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11/23/18 Fairmont Olympic Hotel lobby |
The other admins and I were a bit nervous about scheduling a
sketch outing on Black Friday in the downtown retail corridor, but we thought
we’d give it a shot. We chose the venerable Fairmont Olympic Hotel, where the 41st annual Festival of Trees
was certain to make its grand lobby ornate and colorful. Then we heard that
Macy’s holiday parade was scheduled for the same time – right in front of the
Fairmont! Commuting downtown could be a worse problem than usual.
With some trepidation, I hopped on the bus downtown, but traffic
was fine and didn’t cause delays. When I arrived at the Fairmont in the pouring
rain, the parade was in full swing. Leisurely viewing all the beautiful holiday
trees, the other sketchers and I had the lobby nearly to ourselves. Then a few
minutes later, the parade ended, and hundreds of wet, cold parade viewers poured
into the Fairmont!
That was my cue. I dashed up the staircase to the upper floor,
where I could look over the railing at the terrific view of the activities
below. Families ducking into the hotel to get warm and pose for selfies negotiated
floor space with hotel guests who were trying to check out. It was a lively,
festive beginning to the holiday season.
After two sketches inside the hotel, I walked across the street to
Starbucks. Scoring a window seat, my plan was to sketch a hotel
entrance. Directly in front of me on the sidewalk, though, was a “homeless
grand pa” and his rolling cart of belongings. I knew he could see me through
the window, so I felt a bit intrusive sketching him, yet I also wanted to document
what is probably a black day every day for so many Seattle residents. (Although I don’t
think he caught me sketching him, to assuage my guilt, I gave him money afterwards
the same way I always tip buskers that I sketch. I look at is as a model’s
fee.)
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11/23/18 a resident of 4th and University |
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A small but enthusiastic group of sketchers who braved Black Friday! |
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A soggy parade. |
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We had the lobby nearly to ourselves for a short time . . . |
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. . . .and then this happened! |
That looks like such a fun event to sketch..despite the crowds. However my favorite of all the pictures was the duck in the parade with all the people with umbrellas. How fun!
ReplyDeleteMine, too -- I wish I'd gotten out there quickly enough to sketch some of the parade!
DeleteHa, only in Seattle you see people line up for parades in the rain :)
ReplyDeleteNo kidding! ;-)
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