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| 2/16/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL 140 lb. paper |
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| 2/16/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao ink, Sailor pen |
After filling several pages of my sketchbook yesterday with gestural sketches of martial artists and dancers at the Tacoma Dome, I got to fill several additional pages this
morning with more – this time of climbers at Seattle Bouldering Project. A practice facility for rock climbers
as well as a recreational venue on its own, Seattle Bouldering offers two
floors of colorful artificial mountains for climbers of all skill levels. It
was a fun and challenging outing for Seattle Urban Sketchers!
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| 2/16/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sailor pen |
I warmed up on the lower level where very young children –
one still wearing Pull-Ups! – were climbing as quickly and fearlessly as
monkeys. After a page of trying to make my pen keep up with those squirrels, I
decided I was ready to take a wider view. I went upstairs to the top level
overlooking the tallest boulders, where more advanced climbers carefully chose
toeholds and handholds to work themselves up to the highest points. Even though
I knew the foot-thick cushioned floor would break their falls if they faltered,
I still felt my heart quickening with sympathetic apprehension. After a while,
my own upper-body muscles started to ache as I knew theirs would be. Sketch
after sketch, I gained appreciation for the amount of sheer strength and
agility necessary to cling to a vertical surface. Spiders we were not meant to
be – though many that I sketched today came as close to being spiders as I’ve
seen.
Before it was time to share with the group, I got my fill of
dozens more one-second gestural sketches – the kind of exercise I can handle!
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| 2/16/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sailor pen |
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| 2/16/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sailor pen |
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