7.22.13

Capitol Hill library is an extremely frequent destination for us, as we are both avid readers and movie watchers. I love the trellis at the entrance.

7.18.13

I visited MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry) on this day, I had never been to the old location so I had nothing to compare it to, Very interesting place! I will definitely sketch inside on some lovely rainy day, but on this day I stayed outside and made this drawing of a fireboat docked at South Lake Union.

7.13.13 - 7.14.13

We went camping in the North Cascades National Park last weekend. The weather was beautiful! We stayed at the Colonial Creek Campground on Diablo Lake.

I sketched at the Diablo Dam on Sunday and while it was very sunny it was also very very windy! I made my first sketch from a pontoon pier and then walked across the damn to get the other view. The dam produces electricity for Seattle and was once the tallest dam in the world. The water in the lake is a crazy turquoise blue, I learned that it is caused by the surrounding glaciers that grind rock into a fine powder, that powder stays suspended in the lake giving the water it's intense color. 

the weekend

okay so I bought myself a LAMY pen! turns out buying the pen is the easy part,  figuring out how to use it and what kind of ink I may prefer is a totally different and personal thing. I am a follower of the Capitol Hill Blog http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/ , so when I read this week that the Egyptian was going to close I thought ACH! I need to get down there! I think a lot of northwest urban sketchers embrace the sunny days when they can go out and draw unencumbered by rain and flat grey landscapes... but for me I HATE SUNNY DAYS! very short sketch

The Urban Sketchers met in Edmonds,WA today. It felt a little thematic to draw another theater today but because I have a good friend named Daphne this is what I saw

I felt that I was struggling with my new LAMY pen today, the line was too fat, the ink smudgy and not as waterproof as touted. I got some tips from fellow urban sketchers so I am hoping with time I will embrace my new tool

6.16.13

after discovering that I had left my coffee making apparatus in the Forks house this morning, I collected my gear and went to Black Coffee Co-op on Pine for my fix. This little place has only been open about 9 months in the store that used to be Travelers. It has been getting a bad rap due to its theme of coffee and anarchy but I enjoyed the space before Capitol Hill woke up this morning.

6.14.13

Off another adventure while we have company, we used the airbnb service to secure a little cabin in Forks,Wa for a couple of days. Really cute space very well equipped and it looked like we had been living there for awhile shortly after we arrived. 

6.12.13

My daughter and her guy are in town from Denver this week so we took in a game at Safeco against Houston. It was a nice night and at the end of the game while the Mariners were busy losing a game it began to sprinkle and we got to see the roof close! I made this drawing before it got too dark.

6.5.13

I made this sketch mid morning last Wednesday. I got too dark too fast, fooled by the abundance of shade trees on this block of Summit Ave., it really was a beautiful sunny morning. 

still trying to catch up

5.10.13

I started a couple of other sketches on the Friday we gathered in Fremont and finished them later.

The PCC Market in Fremont

after the group broke up some of us went to The Red Door and enjoyed some sun on the patio

5.12.13

Opted for breakfast out on Mother's Day and we went to Americana on Broadway, here in the neighborhood. It was our first time there, the ginger pancakes were YUM and the tin tile decor was fun too!

5.19.13

Joined a huge group of Urban Sketchers last Sunday for a draw in Pike Place Market! It was super busy there but I found a little spot to sit and sketch near the "Gum Wall" looking away from the market. I chose not to put any peeps in there because the constant stream would have hidden the faded posters I was drawn to. anyway

for my second I did a quick pencil sketch and went for the brush. It's kind of like tying my hands behind my back when I skip the pen. 

catching up....

as I related to a fellow urban sketcher today, I enjoy posting my drawings to flickr but I get lazy with my blog posts. I am now going to attempt to catch you up with my urban drawing adventures.

4.26.13

I joined the Friday adhoc group of USk folks at Seattle Center on this day. I think the main attraction was a Cherry Blossom Festival but I set out this morning wanting to draw the outside of the EMP museum.

4.30.13

We got cheap nosebleed seats at a Seattle Mariners vs Baltimore Orioles game from ThreeDollar Bill Cinema on Arts Night. It was a little chilly and not many folks out but we did score free t-shirts and tote bags! Oh and this sketch of course....

5.5.13

Every year we go out to the Good Shepherd Center for the Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale. It's very festival like in that we get wrist bands for time slots, wait in line and then people stream in. I only made time for a short sketch but it was my first ever at this event.

5.7.13

Tried to draw this fun little place on a sunny Monday morning but it was closed so I got lucky with a sunny Tuesday morning. Little Uncle Asian is a small walk up food place on Madison @ 15th on Capitol Hill, I was initially drawn to it because I saw a couple eating in the wee dugout space to the right of the kitchen. It's an awesome use of a tight space and even better because because it's next to the Bullitt Bldg !

5.10.13

Which brings us to today, where I met with the adhoc group in Fremont, Seattle, WA. The general theme of the day was the quirky landmarks in the "center of the universe" I think this qualifies as a quirky landmark...The Fremont Rocket @ N35th & Evanston.

4.22.13_The Bullitt

I made this first sketch of the Bullitt Building on July 29th, 2012 from the rooftop of our condo at 14th & Pine while it was still under construction. I no longer have this view of the Bullitt because a new apartment building has risen to hide it. 

This week The Greenest Commercial Building in the world http://bullittcenter.org/ had it's grand opening! It is fun to look at with all it's crazy angles, glass and solar panels. I made this sketch in the morning before crowds were lined up to get in for the open house. I feel certain it won't be the last time I draw this structure.

4.13.13

The 39th World Wide Sketch Crawl was on Saturday. A cold and windy Saturday, surely there must be some adage about "cold hands, fast drawing". There are a lot of really nice trees in this shopping center and I wasn't the only one who was drawn to this corridor. It was too chilly to stay out for long so I found a not so busy corner at Starbucks to draw looking out the window for my second University Village sketch.

Upon returning to the hill a friend and I got together for a sketch at Bill's Off Broadway, this was my second sketch there, this one from the inside, I scored a really great seat at the end of the bar. The cook told us that the building will be coming down in August, and the owner is slated to reopen at the same location when the construction is done. 

3.29.13

 I set out on this day to make a drawing of Bill's Off Broadway in my ongoing quest to draw as many old Capitol Hill structures as I can before they all morph into something "New and Improved". I grabbed a slice at Hot Mama's Pizza @ Pine & Boylston before tackling Bill's and was intrigued by the little market across the street. This is my first sketch of Bill's from Pine & Harvard.

3.22.13

Took a drive up north on Friday for a sketch with some Urban Sketcher folk. Drove thru a freaky snowstorm to get there but the space was pretty amazing. I chose to draw this display of yard yaya.

3.20.13

Tuesday night the wind and rain howled! I had planned on walking down to the boardwalk for a sketch in the morning before we left but the weather was crazy. This is the view of the beach/boardwalk from our room on the second floor.

3.19.13

On our second day the weather was starting to turn nasty as predicted but we set out to see the two lighthouses near the hotel. The first was the North Head Lighthouse in Ilwaco,WA, it was beginning to rain as I sketched so I finished with color later. There was a short hike involved with getting to the second lighthouse but it was raining pretty good by the time we got there so .... no sketch

When we got back to our room, I spent the rest of the afternoon adding color to my lighthouse and drawing the mess on the table while watching the rain.

3.18.13

Gina and I took a little road trip to the coast this week. We stayed at a hotel on Long Beach, Washington called The Adrift. Loaner beach cruiser bikes are available in the lobby for guests, and we took advantage of them on our first day. My knowledge of "bike anatomy" needs some work...

3.8.13

A few members from the Seattle Urban Sketchers met on this Friday for a draw. We were suppose to draw at The King Street Station but it is closed for renovations. We retreated to this nice toasty indoor courtyard on Second Ave near the International District.

3.5.13

I wandered over to Porchlight Coffee & Records this morning, they have been displaced due to more new construction in our neighborhood. The temporary location is just around the corner from their original loci, the barista says there's more foot traffic here. Once the construction is done they will be moving into the retail space on the ground floor of a new apartment building....should be good for business. Anyway. I made this little sketch while having a decaf Americano. This guy was pitching a record deal or a gig to a young hip hop artist, I kinda like that it looks like he has two profiles because he sounded like a two faced shyster to me.

2.23.13

The Urban Sketcher meet was at St.James Cathedral last Saturday. I found myself overwhelmed yet again, by the architecture and the largeness of it all. We visited a few cathedrals on the east coast last year where I stayed in my comfort camera zone. The challenge was great and I loved seeing everyone's interpretation of the space. I chose this view for two reasons, first was the type/verbiage and second was the contrast. When I think of all the time I spent in mass as a kid....I coulda been sketching!

2.22.13

Spent the morning at the Burke Museum of Natural History on the UW campus last Friday. Interesting place to sketch, lot's of bones and restrictions on water media made for some fun Pen Only sketches.

Dr Sketchy yaya

I have attended Dr Sketchys figure drawing sessions in the past and they were always pretty fun. This was my first at Julia's and I don't think i'll return for another there. The space is really cramped for drawing and on this particular Sunday the model "a contortionist" was unable to hold even a minute long pose and she seemed fairly uncomfortable on stage. I missed Ernie von Shmaltz and felt that I would have enjoyed drawing the announcer lady instead of fidgety lady. Anyway here are a few of my sketchys.

2.2.13

The former Sun Electric Building at 11th & Pine has been gutted and is ready for remodel, retail on the bottom residence up top.... like all the other current developments on the hill.

1.29.13

Had to spend some time at a laundromat this week to wash a comforter. "The Lather Daddy" is our friendly Capitol Hill laundry. Perfect time for sketching urban nouns.

1.26.13

Urban Sketchers puts out a theme every week, last week it was to draw the view from your kitchen window. Our kitchen doesn't really have a window although I can see a rooftop and the sky thru the sliding glass doors in the living room area, which I love. Anyway, Gina has been cat sitting for our neighbors in the building next door, so since they were away I took advantage of the street side view while standing at their kitchen counter. Morey the cat, was very vocal about the fact that I was not there to feed him, but we did have conversation.

1.27.13

Gina and I have been together 5 years this month, or six months depending on you ask. On one of our first dates we met here at fados on 1st & Columbia. They hold an Irish music jam session on Sundays starting at 4 pm, musicians just show up and play and if you like guitar, fiddle, penny whistle and bodhran drum it's a really sweet space to draw as well. We stepped in there for a short sketch last nite, there were a lot of folks playing and it was dark but I got one in.

1.20.13

Our monthly sketch was at Suzzallo Library on the UW campus. I had never been in this space before but I will definitely go back, interesting to have so much stained glass in a non-church setting. Pretty puny drawing for the day as I got so caught up in the eye candy here.

1.19.13

Saturday was a Worldwide Sketch crawl day, I spent the day shopping then met up with a friend at my favorite watering hole The Elysian Brewery, to squeeze in a sketch. I draw here quite often, so often that i'm considering dedicating a single sketchbook to pub drawings....