Pet Portraits for InkTober

As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m taking advantage of InkTober to practice pet portraiture in a style that’s more time-efficient as well as more fun and challenging in a new way. I’m allowing myself no more than 15 minutes for each portrait, mainly to keep InkTober from becoming burdensome but also as an exercise in speed without sacrificing too much accuracy. Without careful measuring and blocking as I used to do with colored pencil portraits, I sometimes lose proportions, but I’m hoping that will improve over time.

 o far, I am really enjoying the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen alone or with my Sailor Naginata fude de mannen fountain pen (containing Platinum Carbon Black ink). The white Gelly Roll is for tiny highlights only, like the catchlight in the eye, and whiskers. For the cat, I used a light gray Uni Pin brush pen for the shadow that the eyelids cast on the cat’s eyes. It probably wasn’t necessary, but before I put in that shading, the cat didn’t seem to have quite the same attitude. My goal is to capture the animal’s essence more than an exact resemblance.

Another thing I used sparingly was the fude pen to hatch shading or dark fur in some areas. I need to avoid the temptation, though, of drawing in all the fur with the finer pen, which is another reason for my 15-minute time limit!

One of the biggest challenges so far is drawing white or light-colored fur with a black brush pen only (both Oct. 5 and 6). I end up drawing mainly the negative spaces around the light fur. Another challenge will be drawing an all-black animal without ending up with a solid black mass of ink. The first week was a warm-up; I’ll move on to more challenging pets soon!

(All reference photos for InkTober pet portraits were used previously for commissioned portraits in the past couple of years.)

Chilly Belltown

 

10/5/25 Belltown

It felt like eons since USk Seattle had met in Belltown near Fire Station No. 2, and in urban sketching time, it was – 2018!

I enjoyed such a great summer that I forgot how many layers I need to wear in October – three is apparently not enough! Sunday’s chill and stiff breeze all morning kept me on the sunny side of the street, so I decided to skip the fire station (lots of hardy sketchers sat on the shady side to catch it). My favorite view was the Space Needle reflected in one of Belltown’s glassy buildings (instead of the Storm flag in my 2018 sketch, the Needle was flying the Mariners flag, of course).

Next, I walked a few blocks south to Fourth and Blanchard, where Catherine Mayer’s sculpture, The Red Popsicle (which I also last sketched in 2018) is a whimsical landmark.

By that time, I needed a warmup at Uptown Espresso, where I sketched a couple of cars across the street. In the time remaining before the throwdown, I headed back to the historic bell in front of the fire station to make a quick sketch of it next to the red station doors.

The sun came out in time to warm us all up during the throwdown!

Sunny throwdown!

Hands Around Green Lake

 

10/4/25 Hands Around Green Lake

Singing, dancing, music, laughter – the ambiance at Green Lake felt festive, but the messages were serious. According to the event’s organizers: “Knowing what we oppose and resist, we’ve created this event as an opportunity to affirm and support what we want: Democracy, the Rule of Law, our Constitution, and a resilient community that welcomes immigrants! Come join us as we circle the lake in a giant embrace that signifies the best of who we are.”

Before the main event began, musicians set up and played, while vocalists gathered into small circles and sang folk songs. Meanwhile, contemporary recorded music played for dancers with a more modern beat. It was both chaotic and joyous.

Apparently organizers gave a signal, and everyone started assembling near the lake shore, facing the lake. Once the circle began, I knew that I would have only five minutes when all the participants would hold hands. The silence was beautiful and moving. I appreciated the symbolism of strength, community and solidarity visible in the great circle of linked hands.

A Delightful Day in the CID

 

10/2/25 Panama Hotel Cafe

The weather forecast was iffy; rain or dry, it could go either way. Roy, Mary Jean and I decided to play it safe by meeting at the Panama Hotel Café. It’s a delightful, historic spot in the Chinatown/International District, where USk Seattle had met several times years ago (back in the day when our group was small enough that we could fit in the small café).

Designated a historic landmark, the 1910 hotel building has been transformed into a wonderful café space filled with photos, décor and artifacts about Seattle’s Japanese American community. It became well-known when the period piece novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, was published in 2009. The most interesting artifacts are some personal items that Japanese American citizens stored there when they had to evacuate their homes quickly for internment camps during World War II. Belongings that were never retrieved by their owners still remain in the hotel’s lower floor, visible through a Plexiglas window in the café floor.

Cafe decor and counter

A fun space to sketch, the café offers an unusual range of refreshments. Coming by to chat with us, owner Jan Johnson pointed out a shelf lined with bottles, noting that the café offers liquor, which is unusual in a coffee and tea shop. She told us that when she opened the Panama 25 years ago, it was the only café in Seattle to offer both high-end coffee as well as high-end tea – and the first to serve matcha. “Back then, the only tea you could get in a coffee shop was bags,” she said. “And a high-end tea shop would offer instant Folgers, if anything, to coffee drinkers.” Uniquely, the Panama offers a full range of espresso drinks and infused teas.

In addition to the usual cookies and muffins you’d expect in a café, the Panama also offers wagashi, which are traditional Japanese treats made of rice flour, sweetened bean or yam paste, and elegantly decorated and themed to the current season. I chose a matcha-flavored wagashi named “Scent of Fall” to eat with my matcha genmai-cha tea.

Miu Miu, the resident cat

The ambiance there is so cozy, comfy and fun to sketch that I could easily make it my “third place,” if only it were a little closer to home. It’s usually quiet, but the morning we met there, participants of a fairly large “breakfast club” were having a spirited discussion about current events. I could tell by the respectful way they spoke and listened to each other that these friends had been getting together regularly for a long time. (Eavesdropping as I sketched led me to deduce that they meet there every Tuesday and Thursday.) It was a truly delightful morning!

After lunch at the nearby Filipino restaurant, Kilig, where Roy helped us decipher the menu (and I enjoyed a delicious pancit and an even more delicious ube panna cotta), the afternoon turned out to be much sunnier and warmer than we expected. Not wanting to waste what could be one of the last nice days before true autumn weather hits, we went to sketch some more at Hing Hay Park. We all went home wistful that the enjoyable summer was coming to an end.

Kilig restaurant and Hing Hay Park

Charli (New Pet Portraiture Style)

 

9-26-25 Charli (reference photo by Katelyn This)

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about ways to continue making commissioned pet portraits as a fundraiser, but in a different style. Although I still enjoy making colored pencil portraits, they are no longer challenging in the way they used to be. They are also time-consuming. After making nearly a hundred of them, I thought I would eventually reduce the length of time they take, and I did become more efficient over time, but the nature of the medium just takes time. I don’t want to raise the price to be commensurate with the time because that might be a barrier to donating (and I’m not interested in spending time on something that no longer challenges me anyway).

I practiced some looser styles at home, and then I was serendipitously given an opportunity to practice under live pressure (fun, though a bit daunting).

My intention was to continue practicing variations of this looser, quicker style before I opened up offers for commissions this fall and winter. But as these things seem to happen, Charli came as a commission request from one of my most generous donors and supporters. How could I say no, especially when I saw the sweet face of this pup? (Charli had to be put down recently, so making her portrait was especially poignant.)

These materials didn't quite hit the mark I was looking for.

Although I like the speed and efficiency of using a brush pen with a gray marker for shading, and I also like the comic-y look (at right), I wasn’t quite satisfied with my practice results so far. I decided to use Charli as a guinea pig, so to speak, to try different variations. I was prepared to make several tries until I was satisfied, but on the first try, I came up with this combo of two ever-faithful favorites: the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and my Sailor Naginata Fude de Mannen fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink.

While the brush pen did most of the work, I wanted a finer tool for important features like the eyes (which I believe is the feature that pet owners connect with most significantly, so the eyes have to be right, whatever “right” is). Although I didn’t use it much this way with Charli, I think the Sailor fude would also make a good hatching tool when I want to shade lighter-colored fur.

Charli’s portrait took only about 20 percent of the time it would have taken if I’d used colored pencils, yet I found it challenging in a different way. With my previous tighter style, the tedious block-in stage often took up to an hour because I was trying to be as accurate and realistic as possible. With Charli (and my brush pen/marker practice portraits), I made quick measurements with my eyeballs to gauge general proportions, but I made no block-in marks at all. I just observed closely before hitting the paper with the pen and brush. I hope the owner will feel that I captured Charli’s essence without trying to accurately duplicate the reference photo.

As happened with my colored pencil portraits, I’ll probably continue to revise my materials and techniques as I do more of them, but I’m pleased that I already have a method I’m happy with so that I can proceed confidently with more commissions. Before that, though, I’m getting more practice – during InkTober! Stay tuned for my first report soon.

Portland, Part 6: Yard Sale

 

9/20/25 Aaron 

When I travel, I wouldn’t typically put a yard sale on my agenda (I rarely shop at yard sales even when I’m home). But when a yard sale is promoted on Instagram by a man who has 227,000 followers, it must be special – and when it’s scheduled in Portland for the very weekend that I would be in town, how could I resist?

Aaron Draplin is a well-known graphic designer, co-founder of Field Notes Brand, collector of vintage ephemera, and an all-around great guy. I’ve met him several times at various events (such as this one in 2018) when he was selling his own products as well as Field Notes. His yard sale promised to have all of that, plus the usual old stuff that people typically sell at yard sales.

I got in touch with Portland friend Cindy, who is also an urban sketcher and user of Field Notes. We were already planning to attend the Portland USk outing together; why not swing around to Aaron’s yard sale together afterwards? It turned out that Andrew, another member of the Field Nuts group on Facebook, was also shopping (and muling rare Field Notes for other Nuts). 

Cindy and I pose next to Aaron's bright orange van. (Incidentally, the "Hell Yeah" patch on my cap is a Draplin Design Co. product.)

A meeting of Field Nuts: Tina, Andrew and Cindy (plus a regular nut)

Digging through Aaron’s old stuff was fun enough, but the highlight of the visit was a complete surprise: Seeing three Nuts in attendance, Aaron offered to give us a tour of his studio! I was humbled and awed by his generosity in allowing a bunch of Nuts into his personal space where he does his design work, stores his vast collection of vintage things and, of course, stashes his own stash of Field Notes. What a treat to see some extremely limited notebooks, including the early prototypes that eventually became Field Notes. Cindy, Andrew and I were dazzled!

Aaron's workspace and some of his collectibles and other cool stuff

Aaron's personal stash of Field Notes.

Aaron graciously autographed Field Notes for each of us Nuts.

I’m sure you’re wondering what I took home that day. Tempted by much but committed to my newly downsized life, I resisted most of the treasures (see image below for what I couldn’t resist). It was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at a yard sale!

Years ago in a group live chat with Aaron, I remember he mentioned that he still had his old set of Prismacolor pencils from his design school days. I had been secretly hoping he would be selling that set. Unfortunately, the only vintage colored pencils I found were the handful at right, which included some coveted Design Spectracolor pencils. 

Portland, Part 5: Walk-Sketches and My Sketch Journal

 

9/22/25 St. Patrick Catholic Church, Alphabet District, Portland

(My Portland series was interrupted by more exciting news, but now it resumes.)

As I did last year in Portland and this past spring in L.A., I stuck with my daily walking routine even when I traveled. On days when I had a fairly packed agenda, I didn’t always sketch on the walks, but when I had time, I took along my A5-size Hahnemühle sketchbook in case I wanted to use color.

I would simply set off in a direction from my hotel, then turn a corner at some point, eventually working my way back to the hotel. Along the way, I sketched whatever caught my eye. It’s absolutely my favorite way to sketch on location, especially when traveling: Wander aimlessly until I’m compelled to stop and sketch. I love the sense of discovery coupled with the urge to draw!

9/23/25 William Temple House, Portland

The two color sketches shown above were among my favorites of the whole trip. Both buildings were discovered when I turned a corner I hadn’t walked before, and suddenly there they were, demanding to be sketched – and I was delighted to oblige.

As always, many of my sketch journal pages also document food and beverages consumed. Meals are always part of the fun of travel, right?

9/18/25 Lacey and my drive to Portland

9/19/25 Breakside Brewery, Portland

9/19/25 Hachi restaurant and Breakside Brewery

9/20/25

9/20/25 Scottie's Pizza Parlor

9/23/25 My last Portland neighborhood walk and a rest stop where I had lunch on the drive home.

Gabi’s in the News!

 

Front cover of the Sept. 28 Pacific NW magazine

USk Seattle had an exciting 15 minutes of fame last weekend when the Seattle Times published a wonderful article about Gabi Campanario, founder of the global Urban Sketchers organization and inspiration to so many of us. (Photos for the article were taken by Akash Pamarthy during our outing on Beacon Hill a few weeks ago.) In addition to honoring Gabi’s journalism career, his long-running Seattle Sketcher column, and his founding of USk, writer Erik Lacitis featured several prominent urban sketchers and reportage artists worldwide.

My favorite quotation is this one from well-known reportage artist Richard Johnson:

“The parallel between urban sketching and field or combat art is the shared necessity of experiencing firsthand what you are drawing. Drawing in-person, in situ, from direct reference, captures life through a uniquely human lens. And it captures life in such a very human way that it can transport you to that moment again instantly. It doesn’t even have to be a good drawing; in fact, it probably won’t be, because drawing live, things don’t hold still, but even a bad drawing captures more of the real moment than any sketch from a photograph. For the average urban sketcher, that entails putting yourself out there in a street and drawing what you see, all while immersed in the sounds, smells and interruptions of it.”

Here’s the part of the article where Erik quoted me:

From the minute the online edition came out last Saturday, the USk Seattle Facebook group exploded with requests for membership! The explosion continued the next day when the print edition came out in the Times’ Pacific NW magazine section. (Clipped below are images that appear in the online edition.)

I’m thrilled that Gabi is receiving such well-deserved recognition for his contributions to journalism and for changing the lives of urban sketchers around the globe. And I’m excited that USk Seattle received a few minutes of fame, too!

The print edition included a few images that aren't in the online edition, including these cool ones of Gabi's colored pencils, other art supplies and sketchbooks in his studio.

Portland, Part 4: Oregon Zoo

 

9/22/25 Asian elephants, Oregon Zoo

Despite the many times I’ve visited Portland, I had never been to the Oregon Zoo before. It’s truly a world-class zoo with a well-designed walking flow and beautiful exhibits that enable the animals to be seen while still giving them lots of space to roam.

I spent the most time observing the Asian elephants – three adults and an adorable baby! They can eat from timed feeders, which keep the animals moving from feeder to feeder. I had so much fun sketching an adult elephant up close while she fed. To observe more of the exhibit, I walked above the feeding area, and I could see the baby playing, mom nearby.

Masai and reticulated giraffes

The Masai and reticulated giraffes, too, had an excellent, large space where they could be observed no matter where they went.

The Oregon Zoo is now on my list of regular places to visit when I go to Portland.

Mountain goat, black bear, bald eagle