Rediscovering Southeast Green Lake

7/28/25 Green Lake

Although Mary Jean and I both know Green Lake well, Roy does not. We decided it was a good time to further his education of our favorite lake. Last fall, I showed him the lake’s north end, so this time we met on the southeast side. In particular, I thought it would be fun to start at Green Lake United Methodist Church, which is as close to a European stone castle as anything in Seattle might be. Since I’ve sketched other parts of the church before, I focused on one “tower” to fill the last page in our round-robin single-sheet signature booklet (below).

Green Lake United Methodist Church

At lower right is a different church that I see regularly but had never stopped to sketch before.

Restaurant Christine

From there, we continued walking and sketching around the lake until we got to the Tangletown micro-neighborhood in the south end of Green Lake, where we stopped for a delicious lunch at Restaurant Christine.

Exploring familiar territory with someone who hasn’t seen (or sketched) the area before always gives me a fresh view.

Color notes: I’d like to start exploring more variations of primary and secondary triads available in Caran d’Ache Neocolor II’s palette. Many Neo II hues are not available in the Cd’A Museum Aquarelle line, which I’ve become familiar with, so it’s fun to try new combos. I also find that choosing a very limited palette of just three or even two hues (a warm and a cool; a sketch I made at Sketcher Fest is one example) makes it much easier for me to interpret and mix color temperature shifts. I’m not especially fond of the primary triad I used in this Green Lake sketch (top of post), though. The blue leans too hard in the violet direction, which results in an odd green when mixed with the yellow I chose. I find that these waxy, water-soluble crayons don’t blend in the same way that Museum Aquarelle pencils do (which I still prefer in that regard). 

Bothell Dogs

 

7/26/25 dogs at Bothell street market

After Natalie, Ching and I met for lunch in Bothell, we checked out a nearby street market to sketch. It must be a dog-friendly market and neighborhood, because many well-behaved, leashed dogs were strolling through the market along with their humans. The dogs I had sketched at Phinney Farmers Market the previous day got me in the mood to keep going. Meanwhile, I eavesdropped on a conversation and quoted the most interesting line I heard.

Alexa's Cafe, Bothell

Phinney Farmers Market

 

7/25/25 Phinney Farmers Market

I was hoping to find local heirloom tomatoes at the Phinney Farmers Market, but I guess it’s still too early. Instead, I found a group of ladies called the Sølje Sisters entertaining shoppers with their accordion, violin and flute music.

Even more entertaining were the dogs getting cheese curd treats from Neighborlady Cheese. Whenever she saw a dog pass by, she would call out, “Would your dog like a cheese curd sample?” I didn’t see any pups decline the offer. As she explained to one dog’s human, she’s not allowed to give samples to humans, only to dogs. (Maybe those samples had fallen on the floor during production?) I’m sure the dogs were happy to get a treat that their humans couldn’t have. And I was happy to have dogs sitting still long enough to sketch them.

FOB Poke

 

7/25/25 FOB Poke Bar and some light rail sketches

I love poke, especially when served in the “build your own bowl” style: You get to pick all the proteins, sides and toppings, usually for one price. Just Poke is my favorite local chain, and I knew one was nearby when I was on Capitol Hill around lunch time the other day, but I wanted to check out a different place that was new to me.

When I was in middle school in the early ‘70s, FOB (“fresh off the boat”) was a derogatory term we used to refer to the mostly Chinese immigrant students at our school. I guess it’s not derogatory anymore, as it is the name of this small poke chain. FOB Poke Bar is distinctive in that it offers quite a few interesting toppings and extras that I don’t typically see elsewhere, like takuan (sweet pickled radish, which I love), tamago (egg cakes) and a delicious cilantro aioli that I wish they sold in a bottle so that I could pour it on salads.

As you can see from my notes, I wasn’t enamored with the ambiance inside (and other patrons must agree, as I was the only one dining there the whole time), so it’s better for takeout. But I certainly devoured that bowl easily, so I have no complaints about the food.

Capitol Hill Homage

7/25/25 Broadway, Capitol Hill

 After an errand on Capitol Hill, I made homage to Jim Hendrix on Broadway outside the Blick store. I knew it had been a while since the last time I sketched his sculpture, but I was surprised to find that it was way back in 2013.

A few blocks away, I also sketched the poor old Broadway Theater building. It used to be a Rite-Aid for a while, and now, sadly, it seems unwanted and unused, waiting for a tenant. Once a cool marquee, its lights were removed a long time ago.

Chuck’s Auto

 

7/24/25 Chuck's Auto in Maple Leaf

Only 10 blocks up the street from me, Chuck’s Auto is where I take both my little Miata and Greg’s Subaru for servicing. Reliable and reasonably priced, it’s also convenient because I can walk home after I’ve dropped off a car.

(After the high of Sketcher Fest, it’s always a bit hard to get back into the swing of mundane, fitness-walk sketching, but life goes on, doesn’t it? Thankfully, I never tire of the mundane.)

Technical note: I’ve always loved my Sailor fude pen for its thick and thin lines, but I’d forgotten how much I also like its squiggly nature. It’s the opposite of a precise technical pen. Since I hadn’t used it much in Uglybooks until now, I was surprised to find that it feathers and bleeds a bit on this stout, 80-pound paper – and yet I like the look. Years ago, that would have bothered me. Maybe that lengthy break from my Sailor was good for our relationship.

Sketcher Fest Wind-Down

 

7/22/25 Gateway at Hing Hay Park, Chinatown/International District

Even though Sketcher Fest ended on Sunday, some visiting guest artists and attendees were still in town for a few days following, so local planners kept the fun going.

On Tuesday morning, Roy and I decided to show Cathy Chinatown/International District. We stayed mostly at Hing Hay Park, where we found all the ping pong tables in use by skillful, aggressive players (below). We all had a fun challenge trying to capture their fast moves!

Hing Hay Park

Hing Hay Park

When I was ready for a quieter sketch, I took on the brilliant vermilion Gateway sculpture with tiny Cathy in the foreground (top of post). Although I’ve sketched it many times, I never tire of its distinctive shape and modern counterpoint to the traditional Asian motifs elsewhere in the park. 

Food and beverage at Fuji Sushi and Pike Place Bar & Grill

After a leisurely lunch at Fuji Sushi, where we had fun sketching our meals (my bento box was especially sketch-worthy, above, though I was too hungry to do more than scribble hastily), we hopped on the light rail to the Pike Place Market. There, Ellie had organized an intriguing outing that was literally a sketchwalk. We began near the information booth, sketched for a while, and at the designated time, we all moved on to the next location. We had a total of three sketching stops of about 45 to 60 minutes each, all of us moving together as a group, then returned to the starting point for the throwdown. An event like this would be difficult to manage with a large group, but for a group of the right size (and with people who have similar sketching approaches that don’t require a lengthy stay in one spot), it was fresh and invigorating.

Pike Place Market

Waterfront Overlook Walk

As a farewell to our visiting friends, we ended the day with a relaxing drink & draw at
Pike Place Bar & Grill, which has a view overlooking the market from the second floor. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but we all know that our love of sketching will bring us together again someday!

Technical note: This was the first time I attempted the Gateway with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, and I’m continually pleased by how efficient they are at covering large areas with color quickly. In addition, their blunt, chunky tips prevent me from getting fussy with details. I don’t know that I could say I love them more than CdA Museum Aquarelle Pencils (or water-soluble colored pencils in general), but they are certainly ideal for certain types of sketching.

Throwdown group photo at Pike Place Market

Drink & draw at Pike Place Bar & Grill

Sketcher Fest, Day 2

 

7/20/25 Olympic Beach, Edmonds (This hasty sketch that I made during the few minutes I had left before the throwdown turned out to be my favorite of the weekend. Using one warm and one cool Neocolor II crayons, I didn't have time for much beyond nearly abstract marks -- and I like the result.)

I'm either leading a choir or channeling the Joie de Vivre sculpture
(see below)! (Photo by Jenni Salmi)

Day 2’s main event was the Sketchbook Fair, where all the guest artists displayed their original sketchbooks to share with visitors and chat with them. It’s always fascinating and inspiring to see original sketches after seeing so many of them only online. Digital reproductions and even printed books can never fully capture the vibrancy of actual ink and paint on paper. I was often surprised by originals being much smaller or larger than the impression I had of them when I saw them on Instagram. Of course, it was also gratifying to meet so many artists in person after knowing them only as social media names.

Sharing space with the artists at the Sketchbook Fair were several vendors offering art materials. I did peek (and sometimes drool) quickly at each booth, but in keeping with my newly downsized life, the only things I bought all weekend were a few stickers and the commemorative Sketcher Fest postcard (with lovely artwork by Virginia Hein that also appears on the program).

During the mid-day hours, I juggled between enjoying the Sketchbook Fair and leading the final Sketcher Fest sketchwalk at Olympic Beach right outside the Edmonds Waterfront Center. As in previous years, Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Combo provided lively music on the Center’s front patio and featured in many sketches (below).

Mountlake Terrace High School Jazz Combo and Joie de Vivre, a sculpture by local artist David Varnau.

After an overcast, chilly morning on the beach, it was a struggle to stay indoors when the sun finally came out in the afternoon, but I didn’t want to miss the many artist talks to choose from. In particular, I wanted to catch Nina Khashchina’s (I spelled her name wrong in the sketch) fascinating presentation on how she sketches in extreme conditions (below)! I’m not talking about heat or snow; I’m talking about scuba diving! Nina has mastered using boards and notebooks that she writes on to communicate with fellow divers to also draw on while under water. Her tool and material issues are as extreme as her conditions: She uses mainly pencils, as most pens will rust almost immediately in salt water and will stop working under pressure. Even wood pencils don’t last long when continually submerged.

Nina Khashchina talks about extreme sketching!

The last artist talk I attended was by Jenny Jing Zhang, who talked about how she mixes a variety of media to express moods and feelings of the places she visits (below). One of her favorite places to sketch is cemeteries. In fact, she loves cemeteries so much that her dream job would be to design them.

Jenny Jing Zhang talks about her use of mixed media.

I started my sketch journal page for the day (below) with a sketch of the tofu rice bowl I had for lunch, but I brought the page home without having added anything else. I decided to fill the blank areas with some of the stickers I had acquired over the weekend: From Joey Mason (lower right) and Jenny Jing Zhang (lower left). The saxophone player at upper left is not a sticker but possibly the most innovative artist business card I’ve ever received. After chatting with Bill Russell a while, he asked me my birthday month and date. When I told him, he riffled through a stack of cards organized by month and handed me the card for my birthday, Nov. 16. He sketches every day, so he produced cards for the 366 days of the year, each with a sketch made on that date! As a daily sketcher myself, you can imagine the light bulb that flipped on over my head!

Stickers by Joey Mason and Jenny Jing Zhang and cool business card idea by Bill Russell

Coming down from the high of Sketcher Fest, I am filled with gratitude for the many months of hard work and volunteer time that made this stellar event possible. Thank you, Gabi Campanario, and the rest of the Sketcher Fest team! I’m already looking forward to next year!

My only take-homes from Sketcher Fest... no art materials purchased!

Olympic Beach sketchwalk

Bill Russell

Christina Wald

Cyrille Briand

Daniel Winterbottom

Dominika Wroblewska

Gail Wong

Jenny Jing Zhang

James Richards

Joey Mason

Lapin

Marielle Durand

Mario Linhares

Nina Khashchina

Rita Sabler

Sketcher Fest, Day 1

 

7/19/25 Edmonds Summer Market sketchwalk

For the third year, the charming town of Edmonds 20 minutes north of Seattle was the location of Sketcher Fest, an international festival of sketchbooks and sketching. During the previous two years, I had attended workshops (with Virginia Hein in 2023 and Eduardo Bajzek last year) and volunteered in various ways during the events. This year I put in most of my volunteer time on the front end months before the event so that I could enjoy a lighter schedule and more free time to sketch. I caught up with long-time friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in years, and met others in person after years of knowing them only online. Striking a good balance between commitments and flexibility, I enjoyed the weekend immensely.

To open Day 1, I led a sketchwalk centered on the Edmonds Summer Market (above), which is several blocks of local makers, vendors and food stands. Although the morning was chillier than most of us wanted, it was a fun and relaxing way to start the festivities.

In the afternoon I went to Graphite Arts Center to attend Bill Russell’s artist talk about his experiences as a reportage illustrator (below). His closing words inspired me the most: While it’s fine to simply sketch what we see, he challenged us to be visual journalists by actively looking for the story and telling it with sketches and words. To do that, we can’t just observe; we must engage with people, learn their stories and document them with compassion.

Graphite Arts Center and Bill Russell's presentation

To end Day 1, I attended the Artist Reception, which was a relatively small event to give ticketed participants an opportunity to chat casually with the guest artists over tacos and drinks. Pencils were provided on the paper-covered tables to facilitate spontaneous portraiture! (See photo cutlines for more details of my fun day.)

At upper left is the coolest thing! Srina was walking around snapping pics with a camera that spits out small black-and-white images! How fun!

Spontaneous portrait party!

Technical note: After cleaning out a couple of long-neglected fountain pens recently, I suddenly got in the mood to put my beloved Sailor Naginata fude de mannen back in action! Since I began my comics format, I’ve preferred using a bolder marker line, but I’ve also missed the fude’s more organic marks. It was good to be back “home” with my fude.

Return of the Sailor fude!

ArtSpot, Edmonds' wonderful art supply store, treated Sketcher Fest participants to free hot dogs and chips at lunch time.

ArtSpot saved me twice -- once to replace my essential gray Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen when it ran dry mid-day and again when I needed a glue stick to adhere the prints that Srina made for me into my sketchbooks.

Fangirl moment: Roy, Cathy and I were walking up Main Street when we ran into Tommy Kane (next to me) and Danny Gregory (in back)! They indulged us with a selfie.

Great turnout for the Summer Market sketchwalk!

My Bay Area peeps, including Nina Khashchina (left), whom I have followed for years but had never met until Saturday. Also shown are Cathy McAuliffe and Uma Kelkar.