peek at my 2015 Sketchbook Project! Come and see it in person to read the pages and see all the fold outs. 

Inside front cover

See my little video page-through here.

Find my book by the code number below, Title, or my name, Michele Cooper (one "L")

1. “My Pacific NW” - #S146463

Project: The Sketchbook Project 2015

June 19-21 / Austin, TX

• South Austin Social 

• 409 Jessie St - Austin, TX 78704
• June 19: 1:00 — 5:00pm
• June 20: 12:00 — 4:00pm
• June 21: 12:00 — 4:00pm

• June 26-28 / L.A., CA

  • LACMA
  • 5905 Wilshire Blvd - L.A., CA 90036
  • June 26: 4:30 — 8:30pm
  • June 27: 3:30 — 7:30pm
  • June 28: 12:00 — 4:00pm

EDIM 29-A Faucet

I am using part of my summer vacation to catch up on some projects that got set aside during the last month of teaching weekly classes. So, although I sketched this today, (7/15/15) I am belatedly posting the sketch for Day 29, May.

Donkey farm faucet

I saw this particular type of faucet in New Mexico at our son's house, on a family trip to Aztec National Monument and at the  JF Miniature Donkey farm. See my sketches from a summer visit to the donkey farm here.

The blue one filled 350 water balloons for our grandson's graduation party this June.  The red one was outside the Aztec Ruins, NM. 

EDim 28-A Yard Ornament or Statuary

I am using part of my summer vacation to catch up on some projects that got set aside during the last month of teaching weekly classes. So, although I sketched this today, I am belatedly posting the sketch for Day 28, May.

Is July 15 too late for EDM?

I just can't get over what a fabulous summer we are having. We have taken advantage of outdoor living, a rare thing in the PNW. This hand blown glass fountain sits in its own little pool between the garage and the studio side of the house. I can hear the sound of the water right outside my studio window. Today, I wanted to sketch a fountain, and all I had to do was walk out my own back door!