Behemoth

 

8/11/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Occasionally walking past the latest behemoth to join the ‘hood, I finally stopped to sketch it on a cool, sunny morning. Another walker stopped to see what I was sketching, and it launched a tirade of anger and frustration: These developments do nothing to resolve the severe shortage of affordable housing. The low quality of materials used by this and other notorious developers means the building will likely be torn down in a couple of decades (unlike our own homes that are a hundred years old). We both observed the number of trees that were probably cut down on the back side of the property where three more duplicate houses are in various stages of construction by the same developer. Note the scale of nearby houses.

Getting My Ballpoint Chops Back

 

6/10/26 The Sanctuary and Smith Tower, downtown Seattle

MJ and Roy sketching inside Columbia Center

Last winter when USk Seattle met at Madison Centre, Roy and Mary Jean both missed out. Since our art play date on Wednesday began with a cold morning, it was a good opportunity to introduce them to this cushy, indoor location. With floor-to-ceiling windows all around, this office building’s lobby offers great views of old and new downtown architecture.

Since it was National Ballpoint Pen Day, which I observe annually, I brought along a trusty Bic 4-Color, one of my favorite ballpoints for drawing. It had been a long time since I last sketched with ballpoint, and my hatching felt rusty. While I was a little reluctant to take on architecture, the lovely domed top of The Sanctuary inspired me to push ahead anyway (above). Behind the dome was the glassy, ultra-modern F5 Tower (F5? Whose dumb idea was it to name a skyscraper after a function key?).

Feeling warmed up, I moved on to my beloved Smith Tower (like the Space Needle, it’s a subject I can’t resist if I see it). Hatched clouds – now, that’s something I don’t recall trying before!

W Hotel and Columbia Center lobby stairway

Bic 4-Color for the win!

By the time I finished that page, the morning began warming up, so I walked across the street to the federal courthouse’s sunny lawn. From there, I had a nice view of the pyramid atop the W Hotel. (Can you see the pattern here? I like to draw only the tops of buildings.)

After lunch at Columbia Center’s food court, Mary Jean and I both tackled the intriguing lobby staircase that offers seating along the sides. As soon as I began, I regretted the subject – all that horizontal hatching!

It was a fun day of getting my ballpoint chops back.

Green Shakeup

 

Audition of natural green Neocolor II, Inktense and Museum Aquarelle

After a couple of weeks of being dissatisfied with my daily-carry selection of greens, I decided it was time for a total shakeup. I pulled all the greens out of my bag – Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons (which had been doing the heavy lifting of greens lately) and one Cd’A Museum Aquarelle pencil. Then I went through all my Neocolor II crayons, Museum Aquarelle pencils and Derwent Inktense pencils and selected the more natural greens that would be useful in my Pacific Northwest urban landscape. The image at top of post is the selection I auditioned. Below are the swatches.

The finalists are checkmarked.

Many were easy to eliminate after applying water. Especially among Neo II and Inktense, many greens look natural in their dry state, but once activated, they become almost garishly bright and less natural. I made the first cut below.

Among these finalists, the checkmarked greens went into my daily-carry bag.

The ones I checkmarked above are my final cut, currently in my daily-carry.

On an errand in South Lake Union, I made a sketch to test the new green palette. Also referred to as Amazontown (at least by me), SLU is mostly an ultra-modern, glassy, urban village, but Denny Park does offer a fringe of green. I enjoy finding compositions that contrast steel and glass with organic foliage. The unique accordion-folded shape of the Skyglass Apartment Building caught my eye behind Denny’s tallest trees.  

5/9/26 Skyglass Apartments and Denny Park, South Lake Union

So far, I like the way these greens go together straight out of the pencil/crayon. I hope I can push myself, though, to find more interesting blends by introducing non-greens. It’s that constant tension between wanting to stay “real” with nature – and not. Maybe some red complements to dull the greens? Maybe adding blue instead of leaning on that dark bluish-green I love so much for conifers? My summer challenge begins.

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.

Central Library, Inside and Out

 

2/25/26 Seattle Central Library, 10th floor

Seattle Central Library is a handy location for winter USk outings: Spectacular (and challenging) floor-to-ceiling windows that offer good light to most interior spaces, plentiful seating and tables on every floor, and an onsite coffee shop. If weather permits, we also have the super-glassy, geometrically crazy library building itself.

Last Wednesday I decided to warm up with an interior sketch from the 10^th floor (top of post). Although I was too lazy to draw the whole building that I could see through the diagonally girded windows, I was intrigued by the transparent pyramid on top (or maybe behind it?). I have not yet been able to find the name of the building.

After a lunch break, the afternoon warmed up a bit, so I braved the cold to find an angle on the library from Fifth and Madison (below). This is the same corner I attempted back in 2021, and it was no less challenging this time.

Library from the corner of 5th and Madison

Back inside with only a short time before the throwdown, I warmed up with coffee and sketched a row of library patrons seated next to those crazily girded windows again. Although perspective on the building exterior was daunting, I enjoyed the much less formidable perspective challenge of seated, mostly still people.

Whew... how comforting to sketch perspective on people instead of architecture!

St. Mary’s Catholic Church

 

12/26/25 Central District

Whenever I’m driving down to Seattle Fish Guys, I glimpse the steeple of an old church. Although I’ve long thought that I’d like to get close enough to sketch it, I’m usually in a hurry to do whatever other errands have brought me to the other end of town. Last week, despite the drizzle, I impulsively took a turn to find the church and finally sketch it.

It turned out to be St. Mary’s Catholic Church, which has had issues and is now closed. According to this 2022 article, “A 120-year-old parish in Seattle, once home to a thriving African-American population, is set to close its doors amidst prayerful protests and a still ongoing appeal to the Vatican.”

Here’s another benefit of urban sketching: I never would have learned that about a 120-year-old church in the Central District if I hadn’t sketched it.

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

Portland, Part 3: Hollywood Theatre and Sellwood-Moreland

 

9/20/25 Hollywood Theatre, Portland

When I wasn’t touring Portland with family or sketching with USk, I went out on my own to explore areas of Portland that I had not sketched before. One was the magnificent Hollywood Theatre, which I had seen once years ago when Greg and I were driving through the city on our way to somewhere else. I couldn’t remember its name or neighborhood, but I had always hoped to get back to it someday.

Serendipitously, I was driving through the Hollywood neighborhood on my way to somewhere else again, but this time I made note of the location. When I went back later to sketch it (top of post), the afternoon light was getting low, and the ornate façade looked even better than it had in the morning.

9/21/25 Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood, Portland

Moreland Theatre

A friend had mentioned the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood as being both walkable and sketchable. It’s a charming neighborhood that still has many traditional homes, and other former residences have been transformed into coffee shops and other small businesses. I did see signs of old houses being taken down and replaced by multi-story developments, but those were the exception instead of the rule.

While the morning was drizzly, I sketched some bright yellow trees from my car (above). When the rain stopped, I took a long walk up and down the main drag and eventually sketched the Moreland Theatre (at right), which was celebrating its centennial anniversary.

Although I didn’t see any turning maples, this neighborhood had lots of trees that were glowing bright yellow when the sun eventually came out (below). Walking and sketching – my favorite way to explore a neighborhood when I travel (or anytime)!

Sellwood-Moreland

The Park at Bothell Landing

9/9/25 The Park at Bothell Landing

Right on the shore of the Sammamish River, the Park at Bothell Landing is an urban oasis of nature and history. Dodging the rain that had threatened earlier forecasts, USk Seattle enjoyed a chilly but fun morning exploring this park’s gems.

First, there’s the river itself. Despite being a short distance from Highway 522, it’s a quiet spot where kayakers and ducks share serene water surrounded by green. Walking on the trails immediately made me feel like I was in a forest instead of in the middle of a suburb.

Then, there are several sketchworthy buildings, especially the log cabin school house that was built in 1884! On the City of Bothell’s historic register, Hannan House was built by Andrew and Augusta Beckstrom. The Bothell Historical Museum is also housed in a fun-to-sketch building.

Finally, a timber-truss pedestrian bridge over the river leads to the Sammamish River Trail. These are just the things I chose at this new-to-me location, but I saw several other sketchable subjects that other sketchers jumped on. Noted for next time!

Process notes: After using colored Uglybooks consistently for more than two years, I started feeling kind of flabby: I always let the colored paper do the heavy lifting of the midtone. Inspired by some diary comics Roy had made, I brought along blue and sepia Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Dual-Tip Markers to use in a white Hahnemühle sketchbook (during the throwdown, I noted that I was the only sketcher who didn’t use any green!)  The blue was intended to be the midtone while the sepia was for the darks, but I later thought the blue was a bit too dark as a midtone. I loved working this way, though, so next time I’ll bring a lighter shade of blue. You’ll be seeing more of this!

The ancient log cabin school house

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).

Nostalgic in Leschi (and Not)

 

8/30/25 The house I lived in from 1958 to 1984.

The last time USk Seattle met in Leschi was before the pandemic, so it was good to be back in my childhood ‘hood with the group (read that post first for more context). Last time, I spent more time reminiscing about and sketching the Leschi Market, an old-fashioned community grocery store where my mom shopped. This time I had a different mission:

I’ve long wanted to sketch my childhood home, but whenever I’ve driven by, I’ve seen that the front is mostly obscured by trees. Realizing that the best view is from the back, I hoofed it over to the house where I grew up (above). (Although it seemed like a long, long walk when I was a kid, I realized last Saturday that the distance from home to Leschi Market is only about 10 minutes for adult me.) The large picture window looks out on Lake Washington and sometimes Mt. Rainier (see this post for my childhood context on that). Although the current owners rebuilt the back deck that my father had built (it had become hazardous from disrepair by the time the house was sold), I’m grateful that they have kept the house mostly unchanged on the outside.

Walking back to the market and marina area where the other sketchers were, I kept looking for familiar sights. It wasn’t exactly nostalgic because so much had changed since I lived there, but it was good to see that many of the tallest trees were taller still, and some of the old lakeside apartment buildings were the same (though now turned into condos).

When I got back, I had just enough time to make quick sketches of the marina and the market.

8/30/25 Leschi Marina and Market

Now that I’ve finally sketched my childhood home, please indulge me in just a bit more reminiscing. I have now completed sketching all the dwellings I have ever lived in – only four! I’ve included the rest below. You can read more about each one in these posts: My first apartment; my second apartment; my current house.

My first apartment on upper Queen Anne, 1984 to 1986

My second apartment on lower Queen Anne, 1986 to 1988

My house in Maple Leaf since 1988.

Jason’s House

 

8/14/25 Los Angeles (photo reference)

When I visited my nephew Jason at his newish home in L.A. last April, I took photos with the intention of drawing the house as a gift. A beautiful Hacienda style house with classic white stucco walls and red clay roof tiles, it’s quintessential in southern California, yet rarely seen in these parts. I was looking forward to drawing it.

Strangely, I procrastinated for months. If I had spotted his house while out sketching on location, I would not have hesitated. Yet something about using a reference photo and with the intention of making a gift intimidated me. When I’m urban sketching, I give myself constant permission to be wonky because I’m just trying to capture the moment for myself. When I’m using a photo in the comfort of my studio, I feel like the result has to be more polished because I can tweak it all I want and have no excuse for wonkiness. How silly!

I was tired of having the project hanging over my head. After I finished the last of the commissioned dog portraits, I decided it was time to take on Jason’s house. And the way I psyched myself out was by pretending I was just out urban sketching.

Barely visible, here's the graphite block-in.

Of course, almost nothing I did was similar to my typical urban sketching process: First, I began by blocking in key architectural points with a graphite pencil. On location, I would have gone straight in with the Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons, and if I made a mistake, I would have simply found a way to cover it up. I also used larger paper (10-by-7 inches) than my usual sketchbooks. At least one of the Neocolor techniques I used (description coming up) is something I doubt I’d use on location. Finally, with a comfy chair in a clean, organized studio, I happily spent more than a couple of hours on this sketch – something I would never do onsite.

Once I put myself in the urban sketching mind frame, I got over the barrier and enjoyed the process immensely. In fact, I am very pleased with the result – more so than I usually am with architectural subjects. (For example, I didn’t especially like the result of the house portrait I made for my niece and her husband seven years ago; it’s interesting to see how different my approach was then.) It feels good to give this as a gift.

Secondary triad palette in Neocolor II water-soluble crayons

Material and technique notes: The moment I looked at my reference photo, I realized it was shouting for a secondary triad! I dug through my Neocolor II crayons to look for a triad that wasn’t too garish or vibrant (not my nephew’s vibe) but also wouldn’t be too literal. I like the four colors I chose (I added a second green) so much that I immediately put them into my Neocolor case for field use (and used the same colors the next day at Third Place Commons).

In particular, I like Aubergine (099) as the violet. It’s the warmest and least saturated violet in the Neocolor palette, and unfortunately, not available in the Cd’A Museum Aquarelle pencil line, or I would have discovered it sooner. It is, however, available in the Cd’A Supracolor line. To avoid getting lost in picky details, I resisted using the Aubergine pencil too much. Some architectural details, however, seemed important to include, like the sconce next to the entryway and the subtle gridwork of tiny “windows” in the wall seen between the palms. Those were too small to capture easily with blunt crayons, so it was nice having a pencil in the same hue.

Detail of shadows made with watercolor painting method

I used a technique that I rarely, if ever, use on location: I applied dry Aubergine and Moss Green (225) onto the plastic “palette aquarelle” that came with my Cd’A Mixed Media Botanical Set. I used a waterbrush to blend the colors to the shade of purplish-brown I wanted. Then I applied it just like watercolors.

That technique is not too different from the “licked” technique I use frequently with watercolor pencils, but since I’m taking the color from the plastic palette instead of directly from the crayon, I have the opportunity to blend the colors.

I could have used real watercolors for this step, but a big benefit of using the same water-soluble crayons is that the color scheme remains fully cohesive compared to using many different media. I know using mixed media is cool, but I prefer keeping things simple.

Finally, a word on the paper I used: Derwent Inktense Paper. A counterpart to the Derwent Lightfast Paper that I’ve lately been using with colored pencil pet portraits, Inktense paper is intended for use with wet media, especially Inktense pencils. Like the Lightfast paper, I bought the pad of Inktense paper years ago but never got around to using it – it was still shrink-wrapped.

Its warm tone seemed just right for southern California stucco, and its strong tooth gives an organic texture to the foliage with soft Neocolors. It’s 100 percent cotton like the Hahnemühle sketchbooks that I’m used to, so I felt comfortable with its sizing right away. It’s too bad this paper is so expensive – I’d be tempted to stitch a few sheets into small signatures for more portable use. I’ll probably save it for gifts and commissions.

The Helpful Hardware Store

 

1/4/25 Maple Leaf Ace Hardware 

The Maple Leaf Ace Hardware store, which I have sketched many times over the years, is a quintessential neighborhood store. Although the family-owned franchise changed ownership a few years ago, some staff people have been working there almost as long as I’ve been going there (35-plus years). Greg used to be the one who did most of our shopping there, but now it’s my go-to, too, when I need the one random thing to finish a task. It’s the kind of place where I can walk in, say, “I need those stick-on things that you put on the ottoman feet to keep them from scratching the floor and also to keep it from sliding – do you have those?” And they walk you to the right aisle. I could never, ever get that kind of service at Home Depot (let alone Amazon).

Walking up to Ace to pick up the quart of custom-mixed paint I had ordered the previous day, I stopped first to make this sketch. The store was still decked out in holiday lights and a huge lighted wreath. Long live neighborhood hardware stores.

Technical note: This is the kind of building I actually don’t enjoy drawing. Despite its mostly plainish look (other than the prominent, triangular façade), the perspective is not easy if I were to care about getting it right. My current comic-y style really saves me in this regard. Instead of fussing with a pencil and getting annoyed when the result is wonky, I go straight in with the marker and embrace whatever results. Long live comics!

Encounter

 

11/27/24 Encounter church, Mercer Island

On my way to meet a couple of friends for lunch, it occurred to me that I probably hadn’t been to Mercer Island in more than 25 years. Although it’s on the Eastside, which requires crossing Lake Washington, it’s not far, and it’s actually easy to get to via toll-free Interstate 90. With cute shops, good restaurants and other reasons to visit, it has been off my general radar.

I arrived a bit early to take a walk around the strip mall where we were meeting. The first building I encountered was a modern church with a sign that said, indeed, “Encounter.” That’s all I know about it, but it wasn’t bad as a first sketch in a town only 20 minutes away. I’ll have to return someday.

Charmaine Apartments

 

10/3/24 Queen Anne neighborhood

After I’d been living in the tiny studio apartment above Targy’s Tavern for a couple of years, I got a new job that came with (for me) a substantial pay increase. It was the late ‘80s. I decided to upgrade my living standards and move to lower Queen Anne. Although I had another studio, it was slightly larger, and the Charmaine Apartments had hardwood floors (which I’ve always loved and still do). The higher rent and living within walking distance of lots of great restaurants, the Seattle Center, the Opera House, and many other amenities that I couldn’t afford made it feel like an upgrade. Even the name "Charmaine" sounded a bit fancy.

What I didn’t realize until I moved in was that the parking was terrible even back then (and worse now, I’m sure). If I went out in the evening and came home late-ish, I sometimes had to park several blocks away. I commuted to work by bus, so sometimes when I got home and saw that a good space had opened up closer to the Charmaine than wherever I had last parked, I would immediately move my car there and avoid driving just so that I wouldn’t lose the space.

I quickly discovered that my landlord was terrible, too. My first winter, I turned on a small space heater and started hearing crackly sounds inside the wall, which became warm to the touch. I turned off the heater, called the fire department and learned that the outlet had been unsafely wired. There was no damage to the apartment because I had acted quickly, but the landlord had to rewire it to meet code, which I’m sure was an inconvenience. I always felt like he had held that incident against me for the rest of my tenancy. He never refunded my deposit when I left, even though I had left the place cleaner than when I had moved in.

Before having lunch with a friend in the area last week, I went to sketch the Charmaine. I was delighted to find a big blue crane out front with restoration of the brickwork in progress. My apartment was on the top floor but on the other side that faced an alley. Despite the landlord and parking, it was nostalgic fun to remember the interior of my apartment and my young life back then.

Salvatore Ristorante

 

9/28/24 Salvatore Ristorante, Roosevelt neighborhood

Salvatore Ristorante in the Roosevelt neighborhood has been around since 1988, and the spouse guy and I had patronized it since its beginning (even before we were married). In addition to amazing Italian food, it has a charming, timeless ambiance. A whimsical touch is a mural of Italian village life on one diningroom wall. Decades ago when Greg and I had noticed that patrons had taken to gluing tiny images of themselves into the scenes, we decided to do that, too.

We have not been back to Salvatore since the pandemic, but whenever I walk or drive by, I have thought that I want to someday sketch the building, which is on a curving corner of Roosevelt Way and Northeast 61^st Street. A friend had a birthday party at Salvatore last Saturday, so I arrived a little early to sketch it from across the street. The food was just as good as I remember it. In fact, nothing about it had changed. (I meant to look at the mural to see if our photo was still attached, but I forgot. I’ll go back another time to check.)

South Lake Union Saturday Market

 

7/27/24 South Lake Union Saturday Market

In the heart of South Lake Union, the SLU Saturday Market is in the shadow of Seattle’s newest skyscrapers while also enjoying Denny Park’s oasis of trees. USk Seattle had the benefit of both – shiny, glassy architecture (for those who like to sketch that) and plenty of shade.

I sketched a page of the market activity itself (the colorful entrance flags were a popular subject for many sketchers that day) and another page of thumbnails of the new skyline.

Architecture visible from the market

For lunch, I had garlic pancit bihon from 88 Cues, a Filipino food truck. I scarfed it down too fast to sketch, but I slowed down enough to sketch my turon, which is a banana-based dessert lumpia sprinkled with sesame seeds and tiny orange flower petals.

Lunch and dessert from 88 Cues

New to USk Seattle, the SLU Saturday Market offers a fun mix of urban glass and steel, local produce and flea market fashions. We’ll be back!

Denny Park offered comfy shade to sketchers.

SLU Saturday Market in the shadow of Seattle's newest skyline