My family and I spent several days at Birch Bay across the waters from Semiahmoo resort. I took this opportunity to draw and paint this picture of the water tower at the resort. I used watercolor pencils and micron pens.

Inside Passage Cruise to Alaska

One week ago today - Saturday - Chris and I were on board the MS Oosterdam heading back to Vancouver BC after a week of cruising the inside passage. The scenery was spectacular, especially Glacier Bay National Park. Most of my sketches were done while on board even while in port due to really nasty weather. The street scene of Ketchikan was done from the ships observation lounge. With the wind out of the SE at up to 70 mph and the rain coming in sheets it felt like we were inside a car wash, albeit a cozy car wash. The only day it didn't rain was the day the ship departed. When I mentioned the inclement weather to an Alaskan native he said if you don't like the weather don't travel in the shoulder season.

I felt my watercolor pencils really came into play as I was sketching the glaciers. I felt the texture of the 135# watercolor paper in my moleskine journal enhanced the feel of the overall sketch. I drew the land, glacier and water with dry pencil and pulled the pigment off the end of the pencil onto wet paper for the sky, then went back in and added water to the dry pigment to complete the sketch. Because I had the time most all the sketches were completed on the spot.

Astronauts come home

The Museum of Flight invited the public to celebrate the 50th Anniversary today.  There were many activities available but I was most interested in seeing all the "Astronauts about Town" gathered together on display.  I'd spent the summer sketching all 25 of them on-location.

Each of them had a poster with information and each poster included my sketch of that astronaut, which I'd allowed the Museum to use  (I'm a volunteer there).   



I meant my friend Tina after she got through the line.  I prevailed upon her to take my photo with my favorite astronaut and holding my poster of all the sketches.   (I'm dressed for the 60's costume contest, tie-dye and vintage buttons). 



I did one final sketch for this project: the astronauts on display under the Blackbird.




More on my personal blog, here.

Sneaky little urban sketches

USk supplies at art fest- 9x12 watercolor

The format of Urban Sketching can sometimes put people off because they are more focused or interested on composition of the objects rather than the environment. Yet I say, "Why can't it be both?" With this study I  set up my USk stuff with a flower in vase to show what I am doing that day and where... yes in a parking lot. For me USk sketches are narrative postcards of a specific time and place for my still life type of vision opposed to a timeless depiction of objects... which has it's place but is not always what I hope to gather.

Saturday Oct 3 Spooner Farms

Spooner Farms
9710 State Route 162 East, Puyallup WA 98372

We'll sketch the colorful Harvest Festival and pumpkin patch.  Meet in front of the store at 10 am.  We'll meet again at 12:30 to share sketches.  We'll also share lunch after that so bring a sack lunch or take out from the food vendors.

Map

 

Some photos from last year

There is plenty of on-site parking.  

Fritz, Zach, and King

Seattle Urban Sketchers' Friday group made an outing all the way south to Puyallup for the Washington State Fair.  Tacoma Urban Sketchers also joined in.

Note to self:  next year, do not go to the Fair on opening morning!  Not only was it opening morning, entry from 0900-noon was virtually free as long as one brought a donation of food.  Last time I sketched at the fair it was later in the run and it was raining.

With summer-like weather in the 80's, the place was mobbed!  I couldn't get near any of the small animals I'd hoped to sketch.  Additionally, there were hardly any rabbits as they don't come for another week.  I didn't know they scheduled animals!

After meeting the sketchers, I immediately navigated my way to the Draft Horse barn.  It was closed!   There was just a slit open in the door and it was enough for me to see a bit of the horses to sketch.  I sat my stool off center so I didn't block the door for other people wanting to get a peek.  These are Zach and Fritz.



THEN!  Staff of the Mountain View Belgians   saw me sitting there and invited me in to sketch!  This made my day!   So I got a second sketch from inside the barn.  This is King being unharnessed after the parade.



I wandered around but didn't find another scene I wanted to do.  I was somewhat distracted by the crowds.

We gathered to share our sketches.  In all, I think there were 10 sketchers.  Rom had to leave early.  Then we met 3 more Tacoma USk'ers at the gate as we were leaving.  They arrived late after being stuck in traffic.


Thanks to Gary for taking this photo!

Meet the Correspondent - Beverly Choltco-Devlin.

By Beverly Choltco-Devlin

We live in a region rich with possibility for sketching, for experience, for inspiration, and for reflection.  Since making the radical move here ten year ago after 31 years in upstate NY, I am struck by surprising similarities between the two places; for me, the Pacific Northwest, unique, majestic and of a grand scale like few other places on the planet, somehow seems familiar to me.  This may seem sacrilege or a stretch to many, but I ask you to each consider my perspective.

The city of Tacoma, where I worked until I retired in 2021, has a temperament and authenticity akin to that of Utica, NY, where I worked for most of those 31 years. Tacoma and Utica, industrial cities, are each decidedly overshadowed by nearby Seattle and Syracuse, respectively, in terms of acclaim. But each also have so much to recommend them, include incredible natural spaces, a thriving artistic milieu and a caring unpretentious population.   And, looking east from each of those four cities, two major mountain ranges provide a strong and welcome counterpoint to urban life: here the majestic Cascades and in the east the venerable Adirondacks.   Additionally, my former home back east and my current home here were sited on the the brink of those wild places.

What has this to do with urban sketching, one may ask?  I feel home here in the Pacific Northwest. Though the dramatic move at first seemed as if I had dropped through a rabbit hole, I now sense a deep continuity in my life and art.  It is no accident that I am drawn in work and play and life to those spaces that both represent the excitement of the city and the grandeur of the mountains.

I often wonder where urban sketching ends and my love of the mountains and nature begins. I believe it doesn't matter all that much.   I appreciate that "urban sketching," while originating in an urban environment, is more about experiencing, recording and, most importantly, expressing life and place in situ and in context, rather than having to actually take place within the "city limits" or reflect entirely urban themes.

That being said, I offer here some sketches, all technically drawn within city limits, but each representing the natural world in some way.  I questioned whether the simple drawing done from 3600 feet above sea level in a hot air balloon over Woodinville qualified as an "urban sketch," but  decided that if we think of such political boundaries, a decidedly human invention, in three dimensions, it works.

I am still trying to decide if I will add color, but offer humbly here what I drew in the basket of that balloon for some brief minutes of  that exquisite hour. I am inclined to leave it in its state of immediacy as a primal representation of the excitement and awe I felt then, tempered with a teeny bit of fear. When I think of how terrified I was 20 years ago of flying, this simple little drawing gives me great joy! Each time I view it, I remember that I was floating through the amazing natural world of the sky that few get to experience, while relying solely upon a basket, some fabric, a propane torch and, ultimately, the trust I placed in the expertise of our pilot. The simultaneous view of the Cascades and Seattle and Woodinville and even Victoria was incredible.  While most assuredly not the best sketch I have ever done, this is one for which I feel great pride.  Such a sublime melding!

To an extent, this is what urban, and in fact, all sketching and artistic endeavors mean to me: i.e., the blending of human constructs, and the natural world that give us both joy in its pure state and, also, the resources with which we build our cities and the roads to the mountains, and the paper upon which we draw, and the computer we use to create these posts. Most importantly, sketching and drawing reflect the human experience, my own and that of others.   I have done many truly "urban" sketches (in that strict sense of the word) of buildings and architecture and denizens of the inner city, but, for today, I post images of those places that reflect the bridge between the wonderful worlds of city and the wild.

Ad hoc outing with Visiting Australian Urban Sketcher

Australian artist and USk member, Jane Blundell, will be visiting Seattle in a week.

To that end, Urban Sketchers Seattle has planned an ad hoc sketch outing with her on Thursday, September 17 and USk Tacoma is invited. 

Seattle Chinese Garden

6000 16th Ave. SW, Seattle, 98106

 Meet at the front gate at 12:30 pm.  We'll sketch through the afternoon.  The Knowing the Spring Courtyard closes at 5pm. 

Even if there is rain, there is some shelter in the courtyard.

The South Seattle Community College's Arboretum is adjacent to the Chinese Garden and is free to the public.  It is often called "the best kept secret of West Seattle."  Please click information about the arboretum and the arboretum map to learn more. Leashed dogs are allowed in the SSCC Arboretum.

 

  Jane is also doing a demo and 2 workshop sessions for Daniel Smith, Seattle.

Demo, Sept 19

Watercolor Plein Air #1 Sept 20-21

Watercolor Plein Air #2  Sept 22-23

An even more minimal kit for sketching every day

So many teachers have said it.  Improvement in any endeavor depends upon constant practice.  Taking workshops or watching video tutorials isn't enough.  To improve, it's important to sketch every day.  Even if there isn't time for a complete composition in a large sketchbook, moments can be found to do a quick drawing.    These could be on the bus, in a coffee shop or even waiting in line.

Field Notes Workshop Companion limited edition notebook

To that end, I, too, have a small kit I carry every day. It does fit in my purse/bag but sometimes it's still more than I want to carry.



I've recently purchased several of the Field Notes Workshop Companion limited edition notebooks because the paper is  good for sketching.  They are 6 for $20.   It even can stand up to a light watercolor wash.   They have a dot grid, which isn't ideal but is acceptable for these quick, 5 minute sketches.  However, it is a limited edition and won't be available for much longer.



Then I read about this Etsy shop.  YellowPaperHouse offers several sizes of small notebooks.    One option is the Field Notes sized books.  The paper choices include Canson Mixed Media and Watercolor papers.   These are decent papers, especially for a tiny book meant for fast sketches.   I made some sketches in both these books this weekend and I am very happy with them.   I suppose you could make these yourself but at $6 each, they are fairly affordable. 





These tiny sketchbooks make it even easier to sketch every day.  One of these and a pen makes a good carry-every-day kit.  Add a bit of paper with a few watercolor dots and a waterbrush and that's the enough to add some color to the drawings. 

Brown's Point Light House Park-Tacoma, Washington

We had an amazing turn-out for a holiday weekend!

It was fun gathering in the Brown's Point Shopping Center parking lot until everyone arrived at 10. There was lots of greeting, putting on of name tags, chatting, laughing, networking....and, on the sidelines, Charlie Glassie showed me some of the many, many watercolors piled in the trunk of his car, some of them paintings from his recent show in Port Townsend. I must admit, I very pushily changed this from a private sharing to a public showing by taking some of Charlie's paintings from him, and showing them around the group. Lots of oohs and ah-s!

19 sketchers from Urban Sketchers-Tacoma basked in a sunshine-y blue-sky day..enjoying (and sketching) views of the Brown's Point Park light house, the Light House Keeper's Cottage,  the water, fishermen, and the park grounds. At 12:30 we shared our sketches around a picnic table. Lots of affirmations floating around in the air...as usual! We're all on our own individual journey and we're journeying together. What a great feeling of understanding and support.

Peter Darling let us know about and arranged this opportunity for us, and was chief-in-charge of Gate-Keeping, so we all could park in the enclosed parking area of the grounds. Kate Buike took our group photo, as she often does, arranging the group so all of us fit in the shot...setting her camera timer..and making the mad dash to join the front row of the group before the camera clicked. It's a special art to do that and still look relaxed in the group picture!

After the sketch-out, many of us joined together for a lunch at the brand new Hilltop Indian Restaurant in the Brown's Point shopping center. Both the food and the conversation were wonderful. Several of us told the owner we were planning to return with our 'significant others.'

Brown's Point Lighthouse

The Tacoma Urban Sketchers were fortunate to have fine fall weather today for sketching at Brown's Point Lighthouse.  It was bright, cool and breezy, feeling much like autumn.  It was very nice after the too hot summer.

The lighthouse is not quite as quaint as some.  So I chose as my first subject a man fishing.  I later spoke with him.  Noli finds this spot very relaxing.  He did catch 2 salmon but they got away.



While waiting for the watercolor to dry on my first sketch, I sketched another fisherman in my new, small sketchbook (more on that book in a future post).



I was sitting on the drift wood logs on the beach.  I composed my view of the lighthouse with the logs in the foreground.



We had a group of 19 sketchers today.  There were lots of good sketches to admire.  It is so interesting to see the variety of viewpoints on the same location!






After the sketch outing, I skipped the group lunch at the Indian restaurant... too spicy for my bland palette.  I had already planned to drive up to the NW Glass Pumpkin Patch at Furney Nursery.   There are  hundreds of hand blown glass pumpkins.


There are some more photos here.

Ad Hoc outing with Seattle: Let's "Do the Puyallup"

Tacoma Sketchers are invited to join the Seattle Urban Sketchers Friday Ad Hoc group for ......


September 11:   Let's "Do the Puyallup"

We're again taking the Friday ad hoc group further afield to sketch opening day of the Washington State Fair at Puyallup. 

Washington State Fair Events Center
110 9th Ave SW
Puyallup, WA 98371

Meet at 10 am just inside the Gold Gate (gold parking lot is just across the street) on 9th Ave SE.

Map here

Purchase tickets on line by Sept 10 to save money.
Adult $10;  Senior (62+) $9
http://www.thefair.com/fun/details/washington-state-fair-gate-admission

Seen in the insert to the Seattle Times:  "Free Gate Food Drive.  Opening Day - Fri, Sept 11. Free gate admission with a suggested non-perishable food donation for the Puyallup Food bank.  9am-noon only".  This was also found it on the website (at the ticketing link, above)  and here. 

There are so many sketching subjects:  people, rides, animals.  

We'll meet again at 12:30 near the Gold Gate entrance to share sketches.  

Some may want to stay at the Fair for lunch.  Anyone for Fair scones?!

In addition to all the traditional Fair fare, there is a special exhibit.  Star Trek: The Exhibition.