Camel and Black Sun

7/6/14 Platinum Carbon and Diamine Grey ink, Zig markers, Caran d'Ache Museum
water-soluble colored pencils

Outside the doors of the Seattle Asian Art Museum are two camel statues. Kids and adults alike love to sit between the camels’ humps for photo opps. On this warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, Volunteer Park was full of people. I set up my stool a distance away, figuring that I would start the sketch, and as soon as someone sat on the camel, I’d be ready to sketch them in. But for the 30 minutes I took to sketch this, no one came by! (Maybe they saw me sketching and hesitated. . .? Hmmm, doubtful – usually bystanders are happy to get in my way!)

Next I sketched Black Sun, Isamu Noguchi’s elegant “donut” sculpture, which is another favorite Kodak moment. If a photographer stands in just the right place, the Space Needle can be framed perfectly inside the donut hole (Google “space needle noguchi black sun” and you’ll see hundreds of images). Visitors can’t resist trying to frame both the Needle and a loved one in the hole. This time I wasn’t disappointed. I just started sketching the sculpture, and eventually a man came by and put himself in the hole. Behind him, another tourist took photos of the Needle.

7/6/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble colored pencil, Canson XL 140 lb. paper