Seattle Central Library

 

9/19/21 Seattle Central Library from 4th & Spring

Thankfully, Saturday’s squall dried up in time for yesterday’s USk Seattle outing at the Central public library, but the wind remained harsh. Even though it was 60 degrees, I bundled up like it was full-on winter and took on the library’s crazy angles. It was fun to see several other sketchers bravely taking it on, too!

Library from 5th & Madison

Seattle Central Library is a formidable architectural beast. I’ve sketched inside the library many times, but I’ve sketched its exterior only one other time back in 2017 from the Fourth and Madison corner. This time I walked one block north to Fourth and Spring (top of page). Knowing that I probably wouldn’t get all those angles right, I had only one goal: To scale it proportionally on my sketchbook page. I think I did, but my 2017 sketch is livelier.

In the mood for more torture, I walked up the hill to Fifth and Madison to sketch the library again, this time at thumbnail size. Although this sketch is wonkier, I like it more than the first try.

Tsutakawa fountain

With 20 minutes left until the throwdown, I looked around for something I could finish in that time: George Tsutakawa’s “Fountain of Wisdom” in front of the library’s Fourth Avenue entrance. The wind was so strong that the water was spraying sideways as much as flowing down!

As I write this on late Sunday afternoon, the pouring rain is back, this time punctuated by thunder. USk Seattle leads a charmed life.

Seattle Central Library

1/10/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Fabriano Studio hot press 140 lb. paper

Nearly two years ago, the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at the Seattle Public Library’s Central downtown location to sketch and later attend Gabi’s presentation there. I had not yet worked up the courage to sketch with the group, especially not in a building as intimidating as the Central library. But I went to Gabi’s talk (he was promoting his then-new book, The Art of Urban Sketching), learned more about the urban sketching movement, and met a few sketchers who encouraged me to join them. I finally did get up the courage to sketch with them the following month – and of course, as they say, the rest is history.

1/10/14 Diamine Onyx Black and Grey inks, watercolor, Fabriano Studio hot press 

It felt like a personal completion of some sort to have finally sketched at the downtown library today with the Friday sketchers. I was no less intimidated today by the amazing architecture, vast windows and unusual interior features than I was two years ago. But the big difference between then and now is that now I accept that I’ll probably always be intimidated by such formidable sketching challenges – and I just sketch anyway.

With this what-the-heck attitude, I first went up to Level 10, the highest public level, and sketched the reading room and that incredible glass ceiling. Later I went down to the Level 3 “Living Room” to sketch more patrons seated in the ridiculously uncomfortable chairs. (They are sort of like modernized Adirondack chairs, and you know how comfortable they are. I guess the library wants to invite people to read – but not for too long.) My single favorite feature of the Central library is the chartreuse escalators, which you can see in both sketches.

1/10/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Fabriano Studio

This third sketch is of the outside of the library, which I sketched from Vovito Espresso across the street facing Spring Street’s steep incline between Fourth and Fifth avenues, waiting for the library to open. It was a good intro sketch to those basket-woven windows.

Central Library, Inside and Out

 

2/25/26 Seattle Central Library, 10th floor

Seattle Central Library is a handy location for winter USk outings: Spectacular (and challenging) floor-to-ceiling windows that offer good light to most interior spaces, plentiful seating and tables on every floor, and an onsite coffee shop. If weather permits, we also have the super-glassy, geometrically crazy library building itself.

Last Wednesday I decided to warm up with an interior sketch from the 10^th floor (top of post). Although I was too lazy to draw the whole building that I could see through the diagonally girded windows, I was intrigued by the transparent pyramid on top (or maybe behind it?). I have not yet been able to find the name of the building.

After a lunch break, the afternoon warmed up a bit, so I braved the cold to find an angle on the library from Fifth and Madison (below). This is the same corner I attempted back in 2021, and it was no less challenging this time.

Library from the corner of 5th and Madison

Back inside with only a short time before the throwdown, I warmed up with coffee and sketched a row of library patrons seated next to those crazily girded windows again. Although perspective on the building exterior was daunting, I enjoyed the much less formidable perspective challenge of seated, mostly still people.

Whew... how comforting to sketch perspective on people instead of architecture!

A 360-Degree View of Seattle Central Library

12/16/18 My 90 degrees of a 360-degree collaborative sketch at the downtown Seattle library.

A couple of weeks ago Roy DeLeon, Gabi Campanario and Dave Morris made a 360-degree collaborative sketch, with each taking 120 degrees of a café view. As soon as I saw Roy’s post in the USk Seattle Facebook group, I wanted to take part in a 360, too! I talked Sue Heston, Kathleen Keckler and Ellie Doughty into doing it with me at the Seattle Central Library, where USk Seattle met on Sunday for our last outing of the year.

After exploring the library for a while to find an appropriate view, the four of us settled on the third floor’s “Living Room” space, which has lots of open seating, including an ideal quadrant of chairs for us. We each took a 90-degree view of the large space surrounded by the iconic diamond-gridded windows of the Koolhaas/Prince-Ramus-designed building. Well, surrounded except on the 90 degrees that I took, which was both a blessing and a curse. I remember how daunting those windows were when I attempted them several years ago, so missing them was a blessing. On the other hand, the view I got was mostly a boring concrete wall and a couple of bookshelves that presented a significant perspective challenge. Curses! Whose big idea was this, anyway!

Once I got started, though, the challenge became fun, and lining up the four sketches in sequence at the throwdown made it all the more fun. I’d like to try it again sometime!

Close-up of my panorama (with the library's cool passport stamp).

The assembled 360: Left, Eleanor; right, Tina. . . 

. . . left, Kathleen; right, Sue

90 degrees each!

A good turnout at the library on a cold, wet afternoon!

Central Library is Cozy Before the Storm

 

11/22/24 Seattle Central Library

Can this possibly be comfortable?

The downtown Central Library was one of the first outings USk Seattle had after the pandemic lockdown opened up in 2021. That September day was warm enough that I stayed outdoors to take on the library’s daunting architecture. Last Friday, the weather wasn’t quite so hospitable. With the wind picking up for another “bomb cyclone” expected that afternoon, most sketchers opted for cozy indoor sketching, myself included.

While I waited for other sketchers outside the library entrance, I began with a small sketch of the Henry Moore sculpture “Vertebrae” across the street at the Safeco building (above, upper left). The rest of my page spread (below) includes vignettes of library patrons studying, reading, browsing and sleeping. For sketchers who like to sketch people, the library is a treasure trove of human studies.

After an enjoyable lunch with Allan (no sketch of my sandwich; I must have been hungry), Roy and I continued on to Gelatiamo for affogato. It was good to get fortified for my light rail ride and breezy walk home from the station.

11/22/24 Gelatiamo, Third & Union

Organic and Metallic

7/22/17 water-soluble colored pencils, inks, Tombow marker

As much as I think of myself as an “urban” sketcher, I admit that I’m not often inspired by the modern glass and steel skyscrapers that fill so much of Seattle and many other cities. But on Tuesday I’ll be on my way to Chicago for the 8th International Urban Sketchers Symposium, so I decided I’d better get some practice. When USk Seattle gathered yesterday around the downtown central library, it was a good opportunity to see if I had any dormant modern architecture mojo.

Across the street from the library in front of Safeco Plaza stands (reclines?) an organic bronze sculpture by Henry Moore. Called Vertebrae, it’s composed of three pieces, and the Seattle version (there are others) sits in a shallow pool of water. Crouching near the ground to find a way to get both the sculpture and a not-too-tall building in the same composition, I found an interesting contrast between Vertebrae’s organic curves and the W Hotel topped by a glass pyramid. I even managed to squeeze in a bit of the central library’s multi-faceted side.

7/22/17 ink, colored pencils

With only a half-hour left before the throwdown, I had to choose a simpler composition next. I walked back across the street and sketched Vertebrae again, this time showing all three parts (plus Mel sketching on the edge of it).

For a sunny Saturday, our USk turnout was relatively small, but we had some competition: It’s apparently one of the biggest weekends of the summer for neighborhood parades, Seafair events, Bite of Seattle, music festivals and other attractions, not to mention the usual sports. No wonder downtown Seattle streets seemed so empty – everyone was somewhere else.

 

Urban Sketchers Seattle inside the Central Library

Process note: The first sketch was enough outside my comfort zone that I decided it was a good time to heed Melanie Reim’s (and many other instructors’) advice to make a thumbnail first (see below left, done in a Field Notes notebook). That gave me confidence to proceed in my usual sketchbook. Despite using the thumbnail as my guide, I must have marked off my measurement points wrong, because the W Hotel behind the sculpture got way out of proportion (below right). Fortunately, I realized it after wasting only about 10 minutes, so I abandoned it and started over. This time my finished sketch followed the thumbnail closely (and captured the building’s proportions relatively accurately).

thumbnail

First attempt -- abandoned early, thank goodness.

Whew. Even with the best of intentions and planning, things can go awry so easily. But going awry is not a problem – as long as I notice soon enough and have the good sense to start over. I’m not sure my modern architecture mojo is awake yet, but at least I gave it a nudge.

Uninspired at Seattle Central Library

12/13/15 ink, colored pencils

I can’t blame the location.

Nearly two years ago when the Friday sketchers met at the Seattle Public Library’s Central branch, I was inspired by the spectacular architecture and floor-to-ceiling windows cut at strange angles. So this morning I was looking forward to sketching there again with the full Urban Sketchers Seattle group. I spent the first half hour or more roaming from floor to floor (which, in itself, is a challenge, because some floors can be accessed from the long, chartreuse escalators while others can be accessed only by elevator), but I just couldn’t seem to find a spot that called to me.

12/13/15 ink, colored pencil

Eventually I found an intriguing straight-down view over a railing to sketch a couple of guys using computers on the floor below. After that, I made a half-hearted sketch of a man viewing his tablet (with some of those crazy windows behind him), but I had to accept that I just wasn’t inspired there today.

It was still fun to see everyone else’s sketches, and street parking is free on Sundays, so it wasn’t a total loss. A few years ago when I felt uninspired at a sketch outing, I used to be struck by the fear that it was all over – I’d never feel inspired again. I’m relieved that that stage didn’t last long, and I know that some days are just like that. As far as I’m concerned, an uninspired day of sketching is still better than any day of not sketching. 

Cozy and Cushy at Madison Centre

 

1/9/26 Smith Tower from Madison Centre

A new venue for USk Seattle, Madison Centre turned out to be one of our most comfy! Plenty of plush seating, floor-to-ceiling natural light, security people in sight but none concerned about what we were doing – it was an ideal winter location. And what’s to sketch there? Fantastic window views of some of downtown Seattle’s nicer buildings, a plant-covered wall, a double-sided fireplace, and an intriguing spiral staircase – just to name a few.

Library window washers

I started with a sketch of my beloved Smith Tower through a window frame and part of that staircase in the foreground. (Note the pink tower! A bold choice that I’m sure I would otherwise never have chosen were it not in my latest wacky palette!)

Mid-sketch, I turned around to get a sip of water from my bag, when I spotted window washers dangling from the very top of the Central Library across the street! Yikes, watching people work up high gives me the jitters, so this one was quick (at left).

When I had first checked out this location months ago for USk potential, the spiraling central staircase had caught my eye immediately. Toward the end of the outing, I finally screwed up my courage to take on a part of that spiral. It was a fun challenge to capture the matte sheen on the black steps in contrast with the shiny, metallic handrails (below).

Madison Centre's stairway

It was great to see a solid weekday turnout for Madison Centre, which will stay on our winter venue list!

“My” Library is Back!

 

12/2/24 Green Lake Branch Library

Seattle Public Library’s Green Lake Branch had been closed for nearly two years for major renovations. Although I didn’t mind the longer walk to the Northgate Branch, I still missed “my” library (it’s a lovely Carnegie building that I’ve sketched many times). After some delays, it finally reopened in October, but I missed the grand reopening event. A book on my hold list became available this week, so I used that as an opportunity to see the “new” library.

The biggest improvements are invisible, such as the seismic retrofit and installation of an electric HVAC system that includes air conditioning. I was happy and relieved to see that historic features and original architectural components were preserved.

In fact, they did such a good job of retaining the original building that it was hard to find something to sketch. However, I noticed right away that the main desk where the librarians work had been moved from the entryway to a more central part of the floor. Noting the new tables and chairs in the main reading room, I stood facing the new desk and modern light fixture above it.

Shakespeare at the Library

3/26/16 ink, colored pencils

The Seattle Public Library’s central branch is hosting First Folio: the Book that Gave Us Shakespeare in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. It was interesting to see such old books on exhibit containing the Bard’s work. But truth be told, the real reason Natalie and I met there this morning was to sketch the performers – both scheduled and ad hoc – who entertained patrons on Community Day.

The event turned out to be a fun exercise in sketching people at different levels of activity. When we first arrived, a couple of actors in striped shirts and mis-matched shoes were putting on an impromptu performance that involved a lot of pratfalls and running back and forth across the floor. I couldn’t manage more than stick men (below)!

2/26/16 Zebra brush pen, colored pencils

Next an interactive band called Recess Monkey (above) took the stage and invited all the children in the room to join them in dancing. They were not much easier to sketch than the actors, but at least the musicians were tethered to their mic cords. After lunch we went upstairs where more performances were scheduled, and I had a more relaxed time sketching storyteller Eva Abrams (below).

A highlight of my day was taking my first trip on the light rail train from the brand new University of Washington Station. I resisted sketching the station today (that’s planned for next week) and instead enjoyed my fastest ride into downtown – less than 10 minutes! (And isn’t it pathetic that I can only now, in the year 2016, gloat about that.)

3/26/16 ink, colored pencils

My first light rail ride from the new UW Station!