Proofreading at Green Lake

5/27/24 Green Lake

I had an important proofreading task to finish on Memorial Day (the exciting product will be revealed soon!). To keep myself on task without distractions at home, I brought the project to Chocolati Café at Green Lake and buckled down with a mocha (Chocolati makes one of the best in the city). After completing the task, my reward was to sketch as I walked around the neighborhood.

That note about dropping my new phone near Duke’s? I had had the phone for only a couple of weeks. After sketching one of the palm trees, I fumbled trying to take my trophy photo while showing both the sketchbook and the materials, dropping everything on the pavement. Although its case prevented serious damage, my new phone’s screen got several dings, annoying me every time I scrolled. I also remember the month because it was only a few weeks after I had begun my walk/sketch fitness program (which has continued to this day). If not for that program, I typically would not have walked to that area of Green Lake. Finally, I also associate the sketch with the onset of the pandemic only a couple of months later. That palm tree sketch would be one of the last I made at Green Lake for more than a year.

Of course, I would have remembered all of that even if I hadn’t written that note under the sketch, but keeping a sketch journal gives me a place to note things like that. It’s probably one of the things I like most about keeping a sketch journal (or diary comics).

Technical note: Although I adore drawing with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, I’ve been frustrated with how hard it is to control the brush when I’m trying to print tiny as I must for these small comics. I knew the multi-line haiku would turn into a mess if I tried to use the bristle brush pen, so I finished the writing at home and used a harder tipped brush pen for that. I don’t want to carry a pen just for lettering, though.

Shawna in the Jungle

 

5/25/24 Shawna, 3-min. poses

During the worst part of the pandemic when isolation and restlessness were the new normal, and the vaccine was still months away, one of many things I was grateful for was livestream life drawing. In particular, Shawna Holman, one of my favorite Gage models, went freelance when all her live modeling gigs necessarily vanished. Using an improv acting format, Shawna would choose a narrative theme and create dynamic, ultra-short poses of 30 seconds to seven minutes. One of the most memorable was when she enacted scenes from “Die Hard” while wearing a bikini (have you ever visualized Bruce Willis in a bikini?).

1-min. poses

When it became safe to go back to the life-drawing studio, Shawna resumed her improv format at the Artists & Craftsman store in the U-District. Although I’ve known about the series for a long time, I hadn’t gotten around to trying it live until last Saturday. Shawna’s narrative theme for the morning was a jungle explorer engaged with exotic plants, birds and saving them from an unexpected drought.

2-min. poses

Keeping up with her poses (I sketched 43 in two hours!) gave us all a breathtaking challenge while her narrative kept us entertained.

3-min. pose

Four Kitties and a Pup

 

5/11/24 Cooper (reference photos for Cooper, CJ
and Zoey by Ana Reinert)

5/10/24 CJ

5/8/24 Zoey

Although I’m taking a break from my fundraising project for Dog Gone Seattle, I still look for opportunities to keep up my pet-sketching chops (and obviously because I enjoy drawing animals so much). If you read the Well-Appointed Desk, you may have seen my review of some fine-point pens I’ve used for whiskers and other fine details. The test sketches were three of Ana Reinert’s seven (at last count) cats, Zoey, CJ and Cooper, who look identical (to me . . . I’m sure mama has no problem telling those tabbies apart).

5/20/24 Luigi (reference photo by Bob Lazzari)

A fourth kitty, Luigi, was a pet recently lost by a Facebook friend. Luigi’s photos captured my heart, so I drew from one on a Field Notes notebook to surprise my friend with.

The lone pup who made it into this bunch is aging but still adorable Fritzie, whom I sketched while his human and I chatted in their apartment one afternoon. Patient and polite, Fritzie mostly napped on the carpet – until I started sketching, and then he wandered all over the room. (Another Murphy’s Law of urban sketching: Pets sleep until you pull out your sketchbook.) Nonetheless, this sketch was the most fun of these because I got to do it from life.

5/15/24 Fritzie, sketched in his livingroom

New Brain Buster: Haiku Comics

 

5/26/24 Wedgwood neighborhood (I love sketching with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, but I'm having difficulty writing tiny and legibly with it, which is essential for comics.) 

A lot of good things have been happening serendipitously in my life lately, and one of them is haiku comics. What?? Putting haiku poems together with comics is something I had never heard of until Kim put out a notice in the USk Facebook group about an exhibition at Push/Pull Gallery. I let my comics compadre Roy know about the concept, and that sent us both down the rabbit hole.

Our first stop was Old Pond Comics, which teaches haiku through whimsical comics. This article in the South Seattle Emerald explains why haiku and comics go together so well: “Haiku in comic strip form really works, in part because three lines of poetry and three or four panels of comics have similar rhythms and goals,” says Justin Rueff, illustrator of Shin Yu Pai’s book Less Desolate. “Comic strips usually consist of a set-up and a punchline, while haiku often begin with an observation and end with a surprise, a reveal, or an ‘ah’ moment.”

“Ah moment,” indeed!

Although I have two degrees in creative writing, and my master’s thesis was a collection of poems, I had not written poetry in decades. My mom, however, was a lifelong haiku poet (she wrote her last one only a couple weeks before she passed away), so I do have haiku in my genes. Learning about haiku comics fanned the flame of my current interest in comics while also introducing a new twist to an already challenging form. I was in!

With on-location comics, I literally sketch as I go. I don’t know how much space to leave for more sketches on the page, nor do I know what the orientation of the compositions might be for sketches I haven’t made yet. Writing haiku to go with a page of comics adds a new layer of complexity, because the sequence of the sketches on the page might affect the arrangement of lines in the poem. It’s a double brain buster, for sure! 

I find haiku to be an especially appropriate addition to diary comics as a method for linking seemingly unrelated images. In my attempts so far, I’ve loosened the structure of the haiku on the page so that each poem line doesn’t necessarily correspond to an individual comic panel (most examples of haiku comics I’ve seen are three-panel comics that align with the three lines of haiku). 

5/24/24 Green Lake neighborhood bus shelter

Although I’ve made only a few haiku comics so far, my current process is to make the sketches first, then write the haiku later. I’m often thinking about potential haiku as I sketch, and sometimes the lines come easily because I’ve already done most of the writing in my head.

As suggested by Old Pond Comics, I’m not sticking rigidly to the 5/7/5 syllabic structure of traditional Japanese haiku, which doesn’t work well in English anyway. (Years ago after our mom died, my siblings and I hired a translator to translate a volume of her haiku, and we discovered what a clumsy language English can be compared to the delicate nuances available in Japanese.) Instead, I’m following a short/long/short line structure that still captures the intention and spirit of the haiku form.

You’ve already seen a couple of examples of my haiku comics; this post shows a couple more. You’ll see more sporadically as I continue exploring this new creative challenge! 

Aljoya Art Show

 

5/22/24 Aljoya Thornton Place retirement community, Northgate neighborhood

In my previous life when I had made and occasionally shown my fiber and mixed-media artworks, I was fortunate to have been included in a few curated exhibitions sponsored by ERA Living, a network of local retirement communities. Each facility curates new art every quarter and invites the general public to join residents at the opening receptions. While most group art shows require the exhibiting artists to help pay for the refreshments, ERA hosts the openings with wine and tasty hors d’oeuvres.

Although I remained on their promotional mailing list, it had been years since I went to any of these events. When an invitation to an opening appeared, and I saw that it would be at ERA’s Aljoya community within walking distance, I decided it was a good time to start attending again. The exhibit included a wide variety of art and, as expected, the noshes were excellent, too.

After enjoying the art, I heard music, so I followed it into the library, where a man was playing guitar. Finishing up my snacks and wine, I chatted with a few residents who noticed I was sketching. It’s always fun to be around other people who love and appreciate art. I’m looking forward to attending more of these openings.

Soggy Folklife

 

5/24/24 KEXP/Cafe Vita at Seattle Center

As rain dripped off our heads, Kim and I wondered whether we would be the only ones who showed up for the USk outing at the Northwest Folklife Festival. Before the pandemic, USk Seattle used to sketch at Folklife nearly every year. Although Memorial Day weekend weather is always iffy, I don’t recall rain ever falling on our Folklife outings. Well, there’s a first time for everything.

Busking drummer

Apparently the only sketchers intrepid enough to show up in the rain (never mind that we’re both admins leading the event), Kim and I retreated to KEXP radio station’s Café Vita on the Seattle Center grounds. In addition to being the actual broadcasting studio, it’s a huge venue that also hosts town halls and other community gatherings. As part of Folklife, the station was holding a panel discussion to help performing musicians, “Financial Fitness for Gigging Artists.” As I sketched, I learned a lot about business and financial issues that musicians face and how to resolve them.

Near the throwdown time, the rain had stopped, so we ventured back out to the Armory meetup location. I had a few minutes to fill, so I followed the sound of drumming and found a drum soloist busker. Listening to music through his headphones, he drummed along with it.

Kim and I were delighted that a few other sketchers did show up, and we high-fived for being among the USk Seattle hardcore.

It was good to be back at Folklife, 
despite the weather.

Where da heck are the rest of the sketchers??!

No Flags

 

5/22/24 Sunset Hills Memorial Park

Although my family members were not in military service, my personal tradition has always been to use Memorial Day as an opportunity to pay respects to those I’ve lost. Since I was already on the Eastside Wednesday to ride the light rail (and I avoid driving across the lake unnecessarily), I made a quick stop at Sunset Hills Memorial Park.

I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of sketching the display of flags along the main entryway, so I was disappointed to find that they hadn’t yet been put out for Memorial Day observances this weekend. The lawn maintenance staff, however, were busily mowing the grass and removing old flowers for all the expected visitors.

Riding the Rails with Kate and Roy

 

5/22/24 LINK light rail, Wilburton Station

The latest extension to Sound Transit’s regional light rail line, which just opened a few weeks ago, connects south Bellevue with Microsoft’s core campus in Redmond on the Eastside. Since it doesn’t cross the lake yet, ridership is low, which was expected – but I didn’t expect the trains and southern-most station to be entirely empty when I boarded! It felt a bit post-apocalyptic. A few minutes into the ride, the lonely, eerie feeling didn’t improve when an announcement was made that the line was experiencing a power outage. “For your safety, please remain seated,” a looped message warned me.

When I had boarded, I thought I would be arriving at the Whole Foods near Wilburton Station within a few minutes to meet Kate and Roy, so I wasn’t concerned that I needed to use a restroom. To distract myself from the delay, I sketched a selfie from my reflection. To my relief, power was restored by the time I finished, and we were on our way again (by “we,” I mean myself and the driver, since I still saw no other riders on platforms or trains).

I arrived at Whole Foods in a few minutes as planned, and then our big adventure began (after I used the restroom, of course): Ride the rail route, getting off at various stations along the way to sketch. Although the post-apocalyptic status never changed – except for the very last leg of our trip when two women joined us, the only other humans we saw were security staff – we all had a great time sketching the stations and each other.

Spring District and Overlake Village stations

My favorite part of the new rail line was our final stop at the northern-most Redmond Technology Station that mainly serves Microsoft employees. The company paid for a pedestrian overpass connecting the station to the two sides of Microsoft divided by the 520 highway. Expecting a sterile concrete bridge, I was delighted to see a white, tent-like structure that evokes the Sydney Opera House (well, it’s not quite as cool as that architectural wonder, but it makes a similar sail-like impression). Flowering plants and greenery are planted all along the bridge. Sheltered but full of natural light, it’s one of the more attractive walkways I’ve used.

Redmond Technology Station pedestrian walkway and the ride back

After riding end-to-end and back again, we agreed that the new light rail line would make a great USk outing this summer.

By the way, you’ll notice that a couple of pages include loose haiku related to the sketches. An upcoming post about haiku comics will talk more about this fun and challenging addition to my urban sketches; these can serve as teasers.

Ridin' and sketchin' the Eastside rails!

Paint Marker Updates: Omiowl Acrylic, Posca

 

5/14/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood during the golden hour 
(This is why I can't give up on my worst bad-boy art material --
 Posca markers. It's hard to beat this easy opaque color!)

It’s been more than a month since I reviewed the Omiowl White Acrylic Marker, and I’ve been using it regularly since early April, so it’s time for an update. First off, the paint itself is still the best opaque white I’ve used. It covers large areas easily with solid opacity, it requires no agitating, shaking, priming, wiping or other annoying high maintenance practices, and it’s inexpensive.

The downside is that I’ve figured out why it is sold only in bulk packs of eight: The paint runs out quickly, and the brush tip mushes down a bit with regular use (although not before the paint runs out). I’ve gone through three pens already, so that’s a lot of plastic rapidly going into the landfill. After I’ve used up my supply, I won’t be buying more. It’s a shame, but it’s encouraging to know that it’s possible to make a decent white acrylic marker with low maintenance (but now someone needs to make a refillable version).

Great paint; bad value.

The next update is not news; I’ve known all along that Posca paint markers are prone to this issue, but now I have graphic evidence of Posca’s worst annoying trait. Sketching one day, I gave a Posca a vigorous, rattly shaking with the cap on (which is essential). When I pulled the cap off, paint exploded from the tip, leaving a spray of yellow dots on the sidewalk (exhibit A, below right).

Exhibit A: Italy and the sidewalk

Relieved that the spray had landed on the sidewalk and not on my sketch, I tried to use the pen, but paint wasn’t flowing, despite the explosion. I primed the pen by pumping the point on the last page of my book that I reserve for this purpose. The abstract map of Italy resulted (I admit, the yellow and blue look nice together) when the priming suddenly released more paint. I closed the sketchbook’s back cover quickly, resulting in the colorful Rorschach (exhibit B below; photo taken after I had filled the sketchbook). The Posca finally under control, I proceeded to finish my sketch.

Exhibit B: Posca Rorschach on the last page of my Uglybook.

What I didn’t think about was that the initial paint explosion had left a puddle of paint inside the cap, which I had posted. So when I recapped the pen, all the paint from inside the cap had transferred to the end of the pen – and then to my hand. (I apologize that I have no exhibit photo for that – I didn’t want to further transfer yellow paint to my phone.)

Exhibit C: Posca is permanent on favorite T-shirts.

When I got home after my walk, I realized that the sidewalk was not the only place where excess paint had landed; the splatters had also hit my T-shirt. Exhibit C at left shows the shirt after laundering.

Never trust a Posca. If it is behaving well, it is just waiting for you to become complacent before it turns on you again.

Will I keep using Poscas? Yes, of course (see sketch at top of post). It’s an ongoing, tumultuous relationship that I know is bad for me, yet I can’t seem to tear myself away. [Cue theme song to the TV show “Cops.”]

While I’ve been generally happy with the Omiowl acrylic marker, its brush tip is too thick for making fine lines in my small sketchbook, so I’m still on the hunt for a fine line opaque white pen. (Yes, I did give up on the white Posca 0.7mm “pin type” pen, three of which I used serially before each clogged in turn; other colors do not clog nearly as badly.) My current contenders are a Kuretake Zig ultra-fine brush pen and a Deleter Neopiko Line Drawing Pen (0.5), both containing white water-based pigment ink. I’m also giving my old standby, the Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen, another try, this time in the 1.0mm size. In the past, I have typically used the 0.8mm size, but Kathleen Moore recommends the 1.0mm size to use with watercolors, so I got one for her classes. I might as well give it a fair shake.

Hope springs eternal.

Jaded as I am, I’m not holding my breath that any of these will blow my socks off, but hope springs eternal, even among the jaded. Stay tuned.

Pico Café

 

5/19/24 Pico Cafe, Ballard neighborhood

The "sky" behind us looks cloudy, but that's white fabric sheltering the patio.

A couple of years ago when Natalie, Ching and I got together on Pico Café’s pleasant patio, I faced the other direction. Instead of a Japanese maple and trellis, this time I could see a fountain behind two guys, a small sculpture of a dog, and Natalie’s pizza remains. I like how the comic-y format brings these disparate items together, giving a wider picture of the patio without having to draw the whole thing.

Green Lake Starbucks

 

5/17/24 Green Lake

Although I walk and sketch in the Green Lake neighborhood frequently, I hadn’t sketched at the park itself in a while, nor had I sketched at Starbucks in a long while. When I got a promotion for a half-price beverage last week, I decided it was a good opportunity to do both. I got a table facing my favorite Green Lake trees – a stand of beautiful burly, bumpy ones that I never tire of sketching.

Drizzly U-District Street Fair

 

5/18/24 U-District Street Fair

After a streak of good weather during USk Seattle outings (well, except for soggy Cinco de Mayo), our luck ran out Saturday: The U-District Street Fair was mostly damp to drizzly. Still, I managed to duck under awnings and trees to catch the general fair ambiance of tents and attendees, a balloon man, and two members of a jazz group performing on the stage.

Eventually I got chilly and tired of being dripped on by trees, so I retreated to Ugly Mug Café and Coffee Roasters, where the windows cast a nice backlighting on patrons.

5/18/24 Ugly Mug Cafe

Our luck was back for the throwdown, when it finally stopped raining and the sun even appeared briefly. (By that afternoon when I was back at home, it started pouring! I feel bad for the vendors, who probably lost a lot of sales to the miserable weather.)

For three decades before the pandemic, the annual U-District Street Fair was one of our favorite summer (or near-summer) events. Begun in 1970 with roots in activism for social and political change, this was Seattle’s first street fair and the country’s longest-running festival of its kind. It came back strong in 2022 after a necessary pandemic pause, but we didn’t attend the last couple years. Despite the rain, it was good to be back last Saturday, especially with USk Seattle. (The last time USk Seattle met there was in 2019.)

Speaking of USk, today is my 12-year anniversary since I joined Urban Sketchers Seattle!

Material notes: The bright blue Uglybook I recently filled was a joy to use, but now that summer is nearing, it was time for a change-up: Sunny yellow! (The light blue paper above is the larger-format Uglybook.) And as much as I love the comic-y look of markers, I had been missing my beloved pencils. In addition to being sunny, I was hoping the high-key color would be light enough to show graphite, especially the water-soluble graphite ArtGraf pencil used above. When activated, ArtGraf is almost as dark as a marker. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s going to work out with my comics style. Even with a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens for assist with dark backgrounds, graphite just doesn’t have the solid punch of a marker’s bold line. I’m not giving it up yet, but I’m not feeling it, either.

On the upside, waterproof Pitt pens saved the wet day: Several times my pages got hit by big secondary raindrops from tree limbs above, but no running occurred!

Mighty-O Donuts

 

5/16/24 Mighty-O Donuts, Green Lake neighborhood (bonus points to Mighty-O for the bright orange sticker that looks fantastic in my blue Uglybook!)

For years, Zoka Coffee was my favorite coffee shop to sketch in. The large, high windows and an interior space that made it easy to see people from various angles (not to mention good pastries) made it very appealing. I really missed it during the pandemic, and it was one of the first indoor places I spent time in during the first winter after I got vaccinated.

Unfortunately, Zoka’s liberal wi-fi policy (free and unlimited all day; it has become a rent-free office space) means that it’s nearly impossible to find a table there unless I arrive when they open at 6 a.m. (which I’m not inclined to do). After walking there on a drizzly, chilly morning, I was disappointed that every table was occupied, as usual. My on-location comic tells what happened. I guess I’m going to have to cross Zoka off my list.

Although Mighty-O lacks a good interior space for sketching people, at least they have plenty of outdoor seating. On a warmer day, I wouldn’t mind spending more time there. (Yes, there’s also the donuts, though a bit too wholesome for my taste.)

Quantum Installation

 

5/13 - 14/24 Quantum installation outside and inside our house.

Love the way the orange Uglybook looks against the sky!

Unhappy with Comcast/Xfinity for a long time, I was thrilled to pieces to hear that fiber optics was finally available in my zip code. Even if the installation went well, my fear was that I’d be fussing for hours to get all my devices on board with the new modem. Much to my relief, both the installation and transition to all my devices were amazingly seamless. As for speed – no more buffering when streaming movies, which was a very annoying problem with Xfinity.

The real test, of course, will be the first time I have a problem: How well and quickly will customer service take care of it? But for now, I’m happy – especially with the wider wi-fi reach, which means I can now use my devices out on our back deck! Next time I have to be in a Zoom meeting on a gorgeous day, I won’t be quite as cranky.

(I couldn’t get the two-part scanned image to be the same size here, so I’m showing a photo of the full page spread at right.)

Diary Comics: Enjoying the Process

5/7/24 Imagination

Although I’m not making them daily as I was during my 30-day self-challenge, I’m pleased to say that I am still making diary comics almost daily, which is good enough for me. I don’t want to be compulsive about keeping up with any activity; I just want to be confident that I enjoy a new habit enough that it will continue to “stick.” Indeed, I enjoy thinking about ideas for diary comics, even if I don’t complete one each day. The ongoing thinking is a big part of the creative process and a worthwhile challenge.

5/4/24 Memory and photo reference

A few more learnings and breakthroughs:

• I’m relieved that combining drawings from life and drawings from imagination or memory in the same comics has become a seamless, liberating experience. (This was a big hurdle when I first began.) If I were pressuring myself to make all sketches from live observation, I definitely wouldn’t be making as many comics. In addition, some panels would not accurately illustrate what I want them to because I’d be limited by what I can see or draw at the time. Under pressure, they would definitely be less fun.

• I’m starting to care less about drawing quality and more about the story. While I always want my drawings to be as good as I can make them, if they aren’t quite right but they communicate what I’m trying to say, that’s good enough for diary comics. I certainly wouldn’t re-draw them any more than I would edit a journal entry.

5/13/24 Top sketch done on location; others from imagination and photo reference

Aurora Borealis from Photos

 

5/13/24 Aurora Borealis over Seattle (reference photos by Jeff Chin)

The conditions on Saturday night apparently weren’t ideal; most people in my area were not able to see the Aurora Borealis. I wanted to try again Sunday night, but then the clouds came in. Although I was disappointed not to be able to see or sketch it from life, I still had the color palette that I had assembled for Saturday’s attempt. I decided I might as well sketch it anyway, inspired by all the beautiful photos friends had shared online. I was especially impressed by photos taken by Jeff Chin (he’s the friend whose photos of rescued dogs had inspired my pet portrait fundraising project). While many friends had captured the AB colors, Jeff had captured the stars behind the colors!

Making this sketch from reference photos wasn’t quite the same as viewing and sketching live, but it will have to do until the Aurora shows up another time (or perhaps I’ll have to go to Iceland for a better show).

A palette of Caran d'Ache Luminance, Derwent Lightfast and Prismacolor pencils, all among my most opaque colored pencils.

Waiting for the Aurora Borealis

 

5/11/24 Maple Leaf Park, about 10:15 p.m.

After seeing amazing photos from friends and neighbors on Facebook last Friday, I was encouraged to stay up late enough to try to see the Aurora Borealis on Saturday night. Along with many neighbors who had the same idea, I arrived at Maple Leaf Park around 10 p.m. I waited until about 11 (when I was afraid I might nod off right there at the park), but didn’t see anything. It was kind of fun, though, to chat with neighbors, all of us sharing that same sense of anticipation.

To entertain myself as I waited, I sketched a guy using his laptop under a park shelter. He didn’t seem at all interested in looking for the AB – he just likes to work at night in the middle of a city park, I guess. (Of course I went prepared with my Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Book Light!)

The Mountain Delivers

 

5/10/24 Macrina Bakery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

Several years ago when I had promoted an Urban Sketchers outing to Maple Leaf Park, I oversold it a bit: “The biggest and best highlight is a completely unobstructed view of Mt. Rainier – possibly the best within the city limits!” (I used to make my living in marketing; so shoot me.) On that August day, Her Majesty laughed her head off as she stayed hidden behind clouds.

Caffeine and sustenance before the park outing. 

Seeing that the weather forecast was clear and warm toward the end of last week, I recalled that 2017 outing. As I sent out an ad hoc outing announcement on short notice, I said to myself, “Come on, Your Majesty – don’t make a liar out of me again!”

For early birds, I started the outing at Macrina Bakery across the street from the park entrance. I enjoyed meeting a couple sketchers who were new to USk, and we all had fun chatting and sketching our pastries and coffee (above).

Walking across the street to the park, I looked up at the clear sky and breathed a sigh of relief. This time, I delivered on my promise of a fantastic view of Mt. Rainier. While Her Majesty was the main attraction, the Maple Leaf water tower and the Confluent Boulders sculpture were also popular subjects (good backup material in case The Mountain was under cover).

5/10/24 Maple Leaf Park

It was the first outing of the year that felt like summer – and it’s only May! I know that doesn’t bode well for the climate or the snowpack, but right now, I couldn’t be happier.

"Confluent Boulders" by Patrick Marold

Jim and Paula make homage to Her Majesty.