Tina’s Top 10 Memorable Sketches of 2016

3/28/16 card reader

As is my annual end-of-year tradition, shown here are my 10 most memorable sketches of 2016. These are not necessarily my “best” or “favorite” sketches; they are the ones that evoke the strongest or most meaningful memories. As is so often the case, the experience of sketching becomes much more meaningful than the sketch that results. What makes a sketch or sketching experience memorable for you? (Click the title of the sketch to go to the original post.)

Here are links to my most memorable sketches of 2015, 2014 and 2013.

March 28, light rail card reader, Capitol Hill Station, Seattle (right): Something about the small, ephemeral form of my first Field Notes Sweet Tooth notebook invited me to make this uninspired sketch and gave me a new attitude about sketching.

5/26/16 still life

May 26, still life (left): This was one of the first still life sketches I made in colored pencil. I hadn’t yet fully embraced my love for colored pencils to the point of removing watercolors from my sketch kit, but I was working up to it.

July 27, Castlefield, Manchester, England (below): The Urban Sketchers Symposium had just begun, and this was my first sketch as a correspondent – a role I had been dreaming of for a long time. Seeing sketchers from all over the world gathered there made me feel like I had come back home to my tribe again.

7/27/16 Castlefield, Manchester

8/9/16 River Avon, Bath

8/20/16 Washington State History Museum

Aug. 9, River Avon, Bath, England (above): Compared to non-stop sketching in Manchester or the intense crowds and noise of London, Bath was heaven. It was all about rest, relaxation and taking all the time I wanted for a sketch. This one was done through the window of a coffee shop built right into the Pulteney Bridge overlooking the River Avon.

Aug. 20, Washington State History Museum, Tacoma (right): During a record-breaking heatwave, the West Coast Sketchcrawl literally sizzled! Afraid that I’d be baked and roasted by afternoon, I got started early in the day and plunked myself down in the still-comfortable shade.

8/27/16 Minnesota State Fair

Aug. 27, Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul (left): After years of wanting to sketch at the Minnesota State Fair, I finally got my opportunity – and joined the Twin Cities Urban Sketchers for their annual sketchout!

9/17/16 Japanese Garden

Sept. 17, Japanese Garden, Seattle (right): We had missed the event several years in a row, so our anticipation was high – a serene autumn evening in the Japanese Garden, watching the Harvest Moon rise. Alas, it was not to be – heavy clouds that eventually opened up with rain kept the moon from our view.

10/19/16 Presidential debate

Oct. 19, televised presidential debate (left): “Prepping” for the following day’s medical procedure, I spent the evening viewing – and sketching – the debate on my laptop in the bathroom. ‘Nuff said.

Oct. 31, InkTober completion (below): The month-long InkTober challenge gave me an opportunity to do something I’d been wanting to do for a long time but couldn’t seem to get started on – making cartoon-like sketches from imagination. Somewhere along the way, Weather Bunny emerged – and still lives on!

10/31/16 Bunny Vader

Nov. 15, roadrunner, Joshua Tree National Park (below): We saw amazing rock formations and vegetation in the desert, but the most fun I had at Joshua Tree National Park was chasing a roadrunner around the visitor center’s parking lot!

11/15/16 roadrunner