A Return to the Zoo

 

8/18/25 tapir and rhino, Woodland Park Zoo (I got all the parts of the rhino but none assembled!)

I woke with a start: It was already mid-August, and I hadn’t yet been to Woodland Park Zoo! (In fact, at the admission desk when I renewed my membership, I learned that I hadn’t re-upped since 2023; the last time I visited had been exactly two years ago on Aug. 18. What a weird coincidence!)

Like the pets I showed yesterday, which were all done from photos, my mission at the zoo was to get more brush pen practice, this time with live animals. In the past, I’ve really enjoyed making animal gestures using watercolor pencils or graphite. The brush pen, though, is an ideal tool for making expedient gestures, and I think I love it even more than pencils for this purpose. The variable line strokes are perfect for fur and feathers.

Siamang and orangutans

Although I have many childhood memories of Woodland Park Zoo, some of my fondest are as an adult – my first few years as an urban sketcher. That first summer of 2012, I visited the zoo quite regularly, and that’s how I discovered how much I enjoy drawing live animals. It was great practice for sketching moving subjects and good training for sketching in public. As years went on, and my sketchbook and I began exploring more widely, I stopped going to the zoo as frequently, but every time I go, I’m reminded of those enjoyable early times.

Steller's sea eagle and Humboldt penguins

Beyond the fun of sketching animals, the zoo is a great place to walk, with lots of beautiful trees and landscaping. It’s an ideal way to combine my fitness walking with sketching. The zoo is back on my radar now; I hope to make more use of my membership before the wet weather sets in.

After my zoo visit, my plan was to walk to Fresh Flours for a pastry and coffee while I made a sketch journal entry. Before leaving the zoo, I made one last sketch of a penguin in the sketch journal so that I'd have sort of a segue to the bakery recorded in the journal. Then tragedy struck: Fresh Flours was completely sold out of pastries!