Real-Life Life Drawing at Top Pot

1/15/16 Zebra brush pen, colored pencils

Sketching at Top Pot Doughnuts in West Seattle last Friday was so much fun that I was reminded of the one in Wedgwood, which is the neighborhood just east of my own ‘hood. It had been a long time since I’d sketched there, and I couldn’t remember anymore why I had rejected it as a regular sketching spot – was it too dark? Too small? Not enough “victims”? Another wet and cold January day was dawning – time to check out the Wedgwood Top Pot.

You already know how much fun I’ve been having with brush pens at life drawing sessions. I wanted to see if I could have just as much fun with them during real-life life drawing – and I did! Today I used the smaller end of my non-hairy Zebra double-sided brush pen (I’ve been using mostly the wider end for figure drawing), which allows me a little more detail on faces when I want them. In fact, I was surprised by how fine a line I can get when I hold the pen nearly vertically to use its very tip (my Sailor fudes are good training for that). I can’t get the level of detail I can with a fountain pen, of course, but the brush pen makes up for that in speed: The little girl eating a chocolate-frosted donut bigger than her head didn’t sit still for long. (Maybe the equivalent of a one-minute pose?)

1/15/16 Zebra brush pen, colored pencils

How does this Top Pot rate as a sketching spot? Its lighting is excellent, and the café space, though not too large, is lined with wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with old books. I had my choice of several backlit window tables (which are my preference), and by 9 a.m., a variety of victims of all ages had crossed my view. Bonus: Delicious scones are offered along with all the doughnuts! I think I’ve found my new regular sketching place.

And how’s this for a woo-woo moment? As I searched through this blog to put the links into this post, I got curious about when it was that I had last sketched at the Wedgwood Top Pot: It was Jan. 15, 2013 – exactly three years ago to the date! What a weird coincidence. (Want to see what it looks like from the outside? I sketched that around the same time, too.)

1/15/16 Zebra brush pen, colored pencils

Doughnut Injustice

 

3/4/24 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Sometime last year, Top Pot Doughnuts sponsored a contest to help come up with a catchy name for its latest product, donut holes. The grand prize was a year (or more?) of free donuts. I actually tried to spin a few catchy names in my head to enter, but I must have gotten distracted and forgot about it. Months later, the local chain announced the winning name: Pot Holes! I had to admit that I wished I had come up with that – seriously clever and perfect for that product!

A bit later on Facebook, I learned that Tim Healy, a former marketing/communications co-worker whom I always knew to be good with puns and catchy phrases, was the one who had submitted the winning name! I congratulated him and expressed my slight envy about his prize. That’s when I learned that he actually didn’t win anything; the prize of the free donuts had been awarded in a random draw among entrants, and he didn’t even get credit for the selected name! I suppose it was written in the fine print that no one reads, but still – that’s doughnut injustice! They could have at least given him a few free donuts. Indignant and outraged for him, I boycotted Top Pot (or at least the Pot Holes).

Fast-forward to last Monday, when I decided I had held a grudge long enough. I went to the Wedgwood Top Pot to finally try a few Pot Holes. When I posted my sketch, I tagged Tim and let him know that despite the injustice, I at least thought of him while eating my Pot Holes, which must be some consolation. He replied, “Thanks, Tina. There is nothing like being associated with deep fried balls of sugar and dough to make it all worthwhile.”

As for the Pot Holes, I probably won’t be getting more. Although I appreciate the small size that makes you feel like you aren’t pigging out on a whole donut (though if you eat five like I did, it’s probably the same), they only seem to come in the cake varieties. I always favor raised donuts. So now it’s donut inequality on top of injustice. The world is so unfair.

Birthday Party for Wedgwood Top Pot

 

9/12/25 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Although I certainly have no problem indulging in donuts in any neighborhood, I consider the Top Pot Doughnuts in Wedgwood to be my “home” donut shop. When I first began sketching in 2011, one of the first cafes I felt brave enough to sketch people in was that Top Pot. Its interior is wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor bookshelves, giving it a comfy, library-like feeling. I also love the wide windows facing the street, which gives patrons a beautiful side- or backlighting. USk Seattle even had a small gathering there. (I have often thought that it could be my “third place” if only it were a bit cozier; my only complaint there is that it’s often chilly.)

When I heard that the Wedgwood store was celebrating its 20^th anniversary, you can bet I put that special occasion on my calendar! In addition to helping myself to free Pot Holes and coffee, I got to meet one of the chain’s co-founders, Mark Klebeck. It was fun to see all the families and neighbors stopping by for the festivities.

The Wedgwood store’s iconic twin palms and giant rooftop doughnut are so much fun to sketch that it’s obviously my favorite spot to observe National Donut Day. For this special occasion, I picked out some of my favorites from past years, below.

6/1/18

6/2/16

6/2/17

6/2/23

6/5/20

Party time!

National Donut Day

6/2/16 ink, watercolor, colored pencils

I try to limit my consumption of donuts to two or three a year. The last time may have been in January when Urban Sketchers Seattle met at the Top Pot Doughnuts in West Seattle, when it happened to be Elvis’s birthday (Top Pot’s special was the King’s Rings – with bacon, of course). Not unlike that day, today was yet another notable day for U.S. consumption of fat and sugar – namely, National Donut Day!

Forward-thinking sketch journalist that I am, I started documenting this important holiday by going to the Top Pot in Wedgwood yesterday. With a giant donut on the overhang and palm trees to boot, it’s the best-decorated Top Pot in town. (Three years ago I sketched the same giant donut for the Urban Sketchers Flickr group’s “toroid” theme.)

I resisted going inside, however, because I was saving that for the big day! Top Pot’s flagship store downtown had a line out the door when I arrived late-morning, and they weren’t even giving out free donuts like other chains were (Top Pot is having a fundraiser for Northwest Harvest food banks instead). After I scarfed down my Bavarian cream (which I sketched really fast) at an outdoor table, I caught part of Top Pot’s neon sign and the lovely trees shading the sidewalk.

6/3/16 inks, colored pencils

Ahhh, summer. Happy Fat and Sugar Day!

6/3/16 brush pen, white gel pen

Top Pot for Easter

3/31/24 Top Pot Dougnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

After my haircut, I walked a mile south to the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts. My mission was to see if they still had any remaining seasonal Peep doughnuts that I’d seen on Instagram. They did – exactly the one I wanted with pink frosting and a yellow bunny Peep.

I started the page spread by sketching the Top Pot building from across the street. I never tire of sketching those palm trees and giant donut. I hadn’t noticed before the two small palms on the side of the building, so they were next.

Saving space for the Peep donut, I waited until I got home to sketch that part. (In the privacy of my kitchen, I scraped off all the pretty pink icing and confetti sprinkles that are so much fun to sketch but that I certainly didn’t want to consume. Sadly, poor bunny Peep also hit the trash can.)

It was Easter day. I don’t usually do anything special for Easter, but the day was so beautiful that I couldn’t get enough of sketching outdoors. After I got home, I took a boiled egg out for a walk for a little urban sk-egg-ing.

3/31/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Posca and Pentel acrylic markers supposedly draw
on many surfaces besides paper, but apparently eggshell
is not one of them. The ink never completely dried!

National Fat and Sugar Day

 

6/2/23 National Donut Day observance at Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Last year I happened to be in the small town of Centralia on National Donut Day, and I was aghast that not a single donut could be found there. I was not about to miss it this year! Kim and Natalie joined me last Friday in observing the day, which has been a personal tradition since 2016.

We started out at the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts, where I resisted scarfing down more than a couple of bites of my chocolate raised until I could sketch it. Unfortunately, while seated at Top Pot’s umbrella’d tables, it’s impossible to see the marvelous giant donut atop its roof. Preferring bagels to donuts, Natalie had the great idea of moving across the street to Grateful Bread Bakery. From there, I could finish my montage with Top Pot’s giant donut, twin palms and celebratory stickers.

Color notes: Every year on this special occasion, I have the same dilemma: Choose a Bavarian crème, apple fritter, or chocolate raised – my favorites to eat but that are not very pretty? Or a bright pink raspberry, multi-colored sprinkles, or pink feather boa – all of which would be more fun to sketch but not my favorites otherwise? The easy solution is to use a secondary triad so that “real” colors don’t matter. Interestingly, I think my sketch looks more like a bagel than a donut!

Empty Chairs at Top Pot

 

1/12/23 Wedgwood Top Pot

At the Wedgewood neighborhood Top Pot Doughnuts for our portrait party last month, Ching, Natalie and I were surprised to see it so empty. Back in the Before Times, I had sketched at the same Top Pot occasionally, and while it was never mobbed, I always had plenty of people to sketch. Maybe donuts have fallen out of favor: Last Thursday morning it was deserted. I had the seating area literally to myself for more than an hour. Several people came in for coffee or boxes of donuts that they were carrying out, but no one stayed.

I wouldn’t have been comfortable if the place had been full, but I was still disappointed not to have any people to sketch. On the other hand, I noticed interesting patterns of light and dark on the tables and chairs, so I decided to look for a composition to put them in. Like a good girl, I even started with a small thumbnail (bottom of post). As you can see from it, I tried out various ways to crop the composition and ultimately changed it again in my final sketch.

Around the time I was thinking about leaving, another patron finally took a seat. Strongly backlit against the window, I could barely see his face, so I decided to make him a value study, too.

Sometimes when drawing chairs, which are always challenging, I try to pay attention to perspective. This time I got so interested in values that I ignored perspective (and even proportions – the hilarious off-center table base!) because my pea brain apparently can’t process too many concepts at once. But it’s a good thing I wasn’t paying attention to perspective, because halfway through the sketch, a staff person came through the seating area and started cleaning – moving all the chairs around!

Thumbnail study for top sketch

Queen Anne Top Pot

 

6/7/24 Top Pot Doughnuts, Queen Anne neighborhood

I typically observe National Doughnut Day at the Top Pot Doughnuts in Wedgwood, mainly because the twin palm trees and giant donut on the building are fun to draw. This year, for a different view, I went to the Top Pot in upper Queen Anne. Although there are no palm trees, big communication and microwave towers are all over the place. (The weird thing that I sketched that I couldn’t identify turned out to be part of an obsolete AT&T microwave system.)

It was such a lovely day last Friday that lots of families were enjoying the outdoor tables at Top Pot and Molly Moon’s Ice Cream next door. I had just as much fun observing and eavesdropping as I did sketching.

Near Miss

6/1/18 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

HOLEY cow, I almost missed it! Yesterday was National Donut Day, but I had it marked on my calendar on the wrong day! If it hadn’t been for a chance comment by Michele Cooper, tragedy would have resulted. Fortunately, I had enough time to dash out to the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts to grab a chocolate-frosted raised. By that, I mean I had enough time to sketch Top Pot’s giant doughnut flanked by a pair of palm trees, which I’ve sketched many times from different angles. Who could possibly resist putting a doughnut and palm trees in the same composition?

As for that chocolate-frosted raised? I learned last year that sketching and eating sticky donuts don’t mix, so I didn’t bother to sketch it. After all, National Donut Day comes only once a year.

The Toroid of Wedgwood: Top Pot Doughnuts

2/4/13 Platinum Sepia ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Gamma sketchbook

to·roid

noun Geometry.
A surface generated by the revolution of any closed plane curve or contour about an axis lying in its plane. (Dictionary.com)

Or, as Debora posted on the Urban Sketchers Flickr weekly theme thread, “A toroid is a round shape with a round hole in the middle. Think bangles, bagels, rings and tires.”

I admit, I had never heard the name of the geometrical form toroid before, but as soon as I read the description, I knew what I wanted to sketch: the Wedgwood neighborhood’s Top Pot Doughnuts.

I’ve sketched the interior of this Top Pot a couple times before, but whenever I’ve driven past its funky palm trees and retro giant donut on the roof’s overhang, I’ve made a mental note to sketch the exterior someday. With a theme like toroid to respond to this week, today was the day.

Pre-Gab & Grab Doughnut Do

1/31/20 A chocolate-frosted Bavarian cream at Top Pot Doughnuts!

Before heading to Seattle USk’s seventh annual Gab & Grab, a few of us met up at the nearby Top Pot Doughnuts. The last time I sketched at the Wedgwood Top Pot was a couple of summers ago on National Donut Day, when it was warm and sunny. I never got around to sketching my donut that day, so I made up for it this time. Cold, wet and blustery, the morning was just right for sketching indoors with good friends.

A good morning for sketching indoors.

Natalie's sketch of me eating my messy, oozing doughnut!

Top Pot Doughnuts – Then and Now

1/15/13 Lamy cartridge ink, Zig marker, Stillman & Birn Gamma

The Seattle Times’ Pacific NW Sunday section had an interesting article about renovated buildings, including one that now houses Top Pot Doughnuts in the Wedgwood neighborhood. I try to avoid the temptation of donuts, so I don’t go there often, but the article made me recall that I had been there more than a year ago.

I flipped through a few sketchbooks from that period and found the pocket-sized Moleskine with two pages dated Oct. 24, 2011, only a month after I had started sketching, with sketches I had made at Top Pot. The Times article had included “then” and “now” photos of the renovated buildings. I thought it would be fun to do my own version, so I stopped for a sketch and coffee at Top Pot today (no donut).

It’s not exactly a renovation, but I do see the changes that come with the passage of time.

10/24/11 pencil, Pitt Artists Pen, Moleskine sketchbook

Top Pot Queue

 

6/4/21 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

I try to observe National Doughnut Day annually. Last year, I almost didn’t; the pandemic didn’t keep me away, but shaken and outraged by George Floyd’s murder, I wasn’t feeling festive. Still, there’s nothing like sugary, deep-fried dough to (temporarily) improve one’s mood, so I went ahead with it, and I was happy that I did.

Yesterday I was feeling much more upbeat as I set out for my neighborhood Top Pot. At 8 a.m., a decent line had formed outside the door. In the past, I have enjoyed sketching the Wedgwood store’s giant donut sculpture and twin palm trees from across the street, but this time I wanted to get close enough to sketch the queue. Though the sketch itself isn’t very exciting, it tells a larger story: masked patrons standing in line six feet apart, and my vaccinated self feeling safe enough to sketch them. (A palm tree makes a cameo appearance as a shadow on the building.)

Afterwards, I got into the line myself for a classic chocolate raised ring, which I sketched at home before scarfing it down. I noticed that the store is hiring; the donut biz must be thriving. We have many reasons to feel upbeat.

By the way, like many occasions and holidays, the origin of National Doughnut Day has gotten lost over the years. It was first observed in 1938 to honor Salvation Army volunteers who gave out donuts during World War I.

Fat (and Sugar) Tuesday

2/21/23 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Fat Tuesday was a good excuse to have a donut. The Wedgwood Top Pot was almost as quiet as the last time I was there, but I didn’t mind: The one patron who stayed long enough to sketch was beautifully backlit by the large front window. A high window on his right side complicated the lighting on his back, but I enjoyed the challenge.

I wish I could have worked on this guy
more, but he got away too fast.

An apple fritter and colored pencils... does it get any better?

This sketch also became a lesson in using watercolor pencils. As my primary color medium for going on seven years, watercolor pencils should be second nature to me by now, and yet they still present surprising challenges at times. I knew I wanted to leave the color on the man unactivated because I prefer the subtle gradations I can get with dry pencils (like that subtle shift on the back of his head). But to make the slivers of backlighting stand out on the left side of his face and shoulder, I had to intensify and darken the background bookshelves. 

When I activated the books with water, though, they stood out too strongly, so I had to go back in and intensify everything with more dry pigment. Ultimately, I think the whole sketch improved with my being “forced” to add more color, but it was one of those humbling moments when I see that I am still not a master of my medium and always have more to learn.

Top Pot for the Big Day

6/2/17 ink, water-soluble colored pencil, sticker

For the second year, I decided to celebrate National Donut Day yesterday with a sketch at Top Pot Doughnuts. With a huge donut atop its overhang and two palm trees growing in the outdoor dining area, it’s hard to resist (in more ways than one).

Unlike the flagship store downtown, which had a line out the door when I sketched there last year, the Wedgwood neighborhood store was probably only a little more crowded than usual. I saw several customers coming out loaded with boxed donuts, so celebrations were obviously taking place elsewhere. In addition, Top Pot was using the day to collect donations for Northwest Harvest food banks, so neighbors were going in with bags of groceries to drop off.

Of course, I went inside myself to get a donut – a sticky, gooey Bavarian cream. I took one bite before sketching it to give it greater realism, and once I got the basic shape drawn, my plan was to eat and sketch simultaneously. The only problem with that idea is that my hand became a sticky mess each time I took a bite. I had to simply draw quickly so that I could get back to what really matters on National Donut Day.

6/2/17 brush pen, gel pen, colored pencil

More Wacky Colors

 

12/31/25 Third Place Commons

Here are a couple more experiments using my wacky color palette. I’m diggin’ it!

I made the one above at Third Place Commons, where a few friends helped Natalie celebrate her birthday. The people I sketched were not part of our group; they happened to be sitting on the other end of the community table, and they were all sketching, too! In the background is the Honey Bear Bakery's mascot.

The one below is of Top Pot Doughnuts in Wedgwood. Most of the café space is filled with shelves containing old books, which form an interesting background pattern.

1/2/26 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

These values-based colors are fun to use in interior spaces. I haven’t tried using them outdoors, though – that will be next-level testing. Given all the rain and cold still ahead, though, it could be a while before I can get to that. In the meantime, I have more excuses to hang out in cafés.

A Somber Donut Day

6/5/20 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

A few weeks ago when Mike Daikubara invited sketchers to sketch a celebration as the #USkTalksChallenge, I immediately thought I’d do mine on National Donut Day, which I look forward to observing every year. I even thought it would be fun to honor Mike by emulating his style of sketching both the food and the location on the same page.

By yesterday when the big day rolled around, however, the nation was mourning George Floyd’s death, and I was in no mood to celebrate. It no longer felt right to celebrate anything. But I’ve been feeling so much sadness and anger lately that I knew donuts would make me feel better . . . so I decided to partake anyway. 

Sketching Top Pot Doughnuts from my mobile studio, I noted that the Wedgwood shop (my favorite, with the funky giant donut on the roof and palm trees in front) was somber compared to most years – no banners, no festive balloons, hardly even a promotion. Still, it was busier than the previous day, when I had stopped in to pick up my donuts (I figured the big day would be too crowded for my comfort). Misery loves sugar and deep-fried fat.

Employee Appreciation Day

3/6/26 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood (Beware all who speak very loudly during Zoom meetings in cafes: You will be drawn unflatteringly.)

Before I retired, I had been self-employed for many years as a marketing copywriter. Although I was a pretty good boss of myself, I didn’t show enough appreciation back then for my hard-working employee, nor did I know about Employee Appreciation Day (first Friday in March). In fact, the day was off my radar until I was informed of it by Top Pot Doughnuts suggesting that doughnuts would be an appropriate way to express appreciation to one’s employees. ‘Nuff said.

Now I have another annual holiday to observe with a doughnut!

Material notes: If I were getting a doughnut for eating enjoyment only, I would probably get a chocolate-dipped Bismarck or an apple fritter. On this day, however, I wanted to test the plum and cherry blossom palette I had picked out in Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons, so I chose a suitably pink raspberry-glazed raised. The dark purple Derwent Inktense pencil is for blossom shadows. I’ve tried many different media – watercolor, gouache, water-soluble colored pencils, water-soluble crayons, opaque markers – for always-challenging blossoming trees, never to my complete satisfaction. This year I’m using Neocolor II crayons again, if only because I have an easy way to carry them now. 

Nonindigenous

3/19/13 Platinum Sepia ink, watercolors, Zig marker, Hand Book journal

Palm trees are about as indigenous to the Pacific Northwest as pineapples, tiki huts and toucans. Yet I’ve sketched two palms in as many months – one in February at the Wedgwood Top Pot, and another this morning at a small Northgate strip mall. Given that it was 40 degrees, I stayed in my car to sketch the palm, which I think is leftover from the tropical-themed restaurant that used to be where Green Lake Jewelry Works now stands. On the back side of the building facing the parking lot is another remnant: a sign that reads “Thank Y’all for Coming.”

 

I do my share of complaining about the long, dark winters here, but imagine how those palm trees must feel. Thank y’all for tolerating the cold.

Edited 3/20/13: I was told by a landscape gardener friend, after he saw the sketch, that this is a Chinese windmill palm, which actually does well in Seattle.

Maple Leaf Palm

12/17/19 Maple Leaf neighborhood

To me, palm trees evoke the desert climate of southern California, so I’m always amused when I see one in Seattle. A horticulturalist once told me that the ones we see around here are Chinese windmill (or pinwheel) palms, or Trachycarpus fortunei, a variety that doesn’t mind cold and rain. Our neighbors across the street have a small one (currently decorated with festive lights), which I especially enjoyed sketching when it was covered with snow a couple years ago. My favorites are the tall pair growing inexplicably in front of the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts.

Walking through the ‘hood last week, I spotted this palm in front of a quintessential Craftsman-style bungalow that Seattle is full of. Seeing them together (with a mandatory trash can, of course) tickled me.