Way Behind on My Santa Score

12/10/15 ink, colored pencils

By this time last year, I had already scored two sketches of Santa – one at Alderwood Mall and one at Pacific Place – and by mid-month I had hit my personal best: three Santas in one season!

I’m woefully behind this year (on everything Christmas – we don’t have our tree up yet, and our cards haven’t even arrived from the printer). On the way home from an appointment, I made a stop at Northgate Mall, where the same Santa I sketched last year at that mall was on duty again. Unfortunately, the pressure was on: First of all, Santa was busy with numerous customers (unlike last year when he had none the whole time I sketched), so I had to quickly sketch kids as they sat on his lap for no more than a couple of minutes at a time. Then Santa needed to go on his break, but he spotted me sketching, so he patiently waited for me to finish, which made me feel like I should hurry. (It might be bad holiday karma to keep Santa waiting!) Whew!

Two more weeks until Christmas – I better up my Santa-sketching game.

I got Santa, but I was too late for the trophy shot -- Santa went on his break.

A Late Start on Santa Season

12/12/17 Two kids stop to chat with Pacific Place's Santa.

My Santa “personal best” was in 2015, when I managed to sketch him four times. Last year I decided I couldn’t break my own record, so I settled for three (and twice it was the same Santa!). This year I’ve been a total slacker: Here we are halfway to Christmas, and I’ve only just begun!

Around noon Tuesday at Pacific Place, Santa didn’t have any customers, and his helper was so bored she was scrolling her phone. I circled the mall a couple of times to find a good angle, and the one I liked best was the one I used last year: from directly above.

I started sketching Santa, thinking that if he got some customers, they would sit next to him on his bench-like chair, and I could put them in. After I was nearly done, a couple of brothers came by, but they were there only to chat with Santa – no lap sitting, no photos. No other kids came by. 

It may have been a slow day for Santa, but at least I got a start on Santa Sketching Season.

Bawlin’ Babes and Ho-Ho-Ho

12/21/17 Northgate Mall Santa

Last Thursday, Santa was having a busy afternoon at Northgate Mall. When I arrived, he was just getting back from his break, and at least a dozen families were waiting in line for his return.

If Santa looks a little bedraggled, it’s because the clients he had right before the girl in this sketch put him through the wringer. The elder sister was an old pro at this Santa business, so she sat patiently next to him. But despite much cajoling from dad, baby sister would not have anything to do with this bearded man. She let out some ear-busting howls on Santa’s lap as the photographer snapped away. I admire this particular Santa, who always appears jolly and friendly, no matter who’s screaming in his ear (this is my fourth year sketching him). As usual, the holidays are such a joyous time of year for toddlers.  

Merry Christmas, and may your holidays be joyous, too!

Edited 12/25: It turns out that the Santa photo tradition began right here in Seattle in the 1940s! Who knew?

Swanson’s Nursery and Record-Breaking Santa

12/18/15 ink, colored pencil

12/18/15 ink, colored pencil

Spreading out our sketchbooks to share this afternoon, I remarked to some of the other Friday sketchers that an innocent viewer looking at our sketches would be hard-pressed to guess where we were. Reindeer? Diners in a café with huge ferns and palms? A camel? A koi pond? Santa? A troll? Not to mention model trains (which I never even got to today). Swanson’s Nursery has something for everyone, and that’s why Urban Sketchers Seattle has returned there every holiday season.

As I have in the past, I began the morning outside with Blitzen and Dasher, the two reindeer who take up residence at Swanson’s for the holiday season each year, and their buddy Curley, the camel. Although I’ve sketched all three of them every year (see 2014, 2013 and 2012), I still struggle with getting the scale of the reindeers’ antlers right. They are so enormous that I sometimes end up sketching them right off the page.

By the time I finished them, I was chilled to the bone, so I went into the café to warm up. Even without the eggnog latte, I would have been warmed by the café’s tall palm fronds and other tropical plants that evoke a sunny climate.

12/18/15 ink, colored pencils

All of that alone would have made for a perfectly fun sketch outing. What could have possibly improved on it? Santa! As I was finishing up my café sketch, I heard him ho-ho-ho-ing as he made his way to his photo station. A short time later, I followed him in. Unlike at the malls, Santa’s station at Swanson’s was set up with chairs for viewers, so I had a comfy seat as I chatted with “Santa Sean,” who wasn’t too busy yet. (He told me stories about his many clients – witty ones as well as eardrum-shattering screamers.) As usual, I sketched most of Santa first, leaving space on his lap for his next customer. You can imagine how delighted I was when the client turned out to have four legs – a Labrador pup named Zuzu (no, his ear wasn’t really pink – that was my colored pencil smearing). A double score, I’d say!

So that’s a record-breaking fourth Santa for the season! (I’m going to have a hard time besting myself next year.)

12/18/15 Zebra brush pen, colored pencils

12/18/15 ink, colored pencils

Gingerbread Star Wars and Pacific Place Santa

12/11/15 watercolor, inks, colored pencils (At left is "A New Hope"; at right is "The Empire Strikes Back")

For the past three Christmas seasons, the Friday sketchers have made a tradition of sketching the Gingerbread Village exhibit at the Seattle Sheraton. Last year, though, everyone felt that it was too crowded to sketch comfortably, so we decided to skip it this year as a group event.

That’s when I found out that the theme this year is Star Wars! As an original Star Wars fan (back when there was only one trilogy, so it was easy to see each film 20 or more times), how could I skip it? There was only one solution: Get there as early as possible to beat the crowds!

The sun not yet up as I waited for the bus, I arrived at the Sheraton a little after 8 a.m. and spent some leisurely time looking at the elaborate candy-and-cookie displays before the mobs arrived. Each gingerbread sculpture depicted one of the six films in the two Star Wars trilogies. Although I considered sketching Revenge of the Sith, which had the simplest design, I decided to sketch the sculptures of my two personal favorites – A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. (In my opinion, it was all downhill after the first trilogy, beginning with the Jar-Jar Binks debacle.)

12/11/15 brush pen, colored pencils

The amazing details the artists and designers put into their candy creations are always impressive and sometimes humorous. For example, in The Empire Strikes Back, while it’s easy to spot the main drama of Vader and Luke and an excessively colorful Cloud City, you might miss Darth Santa driving a team of Imperial Walkers (both of which had Rudolph-like noses)!

Around the time I was finishing up, the crowds started to build, and by 10 a huge group of small children arrived, filled with loud enthusiasm. It was time to move on, although not before stepping back to sketch a line of people viewing the exhibit.

12/11/15 ink, colored pencil

An adjunct personal tradition of mine is to follow up the Gingerbread Village visit with a short walk to Pacific Place to sketch Santa. Last year after having lunch with Nilda, I missed Santa, who went on a lunch break, so I had a long wait. Today my timing was better, and I found my favorite spot a floor above Santa. During the half-hour or so that I sketched, I witnessed at least three small children, one at a time, being left on Santa’s lap to howl in terror. Meanwhile, their moms and the photographer are left to cajole and coax a smile out of the kids, who want nothing to do with the whole traumatic incident. As I sketched this scene (a composite of several kids and parents), I decided that the true hero was not Santa but the photographer, who worked hard trying to get those kids to smile. (Usually the kids just screamed more loudly and frantically.)

I stopped for a sandwich at Il Fornaio, which has plenty of open seating on the main floor of Pacific Place. As much as I detest shopping malls during the holidays (and all year, for that matter), I actually enjoy being in Pacific Place and downtown Seattle in general at Christmastime. Being downtown brings back childhood memories of shopping with my mom and seeing the fanciful window displays at (now long gone) Frederick & Nelson and the Bon Marche. Of course, Pacific Place wasn’t around when I was a kid, but it’s still a pleasant place to sketch people and enjoy the festive decorations.

12/11/15 ink, colored pencils

12/11/15 ink, colored pencil

12/11/15 ink, colored pencil

With about 20 minutes before my bus was due, I wanted to find one more thing to sketch. As I walked out of Pacific Place, the “one more thing” stood just outside the door, playing an accordion. I later learned that the accordionist was Tristan Kline, a young man “playing off my student loans, one tune at a time,” according to his sign and business card. Just after I finished sketching him, he took off his hat and replaced it with a chicken mask! (My timing was off on that one!)

12/11/15 ink, colored pencil

"A New Hope," designed by 4D Architects and Sheraton chef Jay Sardeson

"The Empire Strikes Back," designed by
 MBAKS & Gelotte Hommas and Jay Sardeson

"Revenge of the Sith," designed by CallisonRTL &
Hargis and chef Lee Baldyga

Wish I could have sketched him with the chicken mask!

Northgate Santa

11/29/12 Platinum Sepia ink, Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook

Santa and his elf photographer weren’t very busy. With nothing else to do, Santa was happy to pose for me once he noticed that I was sketching him. I had a feeling he’d eventually get a customer, so I left some space on his knee. Sure enough, this little tyke showed up. His parents and Santa all anticipated that his trepidation could turn into a full-on bawl, so they knew they had to act quickly. So did I. Fortunately, the tyke was more patient than we expected, and mom and dad were determined to get a smile, so I had enough time to sketch him.

 

Note that Santa autographed the sketch!

 

(A technical note: The only sketchbook I had with me was my new Stillman & Birn Epsilon, which I knew wouldn’t be ideal with watercolors, but how could I sketch Santa without adding some color? So I took a chance with it. Although I don’t really care for the toothless surface as a backdrop to watercolor, the paper nonetheless held up well to the washes with only minor buckling – no worse than what I usually get with my Gamma sketchbook.)

Bellevue Square Santa a Bust

12/5/13 Diamine Macassar ink, Sailor pen, Zig markers, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

My personal goal for the holiday season is to sketch more Santas than I did last year, which was two. I rarely get over to the Eastside because of the toll on the 520 bridge, but with my goal in the back of my mind, I suggested to Greg that we cross the lake to visit the Bellevue Arts Museum (where, by the way, there are several exhibitions on view that I highly recommend, especially “Telling Tales: Narrative Works by Nate Steigenga, Cappy Thompson, and Anna Torma”). My ulterior motive was that Bellevue Square is just across the street – an easy location for another Santa, I figured.

Unlike at Northgate, where Santa is easily visible and accessible by anyone walking by, Bellevue Square’s Santa is sequestered away in a huge, fancy house. We walked all around it twice, trying to find a way to either peek through the windows or between the many “elves” herding children around, but I could barely glimpse Santa’s back, and only from an awkward location. What a bust!

To make the bridge toll worthwhile, I got a sketch of Greg during lunch at Blue C Sushi. He’s not Santa, but I don’t often have a head-on view of a willing model using chopsticks, so I can’t complain.

Busy Santa at Pacific Place

12/18/16 ink, water-soluble colored pencils

When thinking of relaxing places to go a week before Christmas, Pacific Place isn’t what springs to mind – unless you’re sketching instead of shopping. Without a shopping list, Pacific Place seemed downright mellow this morning when I met up with Urban Sketchers Seattle.

It wasn’t as heavily decorated as in previous years, which was a disappointment to some, but I had a different goal. I know I said I wasn’t going in for self-competitive Santa sketching this year, but Pacific Place’s St. Nick is a favorite because of the uncommon viewpoint. The retail facility’s open structure makes its multiple levels visible from other floors, so I’ve always had fun sketching Santa from the floor above (you can see my sketches from last year, 2014 and 2012). I was going to continue my own tradition and sketch him again from the same place, but then I spotted a different location – directly overhead. I couldn’t hear what they discussed, but I saw at least one well-prepared boy present Santa with a written list of things he wants.

12/18/16 inks, colored pencil

A little later I walked to the opposite side of the mall to catch the long line of people waiting for Santa. As I sketched, I thought about the tough job of his hard-working helpers. They have to coax and cajole young kids to smile or distract them long enough to snap a photo before they realize they’re sitting in the lap of some bearded stranger. Still, I saw lots of babies and toddlers take their turns bawling.

The bird’s eye view I had of Santa put me in the mood to continue taking advantage of all the railings I could lean over to sketch the views below. First, I looked down over café diners on the first floor. Then I walked around to the other side to look down over the penguin designed by Philadelphia-based sculptor Leo Sewell. Made entirely of found metal pieces such as old gears and signs, the penguin has become Pacific Place’s icon. (That’s Jane sketching from the steps nearby.)

I was on my way to the sketchbook throw-down when I saw that the lunchtime entertainment was local jazz pianist Deems Tsutakawa, familiar from the many years he has performed at Seattle’s Obon festival. I only had five minutes, but that was all I needed.

12/18/16 inks, colored pencils

12/18/16 ink, colored pencil

12/18/16 brush pen, colored pencil

First Santa

11/29/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

I haven’t been out on Black Friday to shop in years, possibly decades, but I’ve found that it can be fun to be out in the hustle-bustle if I’m doing something other than shopping. This afternoon I went to Northgate Mall with a sole purpose: to sketch Santa. I had so much fun sketching Santa last year that I captured him twice – first at Northgate and then at Pacific Place. But surely I see more than two Santas in any given season; I’ve challenged myself to top that record this year.

Today might be the busiest day of the year for retailers, but Santa looked bored. I passed by him twice without any clients. On my third pass, a reluctant little girl was on his lap, refusing to smile, so I grabbed my opportunity. As has happened each time I’ve sketched Santa, his client was long gone before I finished sketching her, and then Santa went on a break.

11/29/13 Diamine Eclipse ink, Sailor pen,
Canson XL

On my way out of the mall, a young busker named Sarah Emerson was raising money for a trip to Ghana next summer to work in an orphanage. It felt good to know that the only money I spent at the mall today was the dollar I put in her bowl.

Busy Santa at Northgate

12/16/16 brush pen, water-soluble colored pencils

After sketching a record-breaking number of Santas last year – four! Count ‘em – four! – I decided not to participate in self-competitive Santa sketching this year. I knew it would be difficult to top my personal best, so it would be better to quit while I was ahead.

That said, with only a week until Christmas and no Santa sketches, I was missing some holiday spirit. Despite knowing that the mall would be mobbed, I hopped into my car yesterday afternoon and headed for Northgate.

Traffic on the streets and in the mall was heavy, but the real crowd was right in front of Santa’s station. A couple of years ago I sketched him on a slow morning, and he didn’t have any customers. Last year he was a little busier, but not like yesterday – he had a line of kids waiting.

By “he,” I mean the same Santa – this was the third year I’ve sketched this truly jolly man at Northgate. At less busy times, I’ve shown him my sketches, so he remembered me, nodding in acknowledgment when he caught my eye.

It’s always a good idea to show Santa I still believe in him – at least while I’m sketching.

New Reindeer But Same Santa

12/14/18 More kids were present than I've represented here! Way more.

Last year’s post about USk Seattle’s annual holiday visit to Swansons Nursery was entitled “Reindeer, Santa and Mobs at Swansons,” and I probably could have used the same this year. Luckily, the weather was all the way up in the high 40s and dry, so sketching at the reindeer pen and out in the plant displays was reasonably comfortable.

Before the crowds got thick, I started with the reindeer. Instead of Blitzen as in previous years, Dasher’s pen mate was Comet (I suppose even reindeer get some time off during the holidays). Every year I have difficulty scaling their antlers accurately – they seem so unbelievably large! I learned that it takes eight months to grow them each year.

12/14/18 Dasher or Comet?

12/14/18 Santa and a bald pink head.

My next stop was Santa (the same one as in previous years). When I arrived, a tiny infant had been placed in Santa’s arms, and for a few minutes while the older brother finished bawling, I had a good view of them. Suddenly the brother apparently gained courage and joined them, and mom sat on the chair’s arm, completely blocking my view. Whew! That was close.

12/14/18 Swansons cafe

By then I was hungry, so I went to the café for a snack. Chatting with Robin while scarfing down a scone, I hastily sketched the jungle of exotic greenery in the remaining time before the throwdown.

Sketching at Swansons with my USk “family” is a holiday tradition I cherish (we’ve been going every year since 2012).

Third Santa: Score!

12/17/15 inks, colored pencils

Despite getting a late start on the season, this afternoon I scored my third Santa!

After meeting friends for lunch at Southcenter, I knew I should be getting back to Seattle pronto if I wanted to beat rush-hour traffic (which starts about mid-afternoon), but I couldn’t resist a quick dash through the mall to find Santa. Little brother started bawling and jumped off the big guy’s lap almost immediately. His older sister, however, was happy to have Santa to herself, reciting a long list of gift ideas.

I paid for that sketch with a long, crawling commute, but Santa was worth it.

There’s still a week yet before Christmas . . . last year by this time, I had scored three Santas, too. Think I can go for a record-breaking fourth?

Pacific Place and Nordstrom Santa

12/7/18 Nordstrom Santa

On a cold (29 F) but sunny morning, Nilda and Natalie met me at Pacific Place for some holiday sketching. As a warm-up (literally and figuratively), I walked up to the second floor, where I had a good view of the café below. (You can see blue-haired Natalie sketching near the center.)

Unknown to us, a big renovation was going on, and I was disappointed that Santa was no longer on the second-floor thoroughfare as he has been in previous years. I’ve enjoyed sketching him several times from the floor above looking straight down over his head or from the front. This year he was sequestered in a retail shop right next to a gift-wrapping service, so I didn’t have a good view without standing in the way.

Undeterred, I marched across the street to Nordstrom, where Santa sits inside a big show window. His voice is amplified so that people on the sidewalk can hear him chatting with the kids and ho-ho-ho-ing. I stood right next to the window, where I had a great profile view of Santa and his clients. I would have liked to sketch all the toys and other decorations, but 15 minutes in the cold was all that I could stand.

12/7/18 Pacific Place main floor

Reindeer, Santa and Mobs at Swansons

12/22/17 Blitzen dozing

A Friday USk tradition since 2012, Swansons Nursery during the holidays is one of our favorite outings. We usually don’t schedule it this late in the season, however, and it was significantly more crowded than usual.

First, I had to fight my way through swarms of kids to get to Blitzen and Dasher, the reindeer who visit the store annually. 

12/22/17 Dasher and Blitzen

Then I had to fight my way through swarms of parents to get to Santa, with lots of Santa’s helpers blocking my view. (Even with my limited view of him, Santa remembered me from the time I sketched him a couple of years ago.) At least I didn’t have to fight to get to Pippin, Alex’s new puppy, who stayed relatively still chewing his leash.

12/22/17 obstructed Santa

12/22/17 Alex's new puppy, Pippin

12/22/17 banana tree

After all that, I had to break for lunch, and then I had my usual 15 minutes left before the throwdown. In Swansons’ crowded café, I had a mostly unobstructed view of the enormous banana tree growing by the koi pond. 

Despite the mobs, Swansons was still a fun way to end the year with Urban Sketchers Seattle!

Kate and Antonella

L.A., Part 1: Santa Monica Pier and Fisherman’s Village

 

4/11/25 Light rail ride and Santa Monica Pier

For the first time since pre-COVID, I was in Los Angeles for a few days visiting family. You’ve seen all the pastries and sushi I’ve rewarded myself with for small achievements since I started my downsizing project last July. However, I had been thinking all along that I would have an ultimate reward and celebration when I was finally done, and I decided this trip would be it. Finishing up the last of my checklist the day before I flew, I felt quite satisfied, indeed – downright triumphant, in fact! (Yes, a post is coming up with my final photos.)

While the focus of the visit was spending time with family members, I still jammed a lot of sketching into the fun, even though I was with them most of the time. Since none of them are sketchers, you might be asking, “How did you manage to sketch so much while you were with them?” The answer is: speed. A post I wrote all the way back in 2013 indicates that I had learned that secret even when I was still a beginner. Being able to sketch quickly (and therefore having lower expectations about the results) is a skill that has served me well my entire sketching life.

Wildlife near Fisherman's Village

First up on my L.A. tour was the historic Santa Monica Pier and Fisherman’s Village, both on the oceanfront (the last time I sketched at the Pier was in 2016 with USk LA). Although both areas are urban, the presence of the ocean gave me opportunities to sketch more wildlife than I would have expected.

Mandatory selfie at the historic Santa Monica Pier sign

View from Santa Monica Pier