Underdressed and Over-Caffeinated in the C.D.

 

10/30/25 Peloton Cafe and bike shop, Central District

With temps in the high 40s when I set out in the morning, I thought four layers would be sufficient. I was wrong. Although the sun came out occasionally, Mary Jean, Roy and I all complained of being cold most of the day. Even so, it was fun exploring a part of the Central District neighborhood that I don’t visit often, and riding the streetcar to get anywhere always feels like a small excursion.

Our first stop was Peloton Café, which is both a restaurant and, oddly, a bike repair shop. We stuck it out as long as we could stand the cold, sketching outside. The old building that houses Peloton has interesting architectural details and lots of windows (top of post). If it had been warmer, I might have enjoyed sketching more of it.

Light rail riders and Peloton Cafe decor

After lunch, we walked a few blocks to Drip Drip Coffee, a Vietnamese coffee shop with many colorful beverages on the menu. You can order them either iced or hot, so of course I ordered my matcha latte hot (with an extra dollop of purple ube foam). I was looking forward to sketching that beautiful green and purple beverage, but very sadly, only the iced beverages come in transparent glasses. Hot beverages come in white paper coffee cups through which the layered colors aren’t visible. That was disappointing.

This page needed one more horizontal element to be complete, but I couldn't find anything to fit in the space. 

Also disappointing was that while my matcha latte was tasty and hot, it wasn’t what I really wanted. I really wanted one of the multitude of fancy, overpriced coffee beverages, but I learned that they are all made from premixed syrups, so it’s not possible to get any of them as decaf. The server told me that the matcha latte would be my least caffeinated option (though I had my doubts later as I heard myself talking faster and faster).

Oh, well. At least I got to sketch the rear end of a car that seemed to be held together with tape. And sketching with good friends any day is better than not.

InkTober Finale

 

This year’s InkTober has been so much fun! While most of my reference photos were pets I had drawn previously with colored pencils as fundraiser commissions, a few were new, like Roz and Nemo. When friends saw me posting the portraits on Facebook, they shared photos of their pets, and I later surprised them. Nothing makes people smile like seeing sketches of their own dogs and cats.

This InkTober may have been a first in at least one way: I used the same Pentel Pocket Brush Pen for the entire 31 days, and I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll for highlights on all but one day. I thought I would use my Sailor Naginata to help with detail more than once or twice, but I didn’t. It wasn’t my intention to be so consistent, but the more I used the brush pen and Gelly Roll pairing (see below), the more I liked them for what I wanted to practice during the month: Fast (15 minutes or less), expressive portraits.

An InkTober first: Same pens all month.

Over time, I found myself becoming more accurate without measuring or blocking (the time-consuming part of the more realistic drawings I had done before). After 31 days, I now feel confident that I can offer this portrait style for commissions and make them in a timely way that also feels satisfying to me. InkTober mission accomplished!

As I always am on Oct. 31, I’m relieved that InkTober is over, even as I enjoyed every day of it. As much as I’d like to take a break from themed challenges, we all know what’s next – Pencilvember! 

The last few years when my InkTober themes were based on human faces,
I always ended with a selfie. This year I ended with a less common pet:
Timmy, the bearded dragon, who is decked out in a bow tie for his parents' wedding!

Cherries Dressed for Fall

 

10/29/25 UW Quad cherry trees

The University of Washington Quad during cherry blossom season is an annual event for USk Seattle. But those same cherries that delight us with spring flowers are a yellow-orange spectacle when they get dressed for autumn. Although we talk about it every year, we rarely get to have sketch outings for the cherries’ fall foliage. Targeting prime color is hard enough, but coupled with iffy and fast-changing weather, it’s almost impossible.

Kim went to scout the color on Monday. Checking the weather, she decided Wednesday would be the best day to try for an outing. Score! USk Seattle got the benefit of both prime foliage and sunshine!

Although I have sketched the Quad cherries when they weregreen, I’m not sure I’ve ever sketched them in their fall hues. More sublime than showy red maples, the orange Sakura still shine vibrantly, especially in late-morning light.

Sketchbook note: Last week I had mentioned briefly in a sketch cutline that I had just cracked open a new square-format Hahnemühle sketchbook (the paper is the same 100 percent cotton that I love in the A5 and A6 formats). As I said then, one major benefit of a square-format book is that it opens up as a panorama landscape. I’ve used A5-size landscape books many times, especially during travel. The primary problem I have with them is that a long, horizontal book is awkward to hold while standing, especially when trying to use the full, panoramic spread. On crowded European sidewalks, other pedestrians have jostled my book when they passed closely. This 5 ½-inch square book opens to a more manageable 11-inch width while still giving me the stretched-out look.

Downsizing, Phase 3: Satisfying Progress

 

10/28/25 Macrina Bakery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

Downsizing, Phase 3, which began Oct. 12, is progressing apace. The attic space is much smaller than last year’s basement, so it’s satisfying to see results each time I work on it.

The “easy” part was filling eight large garbage bags with junk heading for the landfill. Compared to the basement, I did more of the bagging of small stuff myself this time. The attic space is narrow, and some areas require stooping to get into. I tried to imagine three large men maneuvering around in there, tossing junk into bags, while I got in their way trying to see if the stuff they put into those bags wasn’t something I wanted to keep. It was just easier and more efficient (though tiring) to do it myself. They’ll have plenty of large, heavier things to haul out without my help.

10/12/25 Although most of the junk I've been digging through has been pure drudgery, coming across Greg's collection of eyeglasses was amusing. It was like an optical fashion history of the past half century. I tossed most but saved a few newer pairs that looked in good condition to donate to Costco's eyeglasses reuse program. I also saved this pair -- the one he was wearing in 1985 when we met.

The less easy part was separating the recyclable paper – decades of magazines (for example, Consumer Reports going back to the '90s), catalogs, brochures, newspaper articles, greeting cards, letters – from sensitive papers that must be shredded. I filled my huge recycle bin so full of heavy paper that I had to ask a kind neighbor* for help rolling it down my sloped driveway. The bin weighs so much more than I do that it would surely drag me into the street! And that was not even all of it. I had four more shopping bags full of paper that, with their permission, I put into a different neighbor's recycle bin. 

Finally, I had to sort out many envelopes and folders of income tax records, home remodeling documentation and other necessary papers that must be retained (though I eventually plan to digitize all of those and shred the hard copies).

10/13/25

The hardest part will be (eventually) discarding photo albums, mementoes and other items that are filled with memories and sentimental value. I’m leaving those things for Phase 4. For the current phase, I’m focusing on organizing the load that will be hauled down two flights of stairs and out the door on Nov. 13. Nothing like pinning down a date with Kevin, my junk guy, to light a fire under me and get things done!

* An aside: I've been living alone now for nearly two years. Among the many things I've learned in that time, one is the importance of getting to know one's immediate neighbors and feeling comfortable asking for help when it's needed. Although I've always known most of them well enough for casual chit-chat in the driveway, none of us talked about personal things. Shortly after Greg moved to Aegis, I made a point of informing each family that I live alone now. I knew that I might need help someday, and it also feels better getting to know them. They have all been very kind and helpful. For my part, after those recent recycling bin favors, I was happy to offer my scheduled junk truck if my neighbors have unwieldy trash to toss in!

Maples Afire

 

10/27/25 Maples, Crown Hill neighborhood

After the weekend’s atmospheric river and high winds that took power down in some areas, I was afraid leaf-peeping season was over. Ever hopeful, I drove over to the Crown Hill neighborhood again, where I had intel that a certain intersection was blazing with red maples. 

Indeed, four of them were afire! In fact, driving to the spot, I saw quite a bit of glorious color. Though late to turn this year, the trees are going out in style.

Cozy Drink & Draw

 

10/24/25 Drink & draw at Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood 

After walking through the deluge from our current atmospheric river, I was afraid I’d be all alone at the USk drink & draw. Happily, I was joined by four others who braved the torrents to get to Project 9 Brewery, where the heat lamps kept us cozy in the perfectly dry tent. (We could have gone indoors, of course, but it gets very loud in there, especially on a Friday evening.)

With one highly skilled professional artist and one who had begun drawing only a few months prior, both new to Urban Sketchers, I was reminded of one of many reasons I appreciate USk: People of all experience levels can draw and chat together while sipping beers and munching tacos. No judging, just fun!

Blazing Oak (and Technique Notes)

 

10/23/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

On my morning walk when I didn’t have my white Hahnemühle sketchbook, I still wanted to remember this blazing orange oak growing out of a traffic circle. An orange acrylic marker and Uglybook would have to do.

Driving home from an errand that afternoon, I had planned to stop and sketch the oak again, this time in full color, so I grabbed the Hahnemühle. It was my last outdoor sketch before days of rain set in.

The same oak in the afternoon of the same day.

Technique notes: The full-color sketch here, made with Museum Aquarelle pencils, is a good example of something I mentioned last week about how Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons have taught me tricks to use with those colored pencils.

I used to apply crayons dry to dry paper, then activate with water. With practice, I found that I could get more vibrant, thorough activation when I wet the paper generously first, then appled dry crayon to the wet paper. This technique isn’t new to me; I’ve been using dry-on-wet pencils for several years, too. But because Museum Aquarelles activate more easily and readily, I usually don’t need to take it further. The waxier crayons take more water to fully activate, so I sometimes reapply water and apply another layer of color.

In the sketch above, I used only pencils in a similar fashion while keeping the paper fairly wet. What I really like is that as the paper began to dry, the top-most (orange) layer showed more texture, giving the tree a nice foliage effect. To be honest, hitting the paper at just the right degree of wetness is usually a crapshoot and not something I know how to fully gauge (as most watercolor painters also experience). It’s nice when it happens just right, though.