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| 1/7/15 various inks, watercolor, India ink with twig, Canson XL 140 lb. paper |
Arriving in Ballard a little early for an appointment, I
drove around nearby streets looking for a sketch. Suddenly I spotted the back
side of the Bardahl Oil sign, the front of which is easily visible from the Ballard
Bridge on Northwest 15th. I was too cold to stand outside, so I
pulled into the nearest parking lot (“employees and customers only”) and angled
my car to see as much as I could of the famous sign (“which has been lighting
up the Ballard skies since 1953,” according to the Ballard News-Tribune). A couple of trees, a bunch of parked cars,
some bushes and a variety of other stuff was partially obstructing my view of
the bright yellow barn-like building, so I had to fake it, but at least I had a
clear view of the sign.
I love nostalgic signs like this, similar to the huge Gold Medal Flour sign I sketched in
Minneapolis a couple of summers ago, with all the metal supports visible around
it. Unlike the Gold Medal sign, the Bardahl sign still promotes an active
business.
I made a note to come back when the weather warms up so that
I can stand on the street and get a better view.
(Generally I’m a good speller, but if I’m including
text in a sketch, I somehow manage to misspell words!)
Great sketch of an icon in your area. How great that it is still an active business. Hope you get to sketch it in warmer weather. It was below 20 here today. Brrrrr.....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joan! Stay warm!
DeleteThe first time I misspelled something in a sketch I was horrified because I am a good speller, too. That proved to me that drawing comes from the right side of the brain because my left brain would have noticed it immediately.
ReplyDeleteArlene, I think you're right! It's really strange when you realize one part of your brain's not paying attention!
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