Bradner Gardens is Full of Surprises

8/21/15 ink, watercolor, colored pencil

Proposing a sketch outing at a location I haven’t been to before can be risky, but the photos looked inviting, so I took a chance on Bradner Gardens Park. Along with the other Friday sketchers, I was delighted to find this well-designed pea patch to be full of surprises.

For one thing, there’s a windmill, which I sketched first from my car while the morning was still a little chilly. It was already warming up by the time I finished, so I got out of the car and captured one of the many imaginative scarecrows populating the gardens. Dressed in a corporate shirt and tie (and fly unzipped), this scarecrow was apparently inspired by a former Seattle mayor, Kate had heard. (We both noted that the scarecrow has two faces – one on either side of his head! Hmmm.)

The gardeners who work this pea patch have so many luscious flowers and vegetables growing that I wandered for quite a while trying to choose one for my last sketch. The gorgeous green peppers near the restroom caught my eye – the shapes and colors so vibrant. 

8/21/15 ink, watercolor, colored
pencil

8/21/15 ink, watercolor, colored pencil

Speaking of the restroom, I have to show you the surprise I found there. From the outside, it looks like your typical drab, unattractive concrete box often found in city parks. But inside was a mosaic covering the walls with huge insects and other garden motifs. The wall placard said that the mosaic was made and donated by Friends of Bradner Gardens volunteers.

8/21/15 inks, Zig marker, colored pencil

Although technically this last sketch (at right) wasn’t made in the gardens, I finished it this morning before the others arrived for the meetup, so I’ll include it in this post. Wandering around the gardens’ periphery, construction noise got my attention, so I walked around the block to see what was going on. A backhoe was busy digging a hole in the street. I could tell that the work was nearly done, so I had to hurry, and sure enough, it finished a few minutes later. The funny part was that afterwards while I was still standing there coloring the backhoe, the operator came over to see what I was doing. Concerned that I was a neighbor taking notes so that I could complain about the dust or noise, he seemed relieved that I was only sketching. He laughed and said I had made him look skinnier than he really is!