Reprieve

 

1/13/21 St. John the Evangelist Parish, Greenwood neighborhood

Our weather has been making national news: “Atmospheric river wallops Pacific Northwest with flooding, landslides and power outages” read The Washington Post’s headline Jan. 12. With a firehose of rain and 100 mph winds battering the windows and rooftop, I hardly slept the night before. Then the next day we got a reprieve: Blue skies and sunshine nearly all day! After several days of staying in, I wasn’t about to miss it.

After my curbside pick-up of a book at the Greenwood branch library (I’m so grateful that the library offers this easy, contact-free service), I drove through the neighborhood looking for a sketch. The bishop’s hat atop St. John the Evangelist Parish was shining when I started listening to the U.S. House of Representatives vote to impeach the president for the second time in his term. Before I finished the block-in, though, the sun had dipped behind clouds, and I lost most of the light.

A Sunny 11th Anniversary in Greenwood

 

5/19/23 Sakya Tibetan Monastery, Greenwood neighborhood

With traditional architecture on quiet streets, the Greenwood neighborhood has a lot to offer sketchers, not the least of which is at least a few houses of worship to choose from. USk Seattle met Friday in front of the bright yellow and orange Sakya Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, which we last sketched in 2018. The first time I sketched it was in 2014. Another time I sketched one of the entryway-guarding lions in winter from my car. This time I chose a corner with a large white bell and spinning prayer wheels (and a couple of sketchers). I think almost everyone chose the monastery for at least one of their sketches.

On this morning, a service was being held inside, so those of us nearby were treated to soft chanting drifting out to the street. At some point, a thoughtful monastery member came out and offered us tea!

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

A short walk away is St. John the Evangelist Parish, another church that I’ve sketched before but never seem to tire of. I can see the “bishop’s hat” from my house, which is a couple miles due east. Its proportions and elegant shape challenge me every time, but when the light hits it just right, it’s beautiful to render.

One of the sketchers mentioned yet another church within walking distance, but I didn’t have time for that one. I’m sure we’ll be back in Greenwood again, but I doubt it will be as perfect a morning as this one was – 68 degrees and sunny!

I meant to mention it during the outing but forgot: My first USk outing was May 20, 2012, so Greenwood was only a day off from my 11^th anniversary as an Urban Sketchers member. As I am at every outing, I was delighted by all the new members who have joined lately. I wish them as much fun and camaraderie as I have experienced the past 11 years and intend to continue having for years to come.

11 years with my tribe!

St. John the Evangelist

11/7/19 Greenwood neighborhood

The bishop’s hat on top of St. John the Evangelist Parish always catches my eye when I’m in its neighborhood. In Greenwood for an errand on a foggy and then overcast morning, I was attracted to it again, though I knew it would be a challenge in that indistinct light (as it is in any light; I attempted it last year and several years before that, too). But the lazy sun on one side and the bright white sky on the other framed the hat with subtle highlights that gave me somewhere to start.

Now that the leaves are falling off, I think graphite season is beginning.