Arboretum Footbridge

6/15/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

Whenever I drive on Lake Washington Boulevard near the Washington Park Arboretum, I pass under an old footbridge with a clearance so low that some large vehicles never make it through. (Several years ago, a charter bus full of high school athletes scraped off its top trying to pass under it. The driver, who was following GPS directions, missed the height restriction warning.) Built in 1911, the mossy Wilcox Footbridge is on the Seattle historic register.

 

On a recent visit to the arboretum with a visitor, I found the footbridge, so today I returned to sketch it. I’m such a masochist. I knew those lovely lamp posts would be a perspective challenge, and all those dark trees in the background would add to the challenge. Maybe this is one of those scenes I return to in a year to see whether my sketch improves.

 

Although the sketch may have been masochistic, at least sketching in the shade on a warm afternoon was a pleasure. It must be one of the city’s best-kept secrets: On a sunny Saturday, you’d think the bridge would be well traveled. But as I sketched, only a few strollers and bike riders came by.