Warm and Dry at Wallingford Center

 

12/9/23 Wallingford Center

View of N. 45th Street from Chocolati

“All-day rain, 100% precipitation” said my weather app. Ya think? For once, it was accurate. Despite the downpour outside, USk Seattle stayed dry inside Wallingford Center, which has become a winter mainstay for us. Although it’s technically a retail center, it’s deserted all year round, even during the holidays. Nicely decorated with trees, wreaths and stockings, it was quiet except for the music, and we enjoyed having the place to ourselves.

Before settling in there, though, I took a short, soggy walk through the Wallingford business district and then ducked into Chocolati, which makes the best mochas in town. Grabbing a great window seat, I sketched the buildings across the street and a man in the opposite window seat (at left and below).

Fellow patron at Chocolati

Nourished by the mocha, I made my way back to Wallingford Center and wandered around a bit. I don’t usually attempt large, interior views because I don’t want to work on all that perspective, but I thought I’d give it a shot this time (top of post). Without getting fussy with measurements, I just eyeballed the perspective and focused on values. Despite the obvious complementaries, I’ve never blended red and green together this way, but the color mixing I’ve been learning with watercolors has made me more adventurous with watercolor pencils, too. Ho, ho, ho – a festive combo!