Third Place Commons

12/13/12 Private Reserve Black Velvet ink, Zig markers, Stillman & Birn Gamma

Third Place Commons in Lake Forest Park is a rare find in an urban community: A large, indoor, public gathering space with lots of seating and tables, several food venues, a kids’ play area, and even a giant chess set. It’s like a mall food court with significantly better ambiance. A friend had suggested that it might make a good winter sketching venue, so I decided to check it out. 

 

12/13/12 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Zig markers

 

With a mug of coffee from Honey Bear Bakery ($2 with free self-serve refills! Sshhh… it’s probably the best-kept-secret coffee deal in town), I walked slowly around the huge facility to stake out the right table. The scale is much larger than the coffee shops I’m used to, so the tables are farther apart. I couldn’t get the usual close-up view to sketch people, so I decided it was a good opportunity to take a more challenging (for me), wider view. First I used a fountain pen to focus on small clusters of people in the foreground. Then I filled in Third Place Books in the background with Zig brush markers. Finally, I put in some reflections on the polished floors with washed Zig markers. (This is a slightly different application of the ink/Zig combo I’ve been using lately.)

 

That sketch done, I refilled my mug (did I mention free refills?? Is this place for real?) and took another walk around the floor. I found a table right next to the large windows overlooking the parking lot, where I spotted a completely bare tree flanked by maples still stubbornly hanging onto quite a few of their leaves.