Exquisite, Confused Corpses

 

3/31/25 Exquisite corpses by Mary Jean, Roy and Tina

Exquisite corpses live again! Mary Jean, Roy and I got together to work on more exquisite corpses, which we had so much fun with last time. This time we chose an ocean theme. Somehow, though, we got the rotation mixed up, so we each ended up making both the head and the “feet” on the same piece! It was still a ton of fun, and we’re going to continue with more.

Afterwards, we had lunch at nearby Geraldine’s Counter, where our friend Allan Carandang has a show of intriguing paintings.

Some of Allan Carandang's paintings at Geraldine's Counter

A Joyous Celebration of Pink

 

3/30/25 UW Quad

Although USk Seattle meets at the University of Washington Quad every spring to sketch the glorious cherry trees, this year felt very different to me. Even the heavy crowds on a dry Sunday morning didn’t bother me as much as they sometimes do. With so much disgusting “leadership” going on in our country, and tragedy, horror and devastation elsewhere in the world, it was truly uplifting to be part of this joyous celebration of nature. Everyone seemed so happy! It was impossible to walk among those trees, even bumping into each other, without feeling a bond with humanity: All of us brought together by tiny pink blossoms.

Thank you, brilliant cherry trees, for giving us such joy.

At upper left, I tried to show some cosplay characters being photographed, but my sketch doesn't show them well. See photo below for what they actually looked like.

Technical notes: The past several years, I have used the Quad cherry trees outing to try various media, hoping to find the one that might help me successfully convey the billowing clouds of very pale pink (nearly white, actually) blossoms. As if the subject matter weren’t challenging enough, I wanted to add to the torture with uncertain media. Watercolor, gouache, dry colored pencils, acrylic markers, water-soluble crayons and blocks – you name it, I’ve tried it, usually with frustration and disappointment.

This year I decided to end the masochism and went back to basics: My favorite Pentel Pocket Brush Pen with a Derwent Inktense pencil (and a gray Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Big Brush Pen for contextual elements that I want to fade into the background). Familiar, reliable, satisfying in their simplicity.

These are the characters I saw being photographed. In addition, several groups of choreographed teenagers were being video'd, probably for their TikTok channels.

So much exuberance everywhere!

Wide Awake!

 

3/29/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Two days after I sketched the sleepy cherry tree that was still in buds, it woke up! Seemingly overnight, cherry blossoms are popping open all over town. Sadly, the weather forecast for the next few days is not looking good – so many blossoms, so few dry days ahead!

3/29/25 Wide awake!

3/27/25 Still sleepy

360 at Third Place Commons

 

3/29/25 Third Place Commons, Lake Forest Park

Five other sketchers and I tried something fun during Saturday’s USk Seattle outing. Sitting together around a table, we each sketched the slice of view directly in front of us, forming a 360-degree view of Third Place Commons. When I’ve participated in 360 sketches previously (once at the downtown public library and another time at the UW Quad), the participants sat in a circle facing out. For this one, we all faced each other toward the center of the table, which meant we all included fellow sketchers. Fun!

After I finished my first sketch that included Kim (at right), I turned around in my seat 180 degrees to sketch whatever had been directly behind. I like that sketch better (below) because I could see further out into the distance.

During the last half hour before the throwdown, I walked around a bit and sketched a few more people enjoying the Commons on a Saturday morning.

Our 360 throwdown was incomplete because a couple of participants had already left by the time we remembered to photograph all of them together!

Inside the Spheres Again

 

3/28/25 Waiting for coffee inside the Amazon Spheres.

Shortly after they had opened, a friend who works at Amazon invited Greg and me to visit inside the company’s amazing Spheres. That was back in 2018, and although I have sketched the geodesic domed buildings many times from the outside, I hadn’t been back inside since then. As good fortune would have it, Ching works there now, and she invited Natalie and me to sketch inside with her. (Although the buildings are open to the public at certain times, you can only enter as part of a guided tour. When accompanied by an employee, you can wander and stay – and sketch – as long as you like.)

It’s still a wondrous terrarium of green; in fact, many of the plants had grown, so it seemed even more jungly than before. On a cold, wet afternoon, the warm, humid interior climate felt comforting. (I was so eager to get on with sketching that I forgot to take photos this time! Please see my 2018 post for lots of images of the interior.)

It was jam-packed with employees trying to work while many visitors ooh-ed and ahh-ed while taking selfies. (Not that I know anything about the latter.)

After all that fun, we adjourned to happy hour at a nearby pub, where I had a personal celebration. This time, it wasn’t for a downsizing accomplishment. Instead, I had just gotten good news from my doctor. All my bone-building exercises, a calcium-rich diet and meds had paid off!

3/28/25 King Leroy pub, South Lake Union

Still Yawning

 

3/27/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Hitting the snooze button for another week.

Although we all wait with much anticipation for the cherry trees to reach their peak bloom, I often find it easier to sketch them when they are still at the plump bud stage – just about to open but not quite. At peak, the Yoshino variety is such a pale pink that the blossoms are nearly white, but as buds, the pink is darker.

This one is taking its own sweet time before it’s wide awake with blossoms, and I was happy to catch it yawning.

Spring for a Day

 

3/18/25 Metro Market, Crown Hill neighborhood

3/25/25 magnolia tree, Maple Leaf neighborhood

On March 18, I went out on my first petal-peeping mission to see how my favorite cherry streets were doing. As expected, all the buds were still tight (journal page above). Less than a week later, a freaky warm front brought sunny temperatures in the high 60s and even 70s. Hallelujah, spring was finally here! OK, so it only lasted a day, but it seemed like the whole city was outdoors rejoicing. More significant, those warm temps will surely push the blossoms to open!

After walking around Green Lake, shedding layers as I went, I took the top down for the drive home. Spotting a magnolia just starting to pop, I basked in the sweet sunshine to sketch it.

That afternoon, I stopped at Macrina Bakery (below) for the annual ritual that marks my personal harbinger of spring: The first al fresco iced coffee!  

3/25/25 Macrina Bakery, Maple Leaf neighborhood