The Future is Finally Here

 

4/19/26 New Judkins Park Station and Mercer Island Station platform

Preamble:

For the first decade-plus of my career, I worked for the Municipality of Metro Seattle, which used to manage and operate the Seattle transit system. As tunnels were being burrowed for buses through the main downtown thoroughfare, disrupting traffic and businesses for years, most of the marketing was about how the new transitway would eventually be used for the region’s as-yet-to-be-built light rail system. This work wasn’t just for ourselves; our children and grandchildren would ride the light rail! (Much potential there for public relations copywriters like myself.)

That was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The 2020s, when all of it was slated to be completed, seemed like a very long way off. I’ll be sitting in my rocker by then, I grumbled, envisioning my 21^st century self. Meanwhile, my current tax dollars were already paying for that wonderful light rail system that I would be too old to use. (Even if I wrote it myself, the copywriting wasn’t enough to convince this grumbling taxpayer that it would all be worthwhile “someday.”)

Four decades later, I’m happy and grateful that I have lived long enough to enjoy that dream-like future (and I no longer begrudge my tax dollars). The light rail has been my most convenient form of public transportation for several years now.

My lunch at Dough Zone at Redmond Towne Center and Downtown Redmond Station

From my perspective, though, the pinnacle of the light rail system was the connection that opened only last month: After multiple, lengthy delays, each putting me one step closer to my rocker, the link between Seattle and the Eastside across Lake Washington was finally completed!

(Delays notwithstanding, this cross-lake link is an engineering marvel: It’s the first train in the world to operate on a floating bridge, which was, itself, the first in the world in 1940.)

Art at Downtown Redmond Station

During all those years that I had to commute to the Eastside for the second leg of my career, how wonderful it would have been to take a comfortable, modern train instead of bumpy buses or, most dreaded, my own car! I’m not grumbling about that, though. Now that the light rail can take me almost anywhere in the Puget Sound region that I’d like to go, I can enjoy easy, very inexpensive rides for fun in retirement instead of commuting to work.

All of that was just preamble (or maybe just amble). Today’s blog story is much shorter:

Kate, Jane, Ellie and I rode the new light rail connection all the way from Seattle to Redmond Towne Center last Sunday. Our mission was to scout the best stations for sketching potential and related amenities for a future USk outing. For me, it was also a satisfying sense of closure: Four decades of the promised future finally becoming the present.

Art and water feature at Bellevue Downtown Station

Bellevue Downtown Station

Art at Downtown Redmond Station

Jane, Ellie, Tina and Kate riding the historic rails!

Pacific Science Center

 

4/18/26 Pacific Science Center arches from inside the courtyard

Although I’ve sketched the Pacific Science Center’s iconic arches several times over the years, and I’ve seen a couple of IMAX films and other ticketed events inside the Center, it had been 14 years since I was in the central courtyard (I remember that day well – it was my first urban sketching workshop). After being closed to the public for many years, the courtyard only recently reopened as a public space. Last Saturday was a terrific day for USk Seattle to meet there: It was sunny all day, and the temp got up to 70 by late-afternoon!

I first joined other sketchers in the courtyard to sketch the fountains (below) and my first view of the arches (top of post).

Courtyard fountains

Feeling iconic, I then wandered outside the Science Center so that I could sketch the Space Needle (twice!) and the arches again, this time from a distance. I also caught my first busker of the year: a man playing an electric violin (and competing with a busking drummer nearby).

Sketching in the sunshine until I had to take my jacket off, it sure felt like spring!

Hing Hay Gateway

 

4/17/26 Hing Hay Park, Chinatown-International District

Meeting friends for a late lunch in the Chinatown-International District, I arrived early and stopped at Hing Hay Park. Although I’ve sketched the bright red Gateway sculpture at the park entrance many times, it never ceases to be challenging. It’s painted the same solid vermilion on every face, but each face reflects the light differently.

I like the vivid contrasts of both the complementary colors and of nature: One tree shimmered with fresh leaves while the other stood stoically winter-bare. I felt the same dichotomy: When I left the house in the morning, it was cold enough to grab my down parka. By early afternoon when I sketched in the sun, I was too warm.

Sketchbook notes: Grumpy about this Stillman & Birn Zeta’s awkward and less versatile landscape format, I’m still determined to fill it up as quickly as possible. This panorama landscape view turned out to be ideal for it, so I was a little less grumpy. It’s still awkward to hold a landscape book, though.

At last, the Olympia Kwanzans!

 

4/16/26 Washington State Legislative Building, Olympia

After all the nearly-white Yoshino cherry blossoms have left the party, the showy Kwanzans arrive fashionably late. Although I try to chase the ones I find in my neighborhood each year, I don’t know of any Seattle street with more than a few standing together. The best street of Kwanzans is in Olympia – aptly named Cherry Lane Southwest adjacent to the State Legislative Building – and I had been wanting to sketch them for several years. With the longish drive and rain to contend with, it’s been challenging to find the right time. The weather and my schedule finally aligned last Thursday, so I called an ad hoc joint outing between USk Seattle and the South Sound Sketchers.

Although partly sunny, the morning temps were only in the high 30s in Olympia. I had to put on my full-length down coat and gloves again! The drive and cold were both worth it, though, when we all saw that block of bright pink blossoms. The composition to look for was obvious: The Capitol building framed by cherry branches (top of post). Having just sketched the domed Jefferson Memorial a couple of weeks ago at the DC tidal basin, it was especially fun to sketch the state capitol in a similar composition.

Next I found the Temple of Justice Building behind another cluster of Kwanzans (and a couple taking a selfie stepped into the composition just as I was finishing up).

Temple of Justice Building on Cherry Lane SW

During the initial meetup at the Winged Victory Monument, I had time to make a quick sketch of the bronze sculpture honoring those who served in the First World War. Then right before the throwdown, I made another quick sketch of a cherry.

Winged Victory Monument

For lunch several of us went to Mi Luna Cuban Café near the Capitol. I was starving, so I didn’t spend more than a couple minutes sketching my roasted veggie bowl with maduros plantains (misspelled in my sketchbook). That was one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a long time!

4/16/26 Tivoli Fountain and Mi Luna Cuban Cafe

Also shown on the page above is a tiny sketch of the Tivoli Fountain, which I could see in the distance during the throwdown (behind a sculpture that looked like a tiny Washington Monument).

Although it took me a few years to get there, this trip to Olympia was well worth it!

Maple Leaf Park Gazebo

 

4/10/26 Maple Leaf Park playground and gazebo

After I had posted a sketch of Mt. Rainier from Maple Leaf Park, I received a comment on Flickr asking how the gazebo was doing. Gazebo? I walk around Maple Leaf Park several times a week – how could I miss a gazebo? Then I realized that the “gazebo” was in reference to the structure in the lower part of the park where the playground is, where I rarely walk. I also hadn’t thought of it as a gazebo because it’s a very open structure compared to most gazebos (when I think of a gazebo, it’s something I duck into for shelter in case of unexpected rain). When I did a little googling to learn more about the gazebo (and found this article), I realized that the person who had commented on Flickr is one of the artists, Nick Lyle.

Gazebo detail

All of that made me realize that I had never sketched the gazebo! The next day, I immediately corrected that. The 10-foot-tall, forged steel structure is very airy with birds, plants and other natural motifs. Now I know why I hadn’t sketched it before – it’s very challenging to make the delicate, arching “branches” show up in front of all the deep foliage behind it.

I stood inside the completely open gazebo (no rain shelter here!), which is “evocative of the web of life that connects both the urban and natural worlds,” to sketch a cormorant detail. As often happens, I discovered that I hadn’t appreciated or even noticed those details until I sketched them.

Return of the Warm/Cool Pairing

 

4/7/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood (facing south)

Years ago I made a series of urban sketches using a bicolor vermillion/blue pencil. Working with just two high-contrast hues, a warm and a cool, helped me to see and develop values more clearly. (I became so intrigued by this method that I even started thinking about developing an urban sketching workshop on the topic – and then 2020 happened.) Using a bicolor pencil also appealed to the pencil geek in me (and it turns out that the traditional Japanese Prussian Blue/Vermillion pencil has an interesting history).

Although it’s not as geeky-cool as a bicolor, I’ve lately been taking two Derwent Drawing pencils in my daily-carry using the same warm/cool principle. All the monochrome (or nearly monochrome) sketches I made as a doomscrolling prevention tactic led to a huge ulterior benefit far beyond avoiding doomscrolling: I started feeling more confident that I could make sketches like these easily while standing, as long as I stayed relatively small.

4/8/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood (facing north) 

For these sketches, which are of the same Maple Leaf intersection facing north and south, I used Terracotta and Delft Blue. Instead of focusing on values, I'm using the two hues to help push the background further from the foreground. I’ll change out the color pairings regularly, which will be fun to explore.

Sketchbook notes: It’s already starting to annoy me. Although the pocket-size Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook is a handy size and weight while taking fitness walks, its landscape format is limiting. I saw a squarish composition that I liked better for each of these, but I can’t open up a landscape book to sketch across the gutter to accommodate a square, so I was stuck with this rectangle (and it’s unlikely that I’ll sketch a panorama on fitness walks). Given my current mission to fill sketchbooks, even if they have shortcomings, I’ll probably begrudgingly continue to use it, but not without complaints. (This post contains other mutterings about it.)

Cherry Blossom Pink Flamingo

 

4/9/26 Chilean flamingoes, Woodland Park Zoo

Since I park on that side of the zoo, I like to catch the
Humboldt penguins on my way out.

On yet another gorgeous day (we were treated to eight of them consecutively last week), I went fitness walking through Woodland Park Zoo. Silly me – I forgot that it was still spring break, which gave me déjà vu of my visit to the Smithsonian National Zoo. (I exaggerate; Seattle’s zoo will never be as crowded as DC’s panda exhibit was, although as I was walking out, the attendant told me that she had counted 6,000 visitors so far that day – a combination of spring break and several field trips.)

I usually avoid the Chilean flamingo exhibit because it smells so bad there. However, the cherry blossom pink crayons in my bag compelled me to use them (holding my breath). At least half the large population on exhibit were a pale grayish-brown instead of pink. The keeper who was washing out their feeding tanks informed us that the dull-colored ones were still young. When they matured, they would take on the brilliant pink hues that flamingoes are known for.

Detail showing the "licked" color wash and textured details added with water-soluble pencil. 
I used a Derwent Drawing pencil for shading.

Technical notes: On a whim, I colored the flamingo by using a waterbrush to “lick” the end of a Raspberry Red Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayon and painting it like watercolor. Then while that was still wet, I used orange and red Museum Aquarelle pencils for some feather details. I don’t know why I don’t use those techniques together more often – I love the look of the smooth wash combined with texture. Now that the crayon holder I MacGyver’d gives me easy access to a “watercolor palette,” I have to remember to take advantage of it more often.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Neocolor II crayons? That’s not new – I’ve loved them for many years. The difference now is that I’m able to use them on location, so my long-time crush has turned into a committed relationship. Although I wrote a thorough review several years ago, I might need to write a fresh love letter sometime soon.

Getting My Teaching Chops Back

 

4/12/26 

4/12/26 Dexter

After being away from teaching for 15 years, I was feeling rusty going into my ArtSpot workshop last Sunday. As soon as I sat down with my enthusiastic students (a full class), though, my confidence returned and anxiety vanished. It was good to be reminded of the pleasure of interacting with creative, motivated students, which I had enjoyed for many years in my previous life.

Drawing pets with a brush pen was the topic of the day. In my supply list and in the email I sent to students several days prior, I reminded them that the single-most important thing they must bring to class was a high-quality reference photo (several to choose from, if possible). Drawing from a tiny phone screen is less than ideal, so I encouraged them to bring a tablet or iPad or, even better, large prints of images. I was relieved that everyone heeded my recommendations.

I gave the students an opportunity to try drawing from an upside-down
reference image, an exercise I learned from Betty Edwards' Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain. I drew Teddy upside-down along with my students.

In fact, although I had come prepared with my own images to use for demos, some students had such great photos that I used them to demo with (and gave away the results). Each demo was in response to questions that came up. For example, the mom of the grumpy cat (the only cat! Whaaat??! Of course, I have a preference for dogs, at least to draw, but I was certain more would want to draw cats) asked about how to show the catchlight in light-colored eyes and shading on very pale-colored fur. Although I feel strongly about showing the catchlight, in this case, I concurred that it was difficult to do with a brush pen. Instead, I showed her how to subtly shade the fur on one side.

I sketched Roxy from life as she rested in a sling.

My favorite sketch wasn’t a demo at all: It was a live sketch of Roxy (at left), who spent the class time in a sling around the neck of shop staff member Viani. What a sweet, quiet model she turned out to be.

My learning for the day was to figure out how to do future demos that will be easier to see. I’m not sure I know how to demo on a large scale using an easel, but maybe I need to learn.

Overall, I had a blast, and I hope my students found it rewarding, too.

Route 62 (and Spring Green)

4/8/26 Green Lake neighborhood

With Link light rail so convenient, I rarely take Metro anymore, but certain destinations are better reached by bus. I catch route No. 62 from this Green Lake stop. I’ve waited at this stop many, many times, yet I had never noticed the decorative lamp post until I made this sketch. I guess I’m always looking in the opposite direction in anticipation of the bus’s arrival. (How often has that happened to you? It happens to me regularly: I don’t see it until I sketch it.) Just as I was finishing, a 62 bus approached and fit right into my composition.

Color notes: A friend and I enjoy discussing the particular shade of green that trees begin to take on at this time of year. Tiny, tender leaves shimmer with a luminous, nearly neon yellow-green. In this post from a few years ago, I mentioned the various names pencil manufacturers have come up with to describe this fleeting hue.

Given my current obsession with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons, I picked out Spring Green (470) from the crayon line, a color I have also used in its Museum Aquarelle pencil form during previous springs.

It’s Been a Minute, Georgetown!

 

4/11/26 Georgetown

I knew it had been a while since I’d sketched in Georgetown, but I didn’t think it had been as many as four years. No wonder I felt like a tourist visiting a familiar yet fresh place. A little out of my way, it’s a neighborhood I only seem to get to with USk Seattle, so I’m happy for last Saturday’s outing on the afternoon of Georgetown’s monthly art walk.

Relieved that the day’s earlier rain had drizzled out in time for our outing, I wandered around to get reacquainted with Georgetown’s crusty, historic buildings. Red brick is plentiful, and some facades of long-gone businesses are crumbling, while many other buildings are still in use.

I always like to use the strong horizontal and vertical lines of the freeway as compositional elements. Although I show the scale poorly in my sketch, the iconic brick smokestack that used to be part of the original Rainier Brewing Company was a popular sketch subject that day (above).

Chilled from standing around in low-50s temps, I went inside All City Coffee to warm up with a mocha. Large windows gave several sketchers good views of the ant-covered mural across the street and Georgetown’s quintessential street lamps. I also got a chance to see Eleanor Doughty’s artwork, which is on view now at All City Coffee.

Views through All City Coffee's windows

After the throwdown, Eleanor gave an inspiring mixed-media demo for anyone who wanted to stay and watch (nearly everyone). I watched most of it, then stepped around to the front so I could sketch her in action.

Ellie giving a demo

My Moon Mission PPK

 

My beloved Carl Angel-5 Royal sharpener is shown for scale (sadly, I'll have to leave that at home).

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with my occasional references to Gilligan’s Island. When trying to pare down my burgeoning sketch kit, I like to imagine what I would take for a “three-hour tour” that stretches into three TV seasons. That means the supplies can’t just be compact; they must be versatile enough to last for an indefinite period on a desert island. The requirement I have never given myself, though, is physical restrictions for such a kit. I figured if I could carry it myself without a wheeled cart, the Skipper could hardly object, right?

The recent Artemis II moon mission has given me a new model for a compact sketch kit: the Personal Preference Kit. Apparently the Artemis II astronauts were allowed to take only personal items that would fit into an 8-by-5-by-2-inch rectangular box. I first heard about the PPK from Ana at the Well-Appointed Desk. She had to make some hard choices to pack her PPK, and that got me thinking about what I’d put into mine.

I’m not very skilled at visualizing volumes or spaces (remember that part of the high school aptitude test that determined we should all find careers in nursing? I didn’t do so well), so I had to build myself an actual box of the required dimensions. The closest size I could find was still a bit larger than I could have, so I had to cut it down.

Most of my daily-carry fits easily! See below for the spread.

I was fairly confident that my usual daily-carry would fit, and it does! I left out my water spritzer (since that obviously wouldn’t work in space) and brush pens (which seemed doubtful). Also staying home is the Gelly Roll, which hardly works even with gravity. I kept the waterbrush and Pitt Artist Pen, though sometime before liftoff, I’ll have to do research on whether they would work in zero gravity. Actually, I’m pretty sure the waterbrush wouldn’t work, so I’d have to rethink all those water-soluble materials I’m taking. (Maybe a water-saturated sponge would work? I could probably tuck one into a corner.)

Not shown is a small spool of string that I’d need to tether each implement to my wrist as I used it. I learned this necessity from Nina Khaschina last summer when she gave a presentation at Sketcher Fest about how she sketches underwater. Her implements are tethered so they won’t float away if she inadvertently lets go. Sketching underwater must be as close to sketching in space as anyone here on Earth can get!

As with my Earth travels, I hardly have to make adjustments to my regular daily-carry to sketch in space! Yay! And we already know it’s been done before, and with colored pencils, no less!

At the bottom of the stack is an A6 Hahnemuhle sketchbook. If the Pitt Artist Pen works, then I'll bring the Uglybook. The Field Notes is not for sketching but journaling. I don't typically carry a Blackwing pencil, but I would need it for general writing.

Maisy and Sammy

 

4/6/26 Sammy (reference photo by Tom Constantini)

3/21/26 Maisy (reference photo by Natalie Taylor)

Although I haven’t been doing as many commissioned pet portraits lately, I’m happy for the opportunities to practice that keep coming up. Last month when I was an ArtSpot featured artist during Art Walk Edmonds, I demo’d a few pet portraits for visitors who had photos on their phones. I started Maisy on the spot, but then more people came by to chat, and I felt too distracted to finish. I told Maisy’s mom that I’d finish at home and give it to her later. Drawing Maisy with a brush pen gave me a good opportunity to include a stepped-out example in my workshop handout. (My brush pen workshop is tomorrow! I’ll report back soon on how that went.)

The calico was a sadder event. A friend posted on Facebook that his beloved Sammy had just passed away at a ripe old age. It’s always a joy to sketch a beautiful animal, and I hope the gift brings some comfort.

Carnegie Free Public Library

4/6/26 Original Ballard library on NW Market St.

After an appointment in Ballard, I took a fitness walk down Northwest Market Street, the main business thoroughfare. The old Ballard library, which was in use from 1904 until 1963, is a slightly different architectural style from most of Seattle’s Carnegie libraries, which look more like “my” branch at Green Lake. After it was replaced by a new, larger building nearby, the old library on Market housed various restaurants, bars, business offices and other venues over the years. The venues change over, but the grand old building still stands.

I like that the sign in front says “Carnegie Free Public Library,” which seems to emphasize to patrons that book lending is free. It’s interesting to think about: We take for granted that public libraries are always free, but maybe the concept of borrowing books for free was novel in the early 20th century. According to Wikipedia, “Initially, the library had a cache of books provided by local residents and schools on standby for the completion and grand opening, as Carnegie's grant did not cover the initial costs of new books.”

By the way, the tree in front is just starting to show tiny, “spring green” leaves sparse enough that I could still see through the branches. Soon enough, the tree will be fully leafed out, and much of the library will be obscured. I sketched it just in time.

Still Chasing Pink

 

4/5/26 Prairie fire crabapple, Green Lake

Cherry tree, Green Lake

Easter Sunday was another spring day of the type we wait six long, dark months for: Blue sky with temps in the low 60s! We all knew we’d be back to our normal programming (gray and back down to the 50s) soon enough, but it was a well-deserved treat.

When I got back home from DC, I was disappointed to see that the Yoshino cherries had shed most of their petals. I took a walk to Green Lake, determined to chase whatever pink might remain. I did spot other cherry varieties that still had most of their blossoms (at left). What really stunned me, though, was this spectacular crabapple that I later learned is of the “prairie fire” variety (top of post)! I noted its location so that I’ll be able to find it again next year.

Higan cherry

Prairie fire crabapple

Although I spend most of early spring peeping and sketching petals, I also adore spotting tiny, new leaves on trees. Blossoms are fleeting, but leaves promise many more months of good sketching weather ahead (yes, I relate everything in nature to how it might affect my sketching potential). Although I don’t really celebrate Easter, these leaves felt like true signs of hope and rebirth. 

Japanese maple (hand for scale)

Norway maple

Good to Be Back (Plus Zeta Mutterings)

 

4/4/26 Mt. Rainier from Maple Leaf Park (Derwent Drawing pencil and Neocolor II crayon in S&B Zeta sketchbook)

Even after only a short time away, and no matter how much fun I had, it’s always wonderful to sleep in my own bed again. (The flight home had been especially grueling: Two-and-a-half hours on the tarmac waiting for stormy weather to clear before five more hours in the same seat.) It always takes me a few days to turn my body’s clock back to west coast time and get back into my routines.

On Saturday the temp got up to 60 with brilliant sunshine! From Maple Leaf Park, Her Majesty looked majestic, indeed. It’s always grounding to sketch a familiar subject that tells me I’m home.

Sketchbook notes: A while back I had mentioned finding an old but unused 3 ½-by-5 ½-inch Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook in landscape format. Years ago I had determined that a Zeta book would never be a favorite with mixed media because the surface doesn’t take water well when spritzed heavily. I still think that’s true, but I love the paper so much with Derwent Drawing colored pencils (which I used for the mountain) that I’ve been trying to give the sketchbook another fair shot.

Compare the way the “licked sky” wash in the Zeta sketch above to the one below in my favorite Hahnemühle 100 percent cotton sketchbook. I’m still not crazy about how Zeta’s surface takes washes, but given the infrequency with which I use that technique, I’m wondering if it’s an acceptable trade-off. I so enjoy that lovely, smooth finish with Derwent’s soft core. Sketching the Lincoln Memorial last week on Hahnemühle’s strong tooth just wasn’t as satisfying, and I didn’t like the rough look. The whole time I was sketching it, I was wishing I had a Zeta.

Detail to show "licked sky" using Neocolor II crayon in Hahnemuhle 100 percent cotton sketchbook

I’m just muttering aloud. . . I’ll carry it around for a while longer and see what happens.