Illuminated

12/24/13 Uniball Signo opaque gel pens, Pitt Artist Pen, Zig marker, Strathmore Grayscale paper

Candy Cane Lane, one of a few Seattle neighborhoods that gets really dressed up with lights during the holidays, is popular and crowded during the weeks before Christmas. We talked about going last night, but since the temperature was dropping rapidly toward the 30s again, we weren’t up to walking through the Lane (it can be done by car, but it’s a lot more enjoyable on foot). Instead, we opted for a block in our own Maple Leaf neighborhood that borders the new Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, which is easily drivable (and I had hoped to sketch from the car).

As it turned out, I needed a better angle on this fully illuminated, interfaith house, so I sketched it while standing across the street. The pastel hues of my opaque gel pens really couldn’t do justice to the number of lights and colors displayed on George Banton’s house. A sign on the sidewalk invites visitors to walk through the yard to tour the various themes portrayed in lights – Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Star Wars, the seashore, rainbows, etc. On a cold winter’s night, the tropical theme was one of my favorites, highlighted by the palm tree. I was also struck by the presence of both the Star of David and Star of Bethlehem.

In anticipation of sketching holiday lights, I did a little prep, but ultimately, I didn’t use products the way I’d planned. See next post for the product review.