Inside Google

 

5/15/26 Sixth floor of Google's Valley Building, South Lake Union

Inclement weather is usually an urban sketching inconvenience, but last Friday it worked to our advantage (at least for some of us). Ikroop, a sketcher and Google employee, had invited USk to join her artist colleagues to sketch together at Lake Union Park. If the weather turned unpleasant, we had the option of going inside their office building a short walk away. Since we all agreed at the meetup that it was too cold and windy to sketch at the park, we took advantage of their invitation to take us inside.

Initially skeptical about what we would have to draw inside an office building, I was surprised – and impressed! In addition to sweeping views of Lake Union, Queen Anne Hill and downtown, the sixth floor employee lounge had colorful, cushy chairs, lots of tables, a visiting dog and even pinball machines.

We ended the sketch outing across the street at Flatstick Pub for a drink & draw. Sketching South Lake Union’s glassy buildings, I got to know a few new sketchers I hadn’t met before while enjoying my brew and snacks.

5/15/26 Flatstick Pub, South Lake Union

Google throwdown...

A small group of sketchers who were late for the initial meetup got left behind at the park. Hardy sketchers and good sports, they opted to sketch at Lake Union Park anyway and had their own throwdown!

...and simultaneous Lake Union Park throwdown!

Playing Tourist at Lake Union Park

 

4/30/25 Lake Union Park

 

After Gas Works, my favorite Seattle park is Lake Union Park. (It’s probably not a coincidence that the two parks, each visible from the other from across the water, are on opposite ends of Lake Union; I grew up on Lake Washington, so a fondness for lakes is in my blood.) Although Roy has been a long-time Seattle-area resident, he had never visited or sketched there. Since Lake Union Park is one of the places I like to bring out-of-town visitors, I decided to play tour guide for him last Wednesday, which actually enabled me to feel like a tourist, too.

Another first for him was riding the South Lake Union Trolley (affectionately called the SLUT by locals), which I hadn’t ridden in a long time myself. It’s always fun to experience familiar things through the fresh eyes of first-timers.

I really enjoyed making these pages of on-location comics, so I’ll stop talking and let you read the commentary yourself.

Lake Union Park with New Friends

 

6/18/22 Space Needle from Lake Union Park

Urban sketchers and fans of products from Traveler’s Company and Art Toolkit have a lot in common: They all love documenting their days, and they all love fun sketching tools! Seattle urban sketcher and Traveler’s rep April Wu invited USk Seattle to help introduce urban sketching to users of Traveler’s Company art journaling materials. In addition, Maria Coryell-Martin, developer of the Art Toolkit, gave a demo and showed her popular portable watercolor kits at the event last Saturday. It was fun to meet new sketchers, and we hope they’ll continue to join USk at future outings.

The chosen location, Lake Union Park, is one of my favorites, and it was a productive afternoon for me: Several compositional studies, a couple of which made the cut for larger, color sketches. A bonus was the gesture sketches I got of the many critters hanging out near the water.

First on my list of priorities was documenting the Space Needle, which was recently repainted in its original “Galaxy Gold” to commemorate its 60^th birthday. I tried a composition with the Needle next to the Museum of History and Industry’s old clock, but I didn’t like it enough to do a full-color sketch. A walk around the park led me to some large purple allium flowers that seemed a perfect contrast to the orange Needle.

As many times as I’ve sketched at Lake Union Park, I don’t think I had captured the Center of Wooden Boats building before. To me, it’s not a very interesting modern building, so I looked for a composition that would frame it. While I sketched, some aggressive Canada geese walked right up to me, honking their demands for food! Anyone who gets in my face like that should know they will be sketched.

Aggressive honkers and prolific poopers... but they did have cute goslings in tow.

Lots of wildlife to sketch that day!

April (at right) and Maria (in cap) introduce urban sketching to
fans of Traveler's products and the Art Toolkit.

Great turnout of many first-time urban sketchers as well as long-timers!

Drizzly Lake Union Park

 

8/25/23 1904 Swiftsure docked at Lake Union

You can’t keep USk Seattle down with a little drizzle! OK, the drizzle eventually turned to rain, which I happily welcomed if it would clear away the smoke. In any case, we had a good time at Lake Union Park on Friday morning.

I found some cover that gave me a good view of the 1904 lightship Swiftsure, which I’ve sketched at least twice before – it’s hard to resist the red hull and yellow masts. My previous sketches were more detailed, but I don’t think I scaled the ship accurately either time. Standing fairly close, my goal was simply to scale it as accurately as possible on my small A6-size page. I still couldn’t get all of the center mast in, but I resisted drawing it shorter just to squeeze the top in.

By the time I finished, the drizzle had turned to rain, but that was when my walk around the park brought me to a view of the Space Needle. It’s apparently a mandatory subject for me whenever I see it.

8/25/23 Space Needle from Lake Union Park 
(Pentel Tradio Pullaman brush pen)

Pen note: I had just gotten a brand-new Pentel Tradio Pulaman brush pen the day before the USk outing, so I couldn’t resist grabbing it on the way out the door. Of course, I didn’t test the ink (or even read its features) to see if it was waterproof, which the rain tested immediately. No matter, though – it’s been a while since I used a water-soluble brush pen, and now that I know it is, I’ll have fun doing some washes with it.

According to JetPens, the Tradio has an “arrow-shaped tip” rather than a traditional brush tip. It makes a fairly good range of marks, though perhaps not as wide a range as some other hard-tip brush pens I’ve used. It might be better suited for calligraphy than sketching. In any case, I really like its stout, cigar-shaped body. Bonus: Unlike most brush pens I’ve been using, like my favorite Uni Pin and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Fude Pen, the Tradio is refillable. I’ll write a full review once I see how long the tip lasts under the leaden weight of my drawing hand.

Oh, so this is where all the sketchers were hiding out to stay dry! 

Last Gasp of Summer

9/12/19 Lake Union Park

After days of cool temps that forced me to put socks on for the first time since June, we had a few afternoons of partly sunny skies, and I was out in a T-shirt again! The day we saw the MOHAI fashion exhibit was one of those days, so we took advantage of being at Lake Union Park to enjoy the sunshine.

I made a small sketch of the park’s footbridge, which enables pedestrians to take a shortcut across Lake Union to MOHAI, and the interesting shadows it cast under the early afternoon sun. Then I walked halfway across the footbridge to sketch the Tordenskjold, a halibut schooner built in the Ballard neighborhood in 1911. It’s one of several historic wooden boats moored on Lake Union at the Center for Wooden Boats.

The whole time we were at the park, I kept wondering where all the Canada geese were. . . usually the park is full of them, and walking requires stepping carefully to avoid what they leave behind. I needn’t have worried; walking back to the car, we found a bunch of them doing what they do best.

9/12/19 Poop machines busily at work.

Rip Visits Lake Union Park

 

7/30/21 South Lake Union from Lake Union Park

I had another Rip Van Winkle moment, this time at Lake Union Park, which I had last visited nearly two years ago. So many new buildings had popped up or been completed since then that it was disorienting. Thankfully, the Space Needle was still visible, but I wondered how much longer that would be true. Sketching with USk Seattle, I deliberately chose this view with new buildings obscuring it from this angle.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the sketch outing early to get to my class, so in the remaining time, I filled a couple of pages with quick gestures of sailboats. I’ve sketched boats on the lake before, but only as part of a larger scene. My goal with these was to simply capture their movement and varying angles as they went by. What fun!

Technical note: The crane scene was another opportunity for a primary triad experiment. This time, I went back to Supracolor’s Purplish Red (350) instead of the (apparently) same hue in the Museum Aquarelle line (see this post for elaboration). I’m enjoying the brilliant harmony of this intense triad, even when I sometimes get surprising results. In addition, it’s efficient to grab only three pencils, especially when I’m short on time. Most of all, I appreciate being pushed out of my comfort zone of reality-based colors. If I focus on values, actual hues don’t matter much.

Extracurricular Sketcher Fest: UW Quad and Lake Union Park

 

7/8/26 UW Quad cherry trees

Although the University of Washington Quad cherry trees get all the fanfare when they blossom, those same trees have sublime beauty in fall. In summer, they hardly get any notice, but I love these old trees in all seasons.

Cathy is in town for Sketcher Fest, and I thought it would be fun to show her the UW campus, including the Quad’s cherry trees. Without showy blossoms, the massive, gnarled trunks can steal the show.

The next day, despite a light rail power outage that slowed our travel down considerably, I enjoyed showing Cathy Lake Union Park and the vintage boats moored there.

7/9/26 Lake Union Park

Fun and Historic Artifacts at MOHAI

 

1/16/26 Museum of History and Industry

A motorized and drivable stiletto heel, historic motorcycles and the vintage Rainier Brewery neon sign were among the many fun and colorful artifacts USk Seattle got to sketch at the Museum of History and Industry last Friday. Although I’ve been to surrounding Lake Union Park many times, it had been ages since I was last inside the museum (2018, according to my blog).

Although it was tempting to sketch some of my old favorites, like the Rainier R, I started with the irresistible high-heeled vehicle near the entrance. After that, I went upstairs to see the featured exhibit, Kickstands Up! 125 Years of Motorcycling in the Pacific Northwest. I picked out a pink Harley with a mannequin wearing a women’s motorcycle outfit. Many other sketchers were attracted to the antique motorcycles and bicycles there. Luckily, we had the exhibit nearly to ourselves.

Down on the main floor again, I sketched a couple of permanent exhibits that I don’t usually get around to (below): a cross-section piece of an 800-year-old Douglas fir and John Gage’s sculpture, Wawona. Although I couldn’t show it in my sketch, if you walk inside the Wawona, you can see a glass-covered hole in the floor that reveals Lake Union directly under that part of the building. It’s an interesting tribute to MOHAI’s home inside the restored landmark Naval Reserve Armory. (On the top floor, the original periscope still exists, offering a cool 360-degree view of Seattle.)

Usually when I visit MOHAI, I enjoy spending some time near the water sketching the historic boats moored there or other parts of Lake Union Park. With temps in the low 40s and a bitter wind off the lake, I didn’t have it in me this time. Plenty of other sketchers were hardier than I was, though!

Geese and Cranes at Lake Union Park

6/17/17 inks, colored pencils

USk Seattle’s 10x10 workshop series culminated yesterday morning with a group reportage activity at Lake Union Park. While I didn’t take part in the workshop, I joined the general sketchcrawl that followed in the same location, which is one of my favorite Seattle parks.

6/17/17 Sailor brush pen, gel pen

I’ve sketched parts of the skyline from the park a few times, most recently last summer, but I’ve never had my panoramic Stillman & Birn sketchbook there. The landscape book was still in my bag from Friday’s outing in Tacoma, so I took advantage of it to capture as many as possible of the 14 cranes visible from that spot (I only got 11, and then I ran out of space). 

As for the Canada geese, I couldn’t have sketched them all even if I had wanted to. There must have been hundreds, including some very sweet goslings and adolescents with fuzzy heads. (Adorable as they may be, there’s no leash law for geese. Watch where you step.)

Panorama detail

South Lake Union Market Under the Spheres

 

9/27/25 South Lake Union

When we had planned the sketch outing to South Lake Union, we didn’t even know that the Saturday Market had moved from its previous Denny Park location (where USk met last year) to the center of Amazontown near the Amazon Spheres. It was a fun bonus to sketch some market people (and a dog).

Of course, it’s hard to ignore the Spheres themselves. I sketched them in my own sketchbook, but I also sketched them in the traveling sketchbook (below) that is circulating among USk chapters across the country (thanks to Kate Buike for coordinating USk Seattle’s and USk Tacoma’s participation). South Lake Union seemed like an appropriately iconic spot in Seattle to represent in the book.

My contribution to the traveling sketchbook.

Despite the day starting out with iffy weather, we still had a fantastic turnout and were rewarded with sunshine in time for our throwdown!

(I’m interrupting my Portland series with this post; back tomorrow with more from Portland.)

Northlake Commons (and Green Disgruntlement)

 

5/7/26 Northlake Commons

Mary Jean recently introduced me to a newish business complex near the north end of Lake Union just off the Burke-Gilman Trail. Northlake Commons still looks largely unoccupied, but all the better to explore the huge public spaces. Best of all, the complex has been beautifully landscaped (approved by MJ, a retired landscape architect) to soften the hard edges of the surrounding modern architecture. If you stand at the top of a stairway, you’ll see peek-a-boo views of Lake Union and the downtown skyline. (I see a USk Seattle outing here in my future.)

First I wanted to continue experimenting with varying textures and colors of greenery by focusing on one of several weeping cedar trees at the foot of a stairway (top of post). It’s one of my favorite types of composition with organic foliage against hard, built environments.

I considered sketching the lake view from the top of that stairway, but I wanted to get closer. Across the street, I discovered that one of the peek-a-boos was a tiny pocket park with a bench and even a picnic table. Hidden from the sidewalk, it must be a well-kept secret: That afternoon, it was just me and a family of Canada geese.

Lake Union from a tiny pocket park

Color notes: I’m unhappy with my current selection of green water-soluble materials. For many years, I had used a go-to trio of Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelles that went well together, but growing tired of it was what prompted my lengthy exploration of primary triads several years ago. I wanted to get out of that rut.

Eventually I drifted back to the tried-and-true, but then my more recent discovery of designer Germanier’s surprising color choices led to my “wacky” palette experiments. Although I’m hoping that inspiration will still guide me now, when it comes to foliage, I always feel the tension between wanting to be true to nature and wanting to push myself.

Lots of greens, none quite right

My current dissatisfaction with greens is mostly due to my love of Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons. Despite its wide green range (all of which I own), I can’t seem to find a trio (light, medium, dark values) that go well together. In addition, I also like to have a dark, cool green to take care of all the Pacific Northwest conifers fringing any horizon, and Neo II doesn’t have one that’s just right for that, either. Hence, I ended up with a nearly-turquoise green on the sunny edges of the weeping cedar which I made attempts to dull with a mossy green that I don’t like, either.

Using only Neo IIs for foliage wasn’t going to cut it. Since I’m trying to avoid my Museum Aquarelle green rut (sadly, MA’s range of greens is inadequate), it’s time to pull out Derwent Inktense Pencils. Although I went through an infatuation with Inktense a few years back, it had faded. However, seeing Colin Woodward’s use of Inktense revived the spark. Stay tuned for my green overhaul.

South Lake Union Saturday Market

 

7/27/24 South Lake Union Saturday Market

In the heart of South Lake Union, the SLU Saturday Market is in the shadow of Seattle’s newest skyscrapers while also enjoying Denny Park’s oasis of trees. USk Seattle had the benefit of both – shiny, glassy architecture (for those who like to sketch that) and plenty of shade.

I sketched a page of the market activity itself (the colorful entrance flags were a popular subject for many sketchers that day) and another page of thumbnails of the new skyline.

Architecture visible from the market

For lunch, I had garlic pancit bihon from 88 Cues, a Filipino food truck. I scarfed it down too fast to sketch, but I slowed down enough to sketch my turon, which is a banana-based dessert lumpia sprinkled with sesame seeds and tiny orange flower petals.

Lunch and dessert from 88 Cues

New to USk Seattle, the SLU Saturday Market offers a fun mix of urban glass and steel, local produce and flea market fashions. We’ll be back!

Denny Park offered comfy shade to sketchers.

SLU Saturday Market in the shadow of Seattle's newest skyline

Mary Lou and Sam’s House Boat

7/25/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Summer is back on, and the Friday sketchers celebrated with a special treat: Sketching on and around the Lake Union house boat of Mary Lou and Sam, who generously opened their floating home to us.

Choosing my first subject was easy: I climbed all the way up to the rooftop deck (stepping very carefully on that last spiral staircase!) to sketch Lake Union with the Aurora Bridge and Gas Works Park in the background.

7/25/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao ink, Pitt Artist
Pen, Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble pencils

The second sketch subject was harder to pinpoint. First I wandered around the three levels of their home, looking through all the many windows. Then I went outside and walked around all the surrounding docks, peeking at the views between the boats and marveling at the magical romance of living on the water. (Yes, we spotted the house boat from Sleepless in Seattle just a short distance away!) Suddenly I realized I had only about 15 minutes before the meeting time, so I quickly sketched a couple of boats in front of me.

It was hard to beat sketching from a house boat, but then Sam gave a few lingerers an even better treat: A ride around Lake Union on their Lear boat! He showed us how the top rises to reveal a roomy cabin (certainly roomy enough for more than the five sketchers who hopped in when he offered the ride) and then acts as sun shelter, so we could cruise the lake in comfort. I couldn’t resist sketching Captain Sam at the wheel of the Plug ‘n Play.

Thank you, Sam and Mary Lou, for opening your home to us, and thanks to Peggy for initiating the opportunity!

7/25/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, Tsuyu-kusa and Fuyu-Syogun inks, Museum
water-soluble pencils