Spring Sketchbook

My February through May sketchbook

I just finished binding my sketchbook that includes sketches from mid-February through May. On the covers are the ordinary corner of Fifth and Pine in downtown Seattle and one of the not-so-ordinary Victorian homes I sketched in Alameda.

I enjoyed juxtaposing these two sketches because they represent the two extremes for me of urban sketching. Whether I’m traveling or at home, I can’t resist sketching the big icons or “wow” scenes – the Space Needle (repeatedly), the Eiffel Tower, the Public Market sign at the Pike Place Market, the Golden Gate Bridge, or eye candy Victorian architecture. At the same time, I love sketching a “nothing view” (a concept that Marc Holmes talked about recently) – a scene like 5^th and Pine, where a bunch of glassy buildings and some scaffolding overpowered the monorail, and it all felt very ordinary. Without spectacular subject matter, the “nothing views” require more effort to compose to keep them from being boring, but I guess that’s the challenge I enjoy.

Something or nothing – I love sketching both.