Urban Sketchers Seattle featured in Seattle Times

 

Last Friday’s online edition of the Seattle Times included an article about Urban Sketchers Seattle and published works by numerous local sketchers, and I was thrilled to be included! My sketch was from a USk outing last month. It was great publicity for both USk Seattle and Sketcher Fest (more on that tomorrow).

The print edition appeared on Sunday in the Mix section.

FareStart’s 25th Anniversary Book

 

My sketch of a FareStart graduation ceremony published in the book

My massive home-downsizing project has unearthed many interesting artifacts that I had not seen in years or decades. One worth mentioning here is an enormously heavy, 2-inch-thick book that includes one of my sketches. The back story:

In 2015, I first learned about FareStart, a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged people train for and develop careers in the culinary industry. Some time after I had shared a sketch on social media, I was contacted by the editor of a book that would be published for FareStart’s 25th anniversary celebration the following year. Erica McCaig wanted to use my sketch in the book. Of course, I was happy to contribute, especially since I strongly supported FareStart’s mission. (If you read the 2015 post I linked to, you’ll learn that I didn’t really like the hasty sketch the editor had requested, so I offered others that I had sketched later. She didn’t use any of those, however.)

At the 2016 anniversary celebration, the commemorative book was released – a combination cook book, food photography showcase and tribute to the many chefs, sponsors and others who had contributed to FareStart over the years. As a contributor, I received a free copy – a book that weighs more than 6 pounds!

6 pounds of glossy, hardbound paper

Although filled with over-the-top, gorgeous photography of food and recipes from award-winning chefs, the ridiculously heavy book was a bit burdensome to own. (I can’t imagine anyone referring to it as they cooked – the pages don’t stay open.) All our bookshelves were already full. I stuck it in a bag to keep it clean, slid it under the TV cabinet for safekeeping, and immediately forgot about it. Last week when I moved the TV from one room to another, it was unearthed.

2 inches thick!

I could swear I had shared images from the book back in 2016, but a search of my blog came up with nothing, so I must not have. I’m getting rid of the book, so I’ve snapped a few images now for posterity.

(One of my most effective home-unjunking tips is to simply take a photo of anything you want to remember but don’t want to keep. These images are so much easier to store than a 6-pound cook book!)

In addition to recipes, the book includes many pages of beautifully styled, fantastically photographed foods.

I’m a Drawing Jam Poster Girl

 

Except for last year (and virtually during the pandemic years), I’ve been attending Gage Academy’s Drawing Jam since 2012. It’s one of my favorite art events of the year and certainly the most fun community event that Gage puts on. So it was very special to me when Gage asked to use several sketches from previous Jams for their promotional poster this year.

Giving permission to use anything I had hashtagged with Drawing Jam, I was tickled to see what they selected for the poster – one sketch goes all the way back to 2015. It’s an honor and privilege to be able to give back to Gage this way after all the benefits I continue to receive from this nonprofit school and its community.

In the News: Travel Sketching

 

My sketch made in Amsterdam in 2019.

The Seattle Times recently featured several USk Seattle members, including me, in an article about travel sketching. Although writer Colleen Stinchcombe didn’t relate our sketching experiences directly to urban sketching, I don’t make much distinction between the two. After all, travel sketching is nothing more than urban sketching while away from home. In any case, I was thrilled that one of my sketches from Amsterdam was included.

The print edition was published Nov. 27. You can read the full article online. And of course, my blog has many posts related to my experiences sketching on my travels.

Understanding Light

The latest title in the Urban Sketching Handbook series

Understanding Light, Katie Woodward’s addition to the Urban Sketching Handbook Series, includes four of my sketches, and I’m thrilled to pieces! When this excellent series was introduced by Gabi Campanario in 2014 with Architecture and Cityscapes, I considered it one of my “bibles” in learning how to draw on location. Now with 14 titles, the series continues to cover many topics of interest to sketchers. Each time I picked up a new one, I thought what an honor and privilege it would be to have my work included in one someday – and the day finally arrived!

I’m not going to write a full review of this one since it would probably not be perceived as impartial 😉. But I will just say that Understanding Light is one of the best in the series. Not just an eye-candy collection of sketches (though it is that, too), Katie’s book includes solid information about how to observe and depict light using any medium. I was especially pleased that this volume is not medium-centric, as so many books that discuss light usually focus on paint. Graphite, ink, colored pencil, pastel – any medium can be used to express mood, atmosphere and emotion by closely observing and conveying light.

The book is pre-orderable now at online booksellers for a Dec. 28 release, and it will also be available at the Seattle Public Library.