Fremont Bridge

8/28/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Zig markers, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

After I finished my sketch of the Sri Chinmoy memorial, I climbed the stairs to the Fremont Bridge. This bridge, with its fascinating opening drawbridge and equally fascinating “language” of honks signaling when the bridge will give way to boats, opens an average of 35 times a day. Ponti Seafood Grill, one of my favorite restaurants, has a deck with a great view of the bridge, and it’s fun to have drinks or dinner out there on a warm summer night, watching the drawbridge go up and down.

 

As a sketch subject, though, I’ve always been intimidated by that bridge. Although it’s not as complex or architecturally elaborate as some local bridges, it still has perspective issues, and so many things can go wrong. . . But as I marched up the stairs, I channeled Inma in Barcelona and remembered her suggestion to focus on the part of a building or structure that interests and engages me – and let the rest go. And what interests me most about the Fremont Bridge? That whimsical artwork (by Fremont glass artist Rodman Miller) of Rapunzel locked in the bridge’s tower.

 

So I first focused on Rapunzel’s tower, and then I became interested in the shadows on the bike/pedestrian path. And then I realized the bridge wasn’t so bad after all.

Fremont Bridge and the Rocket

6/15/19 Fremont Bridge

As many times as I’ve sketched in the Fremont neighborhood, I’ve done the historic Fremont Bridge only once, and it was years ago. With USk Seattle’s sketch outing centered on the Lake Washington Ship Canal area, it was high time to sketch it again. This time I climbed partway up the stairway, which put my eye level just below the bridge deck with a good view of the bright blue and orange towers. According to Wikipedia, “due to its low vessel clearance of 30 feet, the Fremont Bridge opens an average of 35 times a day, which makes it the most frequently opened drawbridge in the United States and one of the busiest bascule bridges in the world.” No wonder Fremont is the Center of the Universe. Even as I sketched this, the drawbridge opened twice. One of these days I need to sketch it open, though I’d have to be quick – it stays open for only a few minutes at a time.

Another Fremont icon that I’ve sketched only once before is the Rocket. Last time, I stood right in its shadow with the benefit of strong sunlight. On this overcast morning, I didn’t feel like sketching a light gray rocket against a light gray sky, so my vermilion/Prussian Blue editing pencil came to the rescue. (To those unfamiliar with the Center of the Universe, it probably looks like a church steeple.) Just as I was lamenting the empty spot near the center of the composition, a huge truck came by to unload a delivery to a nearby merchant. It stayed just long enough for me to fill the boring space with its girth.

Despite the chilly morning, it was great to see the strong turnout in Fremont with several new faces!

The sun finally came out for the throwdown!

Sunny Fremont

5/30/14 Platinum Carbon and Diamine Grey inks, water-soluble colored pencil, watercolor, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Those long months of rain and gloom all winter and most of spring suddenly become worth wading through on a day like today: temperatures in the high 60s, sunshine and a clear blue sky! And just as suddenly, I realized I hadn’t sketched in Fremont since last August (well, except when the Friday sketchers met at the Fremont Coffee Company). It was time!

My first stop was the topiary dinosaurs, which I have been meaning to sketch ever since I saw the Seattle Sketcher’s sketch of them a couple of years ago. Rescued from destruction after a Pacific Science Center exhibit, the dinosaurs were put in Fremont, where the ivy covering them has been growing slowly since the late 1990s. When Gabi sketched them in October 2012, a large part of the mama dinosaur’s head and neck framework was still exposed. Today I could see the exposed framework (and eyeballs) only near her face – she’s nearly covered at last. In fact, her baby looks like he could use a haircut – his head is looking a bit shaggy.

5/30/14 Platinum Carbon and Diamine Grey inks, watercolor, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

After I finished the dinosaurs, I walked a short distance along the Lake Washington Ship Canal to the Fremont Bridge (which I had sketched last year). I actually walked back and forth a couple of times, trying to find a good view of both the bridge and the canal, but it’s hard to see past all the tall poplars growing along the shoreline. I settled for a partial view of the Aurora Bridge (blocked by the base of a power line tower similar to the one visible in the background of the dinosaur sketch). Just as I was sketching, the bright blue Fremont Bridge opened and came up – so half of it made it into my sketch after all.

Iconic in Fremont

6/24/22 J.P. Patches and Gertrude (sculptor: Kevin Pettelle), Fremont neighborhood

As many times as I have sketched in the Fremont neighborhood, I’m still always torn when I visit. On the one hand, Fremont is full of so many beloved icons (the Troll, the Fremont Bridge, the topiary dinosaurs, to name just a few favorites that I’ve sketched multiple times) that I never tire of sketching. But I also feel like I should branch out once in a while and sketch something less iconic or at least previously unsketched. Last Friday with USk Seattle, I couldn’t resist three icons, but at least I attempted one new subject.

The Saturn Building

First up was the sculpture of J.P. Patches and Gertrude, which I had not sketched since 2012, so I felt that a second sketch was long overdue. Since I had initially sketched it from J.P.’s side, this time I went around and took on Gertrude’s side. Probably only natives and long-time locals are familiar with J.P. as the host of a live-broadcast children’s TV program back in the ‘60s. Gertrude, J.P.’s sidekick and “girlfriend,” was actually a man. (Who knew that a man in drag would host a children’s TV show? Quite progressive for the ‘60s, even in Seattle!)

A water tower I hadn't sketched before

As we both sketched the sculpture, I discovered that Paul is also a Seattle native, so we chatted about all the local children’s TV shows we had grown up with. He went to high school with Stan Boreson’s son! I have had no such brush with fame, although my Brownies troop did appear on J.P.’s show once.

Feeling happy and nostalgic, I made a couple of quick thumbnail studies for my 30-day challenge: the Saturn Building, which I had sketched only last month, and a water tower visible from the J.P. sculpture, which I had not sketched before. There – something previously unsketched and less iconic!

6/24/22 Statue of Lenin

The meetup location was the statue of Lenin, which I have sketched several times. Although I wasn’t planning to sketch him again, I had about 15 minutes to kill before the throwdown – just enough time for a small portrait.

So the icons won again. It’s a losing battle in Fremont.

Just for fun, I’ve included below my first sketches of J.P. (from 2012) and Lenin (from 2013).

4/17/13 My first sketch of Lenin

8/9/12 My first sketch of J.P. and Gertrude

My childhood hero, J.P.

Sunshine and Shave Ice in Fremont

 

6/15/25 Fremont 

Last Sunday was one of those days I think of as ideal sketching weather: Not cold, not hot, not windy and perfectly blue-sky sunny! Anticipating good sketching with USk, I arrived early in Fremont to take advantage of the Sunday Market for lunch. Then I spent most of the afternoon sketching on the shore of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Fremont Bridge.

Delicious brain freeze

When I started running out of steam, I headed back to the Market for an espresso shave ice to perk me up. Along the way, I spotted a strange view: A rig hauling a huge covered boat was trying to squeeze past a barricaded construction area. The driver got out several times to rearrange the cones. It was a hasty sketch, but it was too tempting to pass up.

For a sunny Sunday afternoon, our turnout was relatively light, but it was also Father’s Day, so I’m guessing some sketchers were busy with family. On the other hand, one first-time participant brought his whole family: He had requested the USk outing as his Father’s Day celebration! They all sketched along with him. Hearing that made my day!

Fitness Walking Through Fremont

 

5/2/25 Fremont neighborhood

This chunk of the Berlin Wall stands outside Milstead & Company Coffee.

Now that the weather is improving, I’m hoping to take more fitness walks in other neighborhoods. Fremont was the first to come to mind: While it has plenty of fun things to sketch, it’s also a bit of a pain to get to because parking is scarce. My solution was to park in Wallingford, where the neighborhood streets offer plenty of free, unlimited parking, and then walk the easy 20 minutes to Fremont.

In addition to sketching a couple of my favorite Fremont icons (the Troll and J. P. Patches & Gertrude), I discovered a small P-Patch that’s difficult to see unless you climb up to the Aurora Bridge pedestrian overpass.

The highlight was taking a break at Milstead & Company Coffee, which has outdoor seating with a fantastic view of the Aurora Bridge. I wished I had left more than a couple square inches of space for it on my sketchbook spread, but I also didn’t want to start a fresh page and break the continuity of the “story.” I’d like to come back some day to sketch the same scene larger, but Milstead must be the only coffee shop in Seattle that doesn’t offer decaf! I suppose I’ll have to make a special trip first thing in the morning.

Overall, the afternoon was ideal: Good weather, fun sketches and fitness walking achieved!

Sketching in the Center of the Universe

5/10/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

With ideal – no, pluperfect – sketching conditions (for me, that means wearing a T-shirt and sandals but not breaking a sweat while sitting in the sunshine), a good turnout of Seattle sketchers showed up for an ad hoc meet-up in the Center of the Universe.

 

My first stop was the Fremont Troll, long on my list of favorite Seattle sights to show out-of-towners. The Troll, who lives under the Aurora Bridge, was created in 1990 by Ross Whitehead, Steve Badanes, Will Martin and Donna Walter. When I started my sketch, the only other person there was sketcher/photographer Gordon, who climbed behind the Troll’s shoulder to take a picture of me across the street. But by the time I was finishing up less than an hour later, I had lost track of the number of tourists who came by – some in taxis with the meter still running; others on tour buses; still others on foot. I know the Troll is supposed to be scary, ominously clutching a hapless VW Bug. But as I sketched him, I realized he has very human hands and seems more curious than scary.

 

5/10/13 Platinum Carbon, watercolor, Zig marker, S&B sketchbook

A few weeks ago I sketched the statue of Lenin, prompted by the Urban Sketchers Flickr weekly theme, “Oddities in Your Town.” I couldn’t resist sketching him again, although this time I let him take a back seat to an elegant tree, nearly in full leaf, offering shade to Lenin and passersby.

 

After the sketchbook sharing and lunch at the PCC with Peggy, Susan and Nilda, I wandered over near the Fremont Bridge to sketch the popularly accessorized sculpture, “Waiting for the Interurban” (made by local artist Richard Beyer). Today some of the cast aluminum sculpture’s characters were dressed in T-shirts promoting “Team Josh.” One wore a few fizzled balloons, perhaps from a previous decorating. To get that full frontal view, I had to sit across the street near the Old School Frozen Custard shop, an exercise in frustration. Traffic was continually going by on North 34^th Street, and every few minutes cars would stop for a red light, completely obliterating my view. Giving up the fight, I finally put one of those cars into my sketch.

 

5/10/13 Platinum Carbon, watercolor, Zig markers, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

My parking meter had only a few minutes left on it – not enough time for another sketch. What to do, what to do. . . ? Eat frozen custard, of course.



Back to the Center of the Universe

6/25/17 water-soluble colored pencils, Tombow marker

I worried that news reports of dire traffic conditions from freeway lane closures and Pride events would keep sketchers away from the Center of the Universe, but I needn’t have. Even predicted temperatures in the mid-90s yesterday brought a good turnout of USk Seattle to the statue of Lenin and the rest of the Fremont neighborhood’s funky environment.

 

6/25/17 ink, colored pencils

Although I knew I had sketched Lenin before, I didn’t realize until I checked my blog that it had been as long as four years ago at my first outing to Fremont (a month later I sketched him again during Gail and Frank’s USk workshop). It was high time to sketch him again, and I did it first thing while the morning heat was still tolerable.

For the high noon sun, I knew exactly where I wanted to sketch: In the cool shade of the Aurora Bridge, where the Fremont Troll waits quietly. Although a troll under a bridge is supposed to be malevolent, the only other time I sketched him, also four years ago, he struck me as more curious than scary. Yesterday I thought I saw some surprise and endless patience in his single eye (now shiny silver, though in 2013 it was apparently red) as tourists climb all over him, day in, day out. 

Speaking of patience, I was losing mine as every five minutes or so, a tour bus would come by and disgorge a pile of said tourists so they could photograph each other. The sketch took me much longer than usual because I had to keep waiting for the view to clear. Still, I was in the shade with a cool breeze blowing through. Even on the hottest day of the year, I’d rather be sketching than not.

Fremont Solstice Parade!

6/20/15 Platinum Carbon and other inks, Caran d'Ache Museum colored pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

If you don’t live in Seattle, or you do but you also live in a cave, you might not know about or understand the phenomenon that is the Fremont Solstice Parade. A Seattle institution since 1989, this annual summer event used to consist of only the parade on a single day. More recently, however, it has turned into a full-on fair lasting three days. The parade is unusual in that motorized vehicles are not allowed, so floats must be human-powered. Another rule is that corporate logos are not allowed, and float themes tend to have a politically liberal (and usually humorous) slant. Many floats are simply celebrations of the season – a tribute to our brief and precious summer – punctuated by images of the sun.

That’s the official part of the parade. At some point early in the parade’s history, some streakers (remember them?) on bikes crashed the parade, and that has now become a regular and most popular part of the event. As many as 1,500 nude bicyclists – usually “dressed” in body paint and other adornments that don’t quite qualify as clothing – lead the parade. It’s lively, to say the least!

Although we’ve always loved the Solstice Parade, we haven’t been going in recent years because we tend to avoid crowds. But yesterday was such a gorgeous day – temps in the low 70s with a bright blue sky – we didn’t want to be left out of the annual celebration of the sun and the official start of summer! We decided to brave it.

6/20/15 Kuretake brush pen

Hopping on the bus to avoid the nightmare of traffic and parking, we arrived in the Fremont neighborhood just in time for the beginning of the parade. We managed to find a terrific spot high above the parade grounds near the Aurora Bridge, where we had a great view of the nude bicyclists streaking by in the hundreds! Once the rest of the parade got going, we moved further down the parade route to get a closer view. It’s difficult sketching marching bands and bicycle-powered floats as they go by, but I attempted a few minimalist gesture sketches with a brush pen. At right and below are a hoola-hoopster, a unicyclist (clothed!) and a man wearing a top hat and ostrich costume. (No, I’m not sure what his “theme” was!)

I hope your Summer Solstice is as sunny as ours is!

Frank in the Shadow of the Troll

4/28/18 Fremont Troll

The last time I sketched the Fremont Troll, it was on a scorching summer day last year when the shade of the Aurora Bridge and a soft breeze had kept several urban sketchers comfortable.

Yesterday morning, 12 students in Frank Ching’s workshop sought shelter under the same bridge – this time from rain instead of sun. Under the Troll’s watchful eye (singular), Frank talked about “Locating, Framing and Composing Views” in urban sketching.

By the time I got there, the heavy rain had slowed to a drizzle, but the weather still wasn’t exactly hospitable. After snapping a few photos of Frank and his students, I was going to leave, but then the Troll caught my eyes (plural). Although I’ve sketched him several times, I couldn’t resist another quick one.