Southcenter Dragon

 

2/23/24 Southcenter Mall

For Lunar New Year, Southcenter Mall put up a spectacular 25-foot dragon, moon gate and other festive decorations. Disappointed that I had to miss the USk outing there earlier in the week, I went on Friday morning. Kate and Roy met me there for colorful dragon fun.

The challenge with a subject like this is showing a sense of scale. If I had sketched the dragon without context that indicated its size, it could look like a 3-inch figurine. Walking around the dragon numerous times to find a good angle not blocked by the central court’s many support beams, I spotted Kate sketching at the dragon’s base – and there was my scale. My usual A6-size Hahnemühle sketchbook serves me well for most urban sketching, but even with a full spread, this huge dragon did make me feel a bit constrained by the page size. It was the most colorful sketch in a long time, though!

 

Photo by Roy Deleon