Orange Komatsu

5/16/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook

The afternoon turned out unexpectedly sunny, so I dashed out to the U-District, thinking I’d sketch the Seattle Public Library’s University Branch. But after I parked near the fire station on 11^th Avenue Northeast and started to turn the corner at Northeast 50^th, I saw it: Yet another bunch of big machines digging up earth. This time they were on the lot next to the old Tubs (which has lately turned into an ever-changing gallery of street art).

5/16/13 Platinum Carbon ink

Heavy equipment seems to be calling to me lately. Unlike the earth movers I sketched at the light rail station, these were moving constantly and fast. I made a few quick studies to get the main shapes and proportions before starting a larger composition. Then I had to pick a position for the Komatsu and wait for it to return to that position several times before I could finish. (This is similar to what I do at the zoo when I’m sketching large mammals like bears, which walk around a lot but also return continually to the same positions.)

Piercing the sky in the background behind some trees is the Blessed Sacrament Church’s steeple, which I sketched last September.