Tacoma is Under-rated

7/21/12, F-C Pitt Artist pen, watercolor

At one point, Tacoma may have been seen as Seattle’s homely step-sister, but no longer. Rich with museums, beautiful architecture and other attractions and yet not over-built and full of traffic congestion like Seattle is, it was a natural gathering place for a regional Urban Sketchers sketchcrawl. (I found free all-day street parking only blocks from the museum district! Whaaaat!!) Around 30 sketchers from Tacoma, Seattle, Portland, Whidbey Island and the Tri-Cities area gathered for an afternoon of lively sketching, and sketch we did. What an amazing bunch of sketchers! I’m awed by their talent and enthusiasm. Here are my sketches of the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus, the Tacoma Museum of Glass, and the nearby marina.

Over lunch I met Kalina Wilson, intrepid urban sketcher of Portland, who told us all about her recent participation in the Santo Domingo Urban Sketchers Symposium, and her enthusiasm was infectious. There’s no official word on the location of next year’s symposium – only a rumor (and my personal integrity and conscientiousness won’t allow me to spread unconfirmed rumors. OK, you’ve twisted my arm – the rumor is Spain! But you didn’t hear it from me) – but wherever it is, I’m going to try my hardest to be there!

7/21/12, Copic Multiliner SP pen, watercolor

7/21/12, F-C Pitt Artist pen, watercolor