Better Than Coffee

7/9/15 ink, watercolor, colored pencil

Before I became a sketcher, getting the oil changed in my car was just another tedious errand I had to run every few months. It always took longer than the promised hour, and the complementary coffee in the waiting area was dreadfully bitter.

Now I look forward to leaving my car for servicing. On cold or rainy days, I dash over to the Burke Museum and sketch a dinosaur or two. And when it’s warm and sunny, I take a leisurely walk over to the University of Washington campus, where I have a choice of gothic and other classic architecture, students or lots and lots of trees.

Yesterday morning I picked the latter – a canopy of cherry trees in the Quad that I have sketched many times, usually in full bloom, but sometimes not. It beats bitter, day-old coffee any day.