Light and Dark at the Chapel of St. Ignatius

 

12/10/25 Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle University

With another atmospheric river promising record-breaking flooding in the region, it was hard to push myself out into the torrents Wednesday morning. (I’m totally safe from flooding here in the city, but some riverside communities have evacuated, and the state has been declared an emergency.) As if that weren’t bad enough, to arrive at the 9 a.m. sketch outing, I had to leave the house at 8 – the sun was barely up! When I retired, I swore I’d never leave the house in morning darkness again!

Beautiful interior lighting with subtle tints

Despite my grumbling, drippy coat and all, as soon as I stepped inside Seattle University’s Chapel of St. Ignatius, I was happy that I had come. The chapel has the most architecturally intriguing interior that I’ve sketched in a long time. I wish I’d thought to take more photos to show the fascinating lighting, but I was too engrossed in trying to capture it in my sketchbook.

Although I hadn’t been inside before, I find most churches to be dark inside, so on that hunch I brought along the black Uglybook that I’ve been making nocturnes in. It was a super-fun challenge to try to convey all the different values emanating from hidden windows. Sketchers who used color also tried to capture the varying colored window glass that tinted the walls subtly.

For my second sketch, I chose the wood crucifix. Very dimly lit from one side, it was a fascinating tonal study, too.

Finally, in the time remaining before the throwdown, I walked out to the vestibule to sketch through a large, wet window with a view of the chapel’s reflecting pool and trees wearing holiday lights.

Reflecting pool outside the chapel. The USk Seattle stamp wouldn't show up on black paper, so I used a tiny sticker instead.

After the outing, Mary Jean and I walked to nearby Piedmont Café for coffee (below). During the Big Dark, I have fun sketching nocturnes even in the daytime!

12/10/25 Piedmont Cafe, Capitol Hill neighborhood