Peek-a-Boo View

 

5/12/26 Olympic Mountains from downtown Edmonds

Meeting a friend for lunch in Edmonds, I arrived early so that I could make a sketch to give to her. My intention was to walk around town or even the beach to find a subject, but just after I parked, I glimpsed this peek-a-boo view of the Olympics between buildings.

After lunch, we took a long walk along the beach, and snow-covered Mt. Baker was in her full glory. Although this peak is not too much farther from Seattle than Mt. Rainier is (though in the opposite direction), I don’t know of any viewpoint in Seattle where Baker is visible. It was a gift to see her from Edmonds. 

Mt. Baker from Edmonds beach.

Although Ruth and I had stayed in touch through holiday cards and occasionally on Facebook, we hadn’t spent time together in more than 20 years. A couple of months ago when I was ArtSpot’s featured artist, she saw my name on the promotional flier and surprised me by dropping by! We promised to get together before another couple of decades went by. Thinking about recent regrets when I didn’t act soon enough, I texted Ruth the very next morning to plan this meetup. I’m finally heeding the lessons that life keeps trying to teach me.

The whole day was one gift after another.

Marianne’s Old House

 

8/30/25 Mt. Baker neighborhood

When I was driving to the USk outing in Leschi last Saturday, an idea popped into my head: A lifelong friend grew up in a house in the Mt. Baker neighborhood not too far from Leschi. Since I was in the area, I drove over after the outing to sketch the house as a gift.

Although the house was now painted dark green, I couldn’t quite remember what color it had been when Marianne lived there . . . maybe white? I decided not to color it according to the current green, since I wanted the sketch to evoke the house of her past. And despite the many, many times I had visited as a child, it’s funny that I had never noticed those eyelid windows until I stood across the street to sketch them. I’m pretty sure the trellis hadn’t been there, but I didn’t want to take too many liberties. (We can’t go back again, even in sketches.) It was a relief, though, that like my own childhood home, Marianne’s old house hadn’t changed much (or hadn’t been torn down as so many have in both neighborhoods).

Peaceful Red Square for No Kings

 

6/14/25 Red Square, University of Washington campus

Joining many cities across the country, Seattle held numerous “No Kings” demonstrations on June 14 in protest of policies that have been put in place since January. The biggest rally began in Capitol Hill, with 70,000 marching to Seattle Center (one of the largest protests in the city’s history). Many smaller gatherings took place in local communities, including one on the University of Washington campus, which I chose to join.

In addition to witty signs, some protesters carried US flags.

As it happened to be commencement day, protesters chanted and carried signs and flags at Red Square, while graduates in cap and gown posed for photos with their parents nearby in front of Suzzallo Library. Eventually the group marched through campus and around the U-District, where traffic waiting for us to pass honked their support.

It felt good to join the collective voice against injustice and disgusting tyranny. It was also important to show that we can gather and express our views in public peacefully and without fear.

After the rally, protesters marched across campus and through the U-District.

Material notes: With this event, I filled the last page of the thin, hand-stitched sketchbook I began in January for the People’s March. At the time, I had chosen it for practical reasons: It gave me more real estate than my usual daily-carry Uglybook while also being thin and lightweight. When I used it again for sketch reportage at a small neighborhood protest in May, I realized the book now had a theme. I used it again a week later at a larger demonstration downtown, and now it’s full. I like having a small book with a single theme.

That said, the high-quality watercolor paper that happened to be in this booklet wasn’t compatible with my chosen media. The sizing was so strong that my Pilot brush pen kept smudging long after the ink would have been completely dry on Uglybook paper. At future demonstrations and marches (as I’m sure there will be during the long three-and-a-half years yet to go), I’m just going to carry a larger Uglybook (which I’d brought along as a backup, and I was happy to have it for the last sketch when I ran out of pages in the white book).

After I filled the book, I wanted a sticker for the cover. I dug through my sticker box and found this one from 2020 -- more relevant than ever.

Postcard Pergola

 

5/9/25 Pioneer Square Pergola

Before heading to the Federal Building protest last Friday, I started out at Pioneer Square, where I think I hadn’t sketched since well before the pandemic. In particular, I wanted to sketch the iconic glass and cast iron Pergola for a thank-you postcard to a friend. Although still chilly in the shade, it was lovely to see the mid-morning light filtering through Pioneer Square trees.

Technical note: The paper I tend to use for postcard sketches comes from a pad of Strathmore watercolor postcards (which I got from Blick years ago, but I can’t seem to find it on their website anymore). It’s 140-pound watercolor paper, but the sizing is quite different from the Hahnemühle 100 percent cotton I’ve grown used to. I spritzed it in my usual way before applying color with Caran d’Ache and Derwent water-soluble colored pencils, but the surface stayed wetter than I expected, causing some of the pigment to float away instead of leaving nice textures that I like. It’s always a surprise to suddenly use something different after getting used to something else.

Just like I intend whenever I travel (but rarely do), I’m going to start carrying this pad of postcards on outings for the rest of the summer. I always say that I’d like to sketch postcards to send to friends but never seem to get around to it. Let’s see if I do this time.

This is What Democracy Looks Like

 

5/9/25 Jackson Federal Building, downtown Seattle

For a while now, Seattle’s concerned citizens have been meeting weekly on Federal Building Fridays to show solidarity with federal workers and express general resistance of the current presidency. On a sunny afternoon outside the Jackson Federal Building, they chanted discontent through megaphones and carried signs: “No fascist USA!” “Where’s my constitution?” “We don’t want your Swastikars!” My favorite was “The Turd Reich.”

I’m not good at counting crowds, but probably 50 or more people showed up for the noontime rally. Passing cars continually honked their support, and participants waved back. Music could occasionally be heard. Although their messages were strong and serious, they had a friendly, almost happy, attitude – not angry and certainly not violent.

This is what democracy looks like.

Small Protest

 

4/26/25 Protesters on the Holman Road pedestrian overpass

As is the case all over the US, protests about disgusting goings-on in the White House and the state of our country have been occurring regularly in Seattle. In addition to a large, central gathering outside the Federal Building every Friday, some neighborhoods have been hosting smaller events sporadically.

When Mary Jean told me she was organizing one in her Crown Hill neighborhood, I decided to join the group. Instead of carrying a sign on a pedestrian overpass, I opted to document the event with sketches. Although the group was small, they received plenty of supportive honks from drivers passing by. Every effort to make our voices heard is worthwhile and important.

“Do Something”: The People’s March

 

1/18/25 Pre-march rally at Cal Anderson Park, Capitol Hill neighborhood

A sea of pink hats and human solidarity: That was my lasting impression of the 2017 Women’s March in Seattle. On Saturday the vibe was very different at the (more inclusively named) People’s March, which was much smaller and quieter. Recalling vividly the logistical difficulties of taking public transportation that day eight years ago, I almost hesitated, but I needn’t have worried; participation this time was a small fraction of the 130,000 who turned out in 2017.

A few women broke into song as we all waited for the march to get under way.

No pink hats anywhere to be seen on my light rail ride.

I also missed the strong symbolism of pink pussy hats so many women (and even some men) donned back then. When I got on the light rail Saturday morning, expecting to see at least a few other pink hats besides my own, I saw none. Although that discouraged me, I felt better by the time I met two friends for the pre-march rally at Cal Anderson Park. There, we saw lots of signs and enough pink hats to feel some of the solidarity we had all remembered in 2017.

The march is finally under way down Pine Street from Capitol Hill toward Seattle Center.

While some people say that participating in protest demonstrations is a waste of energy that could be applied more productively, I kept hearing Michelle Obama’s voice in my head to “do something.” Sketching as we marched, I suddenly became aware that I probably would not have come if it hadn’t been a sketch reportage opportunity. For me, the “doing something” is not just showing up for the march; it’s documenting that it occurred. Many people have deep concerns about our country and the man who takes office today. The ones who turned out for the march were expressing those concerns with their presence. I, in turn, sketched their presence. It is never a waste of energy to use art to express our views. 

The march continues through downtown Seattle.

The two-mile march ends at the Space Needle.

Before the march began, I made a journal page at Elliott Bay Book Company's cafe.

Marching Tools

Searching my blog for the post I did in 2017, I also found this one about the tools I used and what I learned from sketching during a march. As I prepped for Saturday, I didn’t remember exactly which materials I had brought then, but I knew they were simple. I chose simplicity again: A brush pen containing water-soluble ink for easy tonal washes and two pink brush markers.

Simple materials: From top, Kuretake Zig Clean Color brush marker, Akashiya Sai watercolor marker, Pilot brush pen

Picking out the pens was easy. Slightly more difficult was the sketchbook. I wanted something very slim and lightweight, yet in a slightly larger format than my usual Uglybook. And I wanted white paper so that the pink would pop. I dug through my stash and found a 6-inch-square signature that I had stitched years ago, probably to sample some new watercolor papers.

Doing something!

The format was an ideal choice: I had 50 percent more real estate than in an Uglybook, and whatever the paper is has excellent sizing. In fact, the heavy sizing turned out to be a problem for the water-soluble brush pen ink, which took a bit of time to dry completely, and I kept smudging it, especially when I tried to write. Writing while walking is way harder than drawing! I wanted to record some of the signs, but I gave up after a couple of messy attempts. 

Thankfully, rain was not in the forecast as it had been in 2017. On Saturday, my usual convertible mittens enabled me to keep sketching even though the temps were in the low 30s!

Tulip Times Two

 

3/11/24

3/10/24 Tulip (both reference photos by Sandie Frakes)

Although I’m taking a break from pet portraits for a while, I had promised two to a donor who had been looking for good reference photos of her pooch Tulip. The first one she sent wasn’t very well lighted, but it seemed like a good candidate for messy hatching (left), which matched Tulip’s messy beard. I had a lot of fun drawing that fur.

The second photo that she sent later was worth waiting for: It was among the best pet reference photos I had used in that it was taken next to a window, casting beautiful light on one side of Tulip’s face. Most of the drawing was done with colored pencils, but I had made an underpainting with Viarco ArtGraf water-soluble graphite on the shaded side. It helped the pencil work to go faster, and it also served as a map so that I wouldn’t inadvertently color too much of the areas I wanted to reserve as the lightest.

Polychromos colored pencils and black, brown and gray technical pens in various sizes

ArtGraf water-soluble graphite underpainting

Polychromos and Museum Aquarelle colored pencils and
Uni Pin technical pen

Equal Time for Cats

1/22/24 Boots (reference photo by Samantha Le)

“Do you draw cats, too?”

I had been drawing so many dogs lately in support of Dog Gone Seattle that some people were under the impression that cats were ineligible for portraits. Of course, I draw cats, too – though I admit that they are still harder for me than dogs. With their flatter faces, there’s less form to show, even when the lighting in the reference photo is good (and often it is not). In any case, cats got equal time recently.

Reptar, the black cat shown below, was possibly the most difficult pet sketch I’ve done so far. He was harder than all the black dogs as well as the two black cats I’d drawn previously. I didn’t do an underpainting this time, and maybe that would have helped.

Incising tools

The only part that was easy was the white whiskers, which I made by using an incising stylus before applying colored pencil. I bought a set of incising tools that I had learned about in Crystal Shin’s botanical-drawing workshop. Although she taught us the trick for making light-colored veins in leaves, I’m getting a lot more use out of the trick and the tools now that I’m drawing pets. Even black dogs and cats seem to have white whiskers. (Although I sometimes forgot to include it in the media images below, I incised the whiskers on all cats shown here.) 

1/25/24 Basil (reference photo by Alison Campbell)

1/22/24 Reptar (reference photo by Samantha Le)

1/23/24 Megan (reference photo by Karen Wong)

Another challenge about cats is their marquise-shaped pupils when they’re contracted. Unless the pupils are fully dilated, the all-important tiny catch lights are hard to retain.

Speaking of eyes, you might think I exaggerated Megan’s enormous eyes (right), but I measured several times for accurate proportions. Amazing, aren’t they? She looks like a manga character!

I used to refer to this type of orange-striped cat as "orange tabby," but I learned that the proper term is "ginger" cat. That challenging color required blending several pencils.

The Pet Learning Playground

 

1/10/24 Oliver (reference photo by Theresa Thibodeau)

After I surpassed my goal of raising $300 for Dog Gone Seattle, I was still having fun, so I kept going. Most of the pet portraits shown here were commissioned as part of the fundraiser, and a couple were gifts.

As I’ve said in previous posts, these small portraits are teaching me not only about my animal subjects but also about the different media I’m using. I generally think of urban sketching as my primary educational playground because it’s what I do most often, but I also don’t spend much time on any single urban sketch. The pet drawings, though small, are taking a bit longer (usually an hour or more), and at the comfort of my desk, I’m encouraged to explore and learn.

1/9/24 Kenny (reference photo by Bobbi Letsinger)

Kenny (at left), the only full-body dog here, was an interesting anatomy lesson. I found that my human life-drawing practice was strangely applicable at times. Kenny’s strong, muscular neck, for example, has a tubular structure, which is how I learned to see and draw human necks and thighs.

Skuta and Momo, the two black cats, gave me the biggest workout in this bunch! Black animals are super challenging to show their forms. As I did with a black dog previously, I first made an underpainting with a black Viarco ArtGraf Tailor Shape block (see below), then finished with Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils. Their shiny fur has some reflection, but the lighting in the photo wasn’t the best. Also weird was that even though the two kitties were sitting together, Skuta’s eyes were in direct light, so his pupils were dilated, while Momo’s were not. One of them must be magical!

1/13/24 Skuta and Momo (reference photo by Marianne Sao)

Underpainting for Skuta and Momo

1/14/24 Frida (reference photo by Mary Kay Hardcastle)

Just when I thought I had figured out canine noses and nostrils, Frida, the pug, came along! Her nose defies everything I thought I knew. She gave me an opportunity, though, to try a tool I had almost forgotten about: the plastic palette that came in the Caran d’Ache mixed media botanical set. I sometimes apply patches of watercolor pencil pigment to scrap paper and use that like a watercolor “palette” (I did that for Watson, the spotted dog, with unusual coloring that was challenging to mix). But that seems wasteful, since most of the pigment gets tossed with the scrap paper.

With the plastic palette, which has a textured surface, little pigment is needed. I wanted a wash of a pale tan hue for Frida’s fur, and I needed to blend two Museum Aquarelle pencils for the color I wanted. It was fast and easy to do on the palette and wasted very little. (The Cd’A palette is not necessary, by the way; I bet any piece of textured plexi would do and would be better than a paper palette.)

Caran d'Ache palette

1/10/24 Watson (reference photo by Theresa Thibodeau)

Almost all these portraits bring together Museum Aquarelle and Polychromos pencils – a combo I hadn’t used much before I began this portrait series – and I save the eyes for a black 02 Uni Pin fineliner pen. I used to draw eyes with a black Polychromos, but a fine technical pen is easier for tiny details, and ink appears wetter and shinier than pencil.

Although I’d rather be sketching outdoors, one benefit of these harshly cold, wet winter days is that I can use tools like the palette that I would otherwise not use in the field. I can also mix more media than I usually carry. Drawing pets from photos turns out to be a pretty good learning playground, too.

1/15/24 Bialy (reference photo by Rob Danielson)

Pets That Resonate

 

1/7/24 Fin (reference photo by Russ McGuire)

In reaction to the pet portraits I’ve been posting on social media, a follower commented that I had found my “calling.” Another said I have “a knack.” I’m not sure I agree with either, but I must say that I am enjoying these animals more than anything else I’ve drawn from photos.

Whenever the topic comes up of how to start and maintain a drawing habit with the objective of gaining skills, one of my mantras is resonance. I talked about it nearly 10 years ago on my third anniversary of drawing, and I still believe in it strongly as a motivator. If you practice drawing by copying a bunch of cubes and spheres from a book or setting up boring still lives that don’t interest you, you are doomed to quit. I know this because I had tried that many times for years before I finally made the drawing habit “stick.” And the way I got it to stick was discovering urban sketching – a subject that resonated with me so strongly that I didn’t have to worry about practicing. I became so engaged in observing and sketching the world around me that I was always motivated, and the practice took care of itself.

1/6/24 Billy (reference photo by Kim Lathan)

My motivation with pet portraits isn’t the same – I’m not trying to develop a new habit – but I recognize the resonance. Something about the faces of well-loved animals touches and engages me. Zoo animals (or occasional pets) from life have long been a favorite sketching subject, and I will always prefer drawing animals from life than from photos. But the kind of studied portraits I have been making in this series would not be possible from life, and using photo references is giving me so many more pets to draw than I could have from life.

While all of this is plenty, there’s still more: The pet owners are so happy to receive the portraits, and now Dog Gone Seattle will also benefit (all portraits shown in this post were commissioned for donations to the pet rescue/adoption organization). Win-win-win! No wonder it all resonates with me.

As for the models themselves, I must say that all the dogs in this bunch stole my heart – what a joy to draw those delightful faces! (No offense to Max, the one cat, but I was given a terrible reference photo – a tiny image, the dead-on, frontal stare, flat lighting, no catch lights in the eyes – so the drawing experience was less than enjoyable. Shading and catch lights were mostly faked. Max was slightly redeemed, however, by the fact that his entirely toothless mouth gives his face a perpetual frown. Knowing that did make me smile.)

1/5/24 Max (reference photo by Matt Jordan)

1/7/24 Stewart (reference photo by Kim Lathan)

Technical notes: For the portraits I’m making on the covers of Field Notes, I am trying to make them durable enough for actual use. Waterproof Uni Pin fineliner pens for the main drawing are a reliable medium, and touches of color with non-soluble colored pencils seems safe enough.

1/8/24 Charlie (reference photo by Bobbi Letsinger)

For the two pups named Billy and Stewart, I wanted to make a light brown mottled background in the same way I’ve been making a gray background with ArtGraf water-soluble graphite. I tested a wash of Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle pencil on a Field Notes cover to see how water-soluble it remained after drying. On watercolor paper, Museum and ArtGraf can be moved again when water is applied to the dried pigment. Birch Bark cover stock, however, is not sized for wet media, so the pigment sinks in immediately. The result is that once it is completely dry, it is sufficiently waterproof for cover use (under normal circumstances – I can’t vouch for a dunk in the tub). The ArtGraf had the same result. It’s a bit ironic that this cover stock with inappropriate sizing is beneficial with wet media in the way I’m using it!