Evergreen Washelli Doughboy

3/5/15 various inks, Caran d'Ache Museum water-
soluble colored pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Isn’t it strange how you can pass the same place regularly, yet never really see it? I drive by Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park on Aurora Avenue North several times a week, yet I had never noticed the huge columbarium at the top of its eastside slope. When it caught my eye early this morning, I decided to return this afternoon when it would be warmer and finally explore the grounds.

Not only did I find the columbarium that I’d spotted from the street; I also discovered several more statues and a large area of military markers. Although my intention had been to sketch the columbarium, I was more captivated by the Doughboy statue.

Designed by Seattle sculptor Alonzo Victor Lewis in 1921, the bronze statue has a colorful and somewhat controversial history. For example, the soldier was originally carrying German helmets presumably taken from dead Germans, which raised protests. It’s been moved several times and even modified a couple times, finally landing at its current Washelli location in 1998. Until I Googled its background after sketching it, I didn’t realize that the base of the statue is a columbarium itself for the cremated remains of veterans and their spouses. 

Here’s a bit of the artist’s intention: “Working mainly from his modest studio on Eastlake Avenue, Lewis used three soldiers from Fort Lawton as models and cast his plaster soldier to portray American patriotism, later stating that he envisioned the young soldier as ‘just returning from a victory — mud-covered and with a grim smile on his face.’”

I briefly considered waiting until Memorial Day to sketch this, but that holiday weekend is notoriously rainy and cold in Seattle. Sketch while the sun shines, I say. (And shining, it is! And 59 degrees!)

Evergreen Washelli with Urban Sketchers

 

9/1/22 Bloedel bench at Evergreen Washelli cemetery

Farah's hairdo

Green, serene and full of sketchable monuments, Evergreen Washelli cemetery has been one of my favorite sketching spots for years. It was high time for Urban Sketchers Seattle to meet there.

I’d already sketched most of the major memorials in this 144-acre cemetery, but I hadn’t done the angel monument in more than seven years. On a cool, overcast morning that was a relief after the heat, I started with the angel. Just like I did in 2015 (I was reminded of it by my blog post), I thought to myself as I sketched that the angel had a Farah Fawcett hairdo. The other thing I noticed this time is the statue’s proportions. One of my most frequent mistakes during life drawing is that I often make the head too small in proportion to the model’s height. For once, I think I got the proportions right -- her head really is too small for her body (if she were human). Based on her head-to-body ratio, the angel would be about nine feet tall.

After that, I took a walk around the memorial park to find something I hadn’t sketched before. Functioning as a simple bench, a stark memorial was engraved with only the name Bloedel, which I assume is that of the local magnate Julius Bloedel, who is the namesake for various Pacific Northwest buildings and facilities. A lovely sakura, classically pruned like an umbrella, was right in front (top of post). I imagined that the person buried there must have loved cherry trees, and anyone seated on the bench would have enjoyed the view.

Controversial Doughboy

In the remaining minutes before the throwdown, I made a small sketch of the World War I Doughboy monument, which has an interesting backstory. According to The Seattle Times, “The sculpted, smiling U.S. infantryman once had two German helmets slung over his shoulder. The helmets were cut off surreptitiously decades ago, whereabouts unknown.” (Read the rest of the linked article to learn about the helmet that was found.) You can’t see it in my sketch, but the soldier does have a kind of creepy smirk. (I show his expression a bit better in my more detailed sketch made in 2015.)

The sun finally came out for the throwdown, where we had a terrific turnout!

Sunny throwdown!

Domed Mausoleum

12/21/21 Evergreen Washelli cemetery

An errand took me right past Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park, so before returning home, I pulled into the cemetery for a sketch. I knew it had been a while since I last sketched there, but when I searched my blog, I was surprised to find that it had been more than six years (when I sketched the same mausoleum). I enjoy sketching at cemeteries because it’s always quiet and peaceful. If others are around, they never question what I’m doing (probably in case I’m grieving and want privacy). I made a mental note to sketch there again soon.

A thick, overcast sky held back most of the late-morning light. Squinting hard to see which side of the all-white mausoleum faced the sun, I could barely discern it. I started thinking about things I’d learned from Kathleen Moore earlier this year. Even if they are hard to see, it’s OK to exaggerate the differences in values to indicate the form. It seemed a shame to darken that brilliant white dome, but I did it to show the light.

Before darkening the background to increase contrast.

When I looked at the sketch at home later, I realized that the mausoleum and the background were too similar in value (at right) – not at all what I saw in reality, with the stark white structure standing out clearly against the dark trees. What would Kathleen do? She would advise me to darken the background and increase the contrast, so I did (above). It still doesn’t stand out as much as I wish it did, but it’s a bit better. (I always know I got more than my money’s worth from a class if I continue to hear the instructor’s advice in my head long after the class is over.) 

Sun Breaks at Evergreen Washelli

4/2/15 Platinum Carbon and DeAtramentis Document
Brown inks, watercolor, Caran d'Ache Museum
colored pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Crazy weather!

We’ve been having a lot of rain lately, but that’s nothing new, especially for this time of year. What’s crazy are the hailstorms, lightning and thunder! The other crazy part is how quickly the weather changes, within minutes or a few miles.

When I left home this morning, it was pouring buckets. By the time I got to Shoreline a few miles north, it was dry and – dare I say it? – even sunny. On my way home from the errand, I wondered if it would stay dry long enough to sneak in a sketch, so I took a chance and stopped at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park (where I sketched the doughboy last month). I was hoping to sketch some angel statuary I’d spotted last time, but I couldn’t find them. Driving around the cemetery, I found instead a domed monument that I could easily sketch from the car (a bonus, since it was chilly).

During the half-hour or so that I sketched, the sky went from deep, solid gray to spotty patches of sun breaks and back again, multiple times in rapid succession, changing the light and shadows every time I looked up. When I finished drawing and was ready to put in the shadows, the light was flat, so I just waited a bit, and then the sun poked out (but only for a minute).

On the way home, the showers started again. You gotta be quick if you want to sketch around here in the spring!

Goose Neck

8/27/15 ink, watercolor

Finally caught up on work, I took a leisurely break on my way home from a meeting in Shoreline this morning at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park. Back in April was the first time I drove by the war memorial section of the cemetery. Completely daunted by the rows and rows of identical white markers, I had no idea how to approach such a sketch. Today when I drove around the area again, I still didn’t have a clue, but the lovely day was inviting, as was the serenity. I’m not completely happy with the way the sketch turned out, but it gives me something to use as a baseline for the next time I attempt it. 

8/27/15 Kuretake brush pen

Driving out of the park, I spotted a flock of Canada geese grazing in the grass and sipping from puddles. I pulled over and quietly walked over to them, brush pen in hand. Capturing that graceful S-shaped curve in a goose’s neck as it bent to take a drink – that made me happy!

Washelli Fountain

8/13/15 inks, watercolor, colored pencil, white acrylic marker

Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park occupies both sides of Aurora Avenue North at around North 110^th. The last few times I sketched there, I stayed on the east side of Aurora. This morning I decided to explore the west side.

Unlike the east side, which has an interesting Dough Boy memorial and angel statuary as well as a military section, the west side is relatively simple by comparison. I drove around a while looking for a sketch, and down in a valley surrounded by trees, I spotted a small fountain. Mounted on a pile of mossy rocks, the fountain was pouring water into a somewhat murky-looking pond. Rows and rows of small, flat markers were nearby.

Despite the heavy traffic on Aurora, the cemetery was serene. It’s become one of my favorite places when I want a quiet, undisturbed moment to sketch and enjoy the cool shade of large trees.

Technical note: I’m really liking the Molotow white acrylic marker I had picked up impulsively at the Sennelier store. It works much more consistently than the white Uni-ball Signo gel ink pen I had been using, especially over watercolor. I don’t think I could have sketched the fountain’s water today without it.

Russian Veterans Monument

8/2/22 Russian Veterans monument, Evergreen Washelli cemetery

With a bit of time to kill, I decided to do my sketchwaiting at Evergreen Washelli Cemetery, where I’ve sketched many times. It has a number of interesting monuments, including this white pyramid-shaped one near the memorial park’s northeast entrance. I didn’t know anything about this until I had posted the sketch in the Urban Sketchers Seattle Facebook group, where a member gave me enough information that I could begin researching it. I couldn’t find much detail, but I was able to confirm that it’s a Russian Veterans monument.

The member had also mentioned that its shape is reminiscent of pasha (or paskha), which is an Eastern European molded dessert made of cottage cheese, cream, almonds and currants and traditionally made for Easter. According to Wikipedia:

Cheese paskha is a traditional Easter dish made from quark (curd cheese, Russian: творог, tr. tvorog),^[1] which is white, symbolizing the purity of Christ, the Paschal Lamb, and the joy of the Resurrection. It is formed in a mold, traditionally in the shape of a truncated pyramid which symbolizes the first Passover in Egypt, a nod to Christianity's early Jewish beginnings and a reminder that the Last Supper of Jesus was a Passover Seder. Others believe the pyramid is a symbol of the Trinity.

This is one of the best benefits of urban sketching, especially somewhere historical like a cemetery: I often learn something!

Material and color notes: If this looks like an unusual palette for me, you’re right! The material I used is also unusual for me, at least for urban sketching: water-soluble wax pastels. More on both the palette and the material coming tomorrow. (My Instagram followers got a teaser a few days ago.)

Heavenly

4/15/15 DeAtramentis Document Brown ink,
watercolor, Caran d'Ache Museum colored pencil,
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

I apologize in advance if this seems disrespectful of an icon intended to comfort the grieving, but the whole time I was sketching the angel statue, I kept wondering if she had been designed in the ‘70s: It’s that flipped-back Farah Fawcett hairdo. Back then, I spent a lot of time in front of the mirror with a curling iron trying to get my hair to do that, so I’m very familiar with the look.

Still chilly in the shade, Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park (where I’ve recently sketched a couple times) was quiet. With my back to the sun, bright sky above, and huge, fluffy, white clouds slowly drifting behind the angel, it felt like a sketcher’s heaven, indeed.

P.S. Below is the scene I’d really like to sketch someday, but I’m confounded by it. How do I indicate all those white grave markers without drawing or painting every one of them? And the pattern of those parallel rows on a slight incline . . . whew. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. But someday.

Yes, MiataGrrl took the top down!

March Sketchbook Bound

My March sketchbook is done!

My March sketchbook is full and bound. I rarely choose pink for the covers, but since I couldn’t resist putting one of my cherry blossom sketches on the front, it was a rare opportunity to indulge. Also on the front cover is a sketch of Maple Leaf Park when the temperature hit 70 a few weeks ago. On the back cover is the doughboy memorial at Evergreen Washelli cemetery. The theme is clear: I’m sketching outdoors again; it must be spring!