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.