Media Mishaps at the Zoo

3/2/26 Grizzly and brown bears, Woodland Park Zoo (Derwent Drawing pencil in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook)

This is the time of year when we are occasionally surprised by delightfully sunny and even warmish days. Although it was still cold in the morning, the afternoon was just right for one of my favorite fitness-walking locations: Woodland Park Zoo.

Starting in the opposite direction from my usual zoo route, I spent some time on the Living Northwest Trail. I’m often disappointed in this section because many animals like to stay hidden, but on this afternoon, I saw and/or sketched almost all the residents.

Despite being the most frustrating, my favorites to attempt to sketch were the young bear pair, Fern and Juniper (Fern is actually a grizzly, not a brown, I learned later). I watched for quite a while as they wrestled and played continuously, their heads often buried in each other’s long fur. Waiting patiently (more patiently than most visitors, who snapped videos and then moved on quickly, just like at art museums), I drew whatever feature or shape I could capture in a second or two. When the bears flipped over and revealed their heads, I quickly refined what I’d drawn before (top of post). Challenging but so much fun!

The lazily grazing and dozing mountain goats were no challenge at all by comparison.

Mountain goats (Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle and Derwent Inktense pencils in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

Huckleberry, the sole male elk, and one of his mates were resting together by a tree – also easy. However, this is when my media mishaps began. I hadn’t sketched with Tombow Dual markers in a long time and had given most away during my downsizing. Somehow I found one in my hand recently, so I put it in my bag on a whim. (I used one at the Cocoa Legato open mic recently, too.)

Elk (Tombow Dual marker in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

Sketching these elk reconfirmed what I don’t really care for about Tombows. Although I do enjoy being able to do quick and easy shading by washing the water-soluble ink (a favorite technique for many years), I don’t like the stiff lines that the hard tips on these markers make, especially when drawing animals and other organic subjects. I much prefer a fluid, “hairy” brush. Trying to recap the pen as I was thinking about this, the cap slipped out of my hand and disappeared between the boards in the trail walkway (and we all know that the most valuable part of a marker is its cap; without it, the pen is useless).

I ended my visit with a favorite exhibit, the Humboldt penguins of South America. Luckily for me, it was feeding time. The keeper carefully and fairly distributed fish to each penguin (calling some by name). Unlike most birds around food, the penguins crowded around the keeper but were very orderly, waiting their turn (imagine gulls or crows waiting their turn!).

Humboldt penguins (Pentel Sign brush pen, Pitt Artist Pen, Inktense pencil in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

I knew my black Pentel brush pen was running dry, but I hoped that I could squeak through the sketch – barely. To make up for it, I pulled out a gray Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen, and by poor coincidence, it was nearly dry, too!

All I can say is: Thank goodness for colored pencils!

Air Raid Siren Redux

 

3/1/26 air raid siren tower, Phinney Ridge neighborhood

Last Sunday afternoon turned out clear and beautiful. Before going to open mic at Cocoa Legato, I stopped at the nearby Phinney Neighborhood Association to sketch an historic relic. From the mid ‘50s through the mid-‘70s, this air raid siren howled a warning every Wednesday at noon. Citywide weekly drills were used to test the system in case of an actual nuclear missile attack. The one I sketched in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood is the last remaining tower.

The first time I sketched it was in 2014. Looking back at that sketch, I was surprised to see that the siren was painted orange back then; now it’s yellow, and the tower legs are green. It’s good to know that it’s still being maintained.

Open Mic Again (and a White Daily-Carry!)

 

3/1/26 Open mic at Cocoa Legato, Greenwood neighborhood

Ching and I had so much fun at Cocoa Legato’s open mic session a couple of weeks ago that we went again, and this time Natalie came with us. Last time, attendance was a bit sparse, but word must have gotten out, because we could hardly find a table on Sunday. I’m happy that business has picked up for this unique chocolate and music venue.

I think I captured all the participating vocalists except the few who were onstage while I was scarfing down my avocado toast with chocolate nibs. (Yes, it was delicious! All their surprising entrees taste better than they initially seem like they would!)

Newsflash: For the first time in years, my daily-carry sketch journal contains white paper! How radical! As much as I love using colored Uglybooks for almost all types of sketching, around this time of year, I start missing the opportunity to use color when I’m out walking and spot a blossoming tree.

The first sketch in this book is dated 7/2/20, but all I had to
do was look at the sticker on the cover to know the era in which
I started it.

As happens, I was looking through some sketchbooks and came upon an old pocket-size, softcover Stillman & Birn Beta that I had started during the pandemic. After using the first half, I abandoned it, possibly because I had discovered Hahnemühle. Anyway, I seem to be on a mission to complete partially used sketchbooks, so it was a fortuitous find in my stash. If it works, it will enable me to use color spontaneously without having to carry an additional book (and therefore an additional tote).

It’s most likely a brief interlude; half of a 52-page book isn’t going to last me long as a daily sketch journal. It’ll be long enough, though, to decide whether I can tolerate its bulkiness as a daily-carry. I enjoy using colored pages too much to switch permanently, but maybe it would be a good change during the more colorful seasons.

For the record, it does bother me that I’ve broken the chronological continuity of my daily sketch journal process in Uglybooks, which I’d maintained for more than two years. How weird to proceed in the middle of a sketchbook half-filled with random sketches, especially from the worst of all years, 2020! After pondering for a while, though, I reminded myself not to be a slave to my own “rules.” It’s the daily practice that’s important, not the book I use.

Blue Skyline

 

2/28/26 Seattle skyline from Maple Leaf Park

It’s always a small surprise to glimpse the Space Needle and downtown skyline from Maple Leaf Park: They seem like they should be farther away. During the height of the pandemic, I sought this view longingly, wistfully. Even during the second pandemic summer when I was finally getting back out into the world, I wasn’t quite ready for public transportation, so I still missed going downtown.

Now I’m back to taking it for granted again. I’m comfortable going downtown, and it feels easier than ever to hop on a train or bus. But walking around Maple Leaf Park on a chilly, sunny afternoon last Saturday, I was suddenly again taken with how close downtown seems, and how beautiful our skyline is when I stop to appreciate it. I reminded myself not to take it for granted.

The Pencil I Never Sent

 

For many years now, I’ve been a member of the Erasable Podcast Community on Facebook, where the main topic of conversation is – you guessed it – pencils. In addition to geeking out about all things pencil, we also do a lot of swapping and some buying/selling. That group is how I acquired some of my vintage collection. I’ve had many ultra-geeky chats with certain members who fly the same colored pencil freak flag as I do.

A highly skilled colored pencil artist and budding urban sketcher, Gary had many of the same pencil interests as I do, not to mention deep knowledge of some esoteric pencil subsectors I had no clue about. We’ve had numerous chats that would make unwitting eavesdroppers’ eyes roll if their heads weren’t already spinning from discontinued color numbers or pencil brand logo changes.

I knew that Gary was seeking the red version of Field Notes Brand’s carpenter pencil. Although the notebook company has periodically offered various versions, the red one has been out of production for years. Gary has surprised me with numerous vintage and contemporary colored pencils and other gifts from the UK over the years (he gave me the King Charles III coronation commemorative Bic 4-Color Pen!). He is well known in the Erasable community for his generosity. I wanted to surprise him with that red carpenter pencil. It took me a while, but I worked out a swap with another member, and I managed to acquire his coveted pencil.

That was more than a year ago. It would have been a simple task to package up the pencil and ship it to him in the UK, but it seemed silly to ship only one pencil across the pond. I kept thinking I’d add a few more things to the package. Meanwhile, I was going through all my downsizing shenanigans and various other distractions, but I kept the red Field Notes pencil on my desktop as a reminder.

A reminder.

Every now and then I’d see the pencil, think of Gary, and tell myself to just put it into the mail. And then I’d ponder what else to put in the box – he’s a vast collector who owns many pencils; what else would he possibly want? – and that would prompt me to procrastinate further.

We had not chatted in a while, and I hadn’t seen his witty comments in the group for a long time. A few days ago, I learned that he had passed away recently after a bout with cancer.

I have no use for the red Field Notes carpenter pencil, and I don’t really want it. But I’m displaying it prominently for a while as a reminder to myself not to procrastinate with intended gifts or other acts that might make someone happy. Meanwhile, if I hear that another Erasable member wants it, I will not hesitate to ship it off immediately. Life keeps trying to teach me this lesson; it’s time to start learning.

Year of the Fire Horse

 

2/27/26 Fire Horse at Southcenter Mall, Tukwila

I hadn’t done any sketches for Lunar New Year yet this year, so I was especially looking forward to the USk outing at Southcenter Mall, which puts out festive decorations annually. The spectacular focal piece was again the 25-foot dragon, which I sketched for the first time a couple of years ago.

I knew I’d get around to the dragon eventually, but I started with a new piece for the Year of the Fire Horse (above). Although I could have chosen from several different angles, the horse’s butt end gave me an interesting view. Ultimately, I regretted not using a larger sketchbook, as this symbol of speed and high energy seemed a little cramped in my square composition.

Since I’d sketched the dragon from the floor level previously, this time I went up to the second level for an overhead view. I spotted Mark sketching from the floor below, so I put him in, looking like he’d been scooped up by the dragon (at right). Unbeknownst to me until the throwdown, Mark had spotted me too, so I made a similar cameo appearance in his sketch (below)! (This is one of many things that make Urban Sketchers outings so much fun!)

Sketch by Mark Ryan (detail)

Mandatory selfie with the Fire Horse, symbolizing speed and high energy!

Commuters (and Sketch Journal Musings, Part 2)

11/1/25

10/2/25

Our light rail system has been going through a lot of partial closures for maintenance and development. In the long run, the system will be much better (the long-overdue, highly anticipated connection with the Eastside light rail line is probably one of the most exciting public transportation developments in my lifetime! I detest driving across the bridge!), but in the short-run, the closures have been inconvenient. On some recent days, I’ve had to take the bus downtown instead, which can be slower and less reliable.

11/20/25

11/30/25

For sketching, the bus is also way more bumpy; squiggly lines in some sketches shown here are downright humorous! On the upside, natural light through windows can be interesting to catch.

12/8/25

12/12/25

Looking through these commuter sketches prompted me to continue thinking about my sketch journaling process and what my journal is good for. More than any other series, my sketches of people on public transportation document my day-to-day travels. Whether visiting friends, meeting up with other sketchers, or running errands, if I rode a bus or train there, I probably sketched other passengers and noted where I was going. In the same way I might note: “Went downtown” in a written diary, these sketches become my visual diary in a very literal sense. I like that.

12/27/25

1/9/26

1/16/26

1/24/26

1/28/26

1/31/26 I rarely use anything but a marker or brush pen for commuter portraits,
mainly due to expediency, but I have been enjoying Derwent Drawing pencils
so much lately that I gave one a try on this light rail ride.