Cozy and Cushy at Madison Centre

 

1/9/26 Smith Tower from Madison Centre

A new venue for USk Seattle, Madison Centre turned out to be one of our most comfy! Plenty of plush seating, floor-to-ceiling natural light, security people in sight but none concerned about what we were doing – it was an ideal winter location. And what’s to sketch there? Fantastic window views of some of downtown Seattle’s nicer buildings, a plant-covered wall, a double-sided fireplace, and an intriguing spiral staircase – just to name a few.

Library window washers

I started with a sketch of my beloved Smith Tower through a window frame and part of that staircase in the foreground. (Note the pink tower! A bold choice that I’m sure I would otherwise never have chosen were it not in my latest wacky palette!)

Mid-sketch, I turned around to get a sip of water from my bag, when I spotted window washers dangling from the very top of the Central Library across the street! Yikes, watching people work up high gives me the jitters, so this one was quick (at left).

When I had first checked out this location months ago for USk potential, the spiraling central staircase had caught my eye immediately. Toward the end of the outing, I finally screwed up my courage to take on a part of that spiral. It was a fun challenge to capture the matte sheen on the black steps in contrast with the shiny, metallic handrails (below).

Madison Centre's stairway

It was great to see a solid weekday turnout for Madison Centre, which will stay on our winter venue list!