Sketching in Mexico

I got a break from Seattle's winter weather over Thanksgiving. It is funny how a certain place seems to call for different materials, colors, even a pared down style.

Fast Sketches at the Mall

I am getting behind posting sketches, so here are a couple of the ones I did when the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at Westlake Center a couple weeks ago. The food court there has some great views of downtown Seattle, but it is also a great place to practice sketching people.

Click on the Flickr link in the sidebar to see the rest of the sketches from this trip.

Top Pot Donuts on Alki!

One of my favorite things is settling into a cafe, pulling out my sketchbook, and unobtrusively drawing some of the characters around me.

California Coast in Pen and Ink

This is one of the last sketches I did on our trip to Yosemite in September. We were on our way home, driving along the northern California coast. The view was from a pull-off on route 1, north of Fort Bragg.

Stone House Cafe in Rainier Beach

This is from a USk meetup a couple of weeks ago at the stone house cafe in Rainier Beach, south of Seattle. Argh - my perspective is all wonky. But, when I went around to look at the building from the front, I realized that the porch roof is actually not level. It tilts from right to left for drainage. I probably got that right and then distorted everything under the porch trying to make it all line up. Trust your eyes!

Marker Sketch of Yosemite Sequoia

I also did some marker sketches in my Strathmore Toned Journal with the Faber Castell brush markers during our roadtrip. The markers work very well on this paper, although I am still working out the technique. It is quite different from sketching on white paper. I need to think about adding some white to each drawing, or they seem dull.

Sketches from Yosemite National Park

I could take a little more time with my sketches, once we reached Yosemite NP. Yosemite Falls - and all of the other waterfalls in the park - were dry. I am not sure how much this was due to California's drought, as many of the falls and rivers might have been dry in September anyway. They were all still fun to sketch, and I found myself carrying my black marker and pad everywhere.

Road Trip Sketching

Theses are a few sketches I did during a recent roadtrip from Seattle to Yosemite and back north along the coast of California and Oregon. Whew! These were all done from the passenger seat as the scenery whizzed by at 60mph or so (that is whizzing in an '85 VW Vanagon). Lots more on Flickr! I became a bit addicted to these fast and minimal sketches.

This drawing is done with Faber Castell Pitt Markers in a Strathmore Gray Toned hardbound journal. I have been using the markers for a while now, and I have used Strathmore Tan Toned journals before, too. I like both very much. But this is the first time using the two together, and I have found it quite a challenge to get a good scan of these drawings. The transparent marker colors look quite vibrant on the gray paper, but turn dull in the scanned images. I have resorted to tweaking the Contrast and Hue Saturation in paint.net to get them to appear anything like the original.

I have not gotten out much to sketch lately. Luckily, Plumpernickel is always willing to model.

Sketches from a weekend camping trip at Lake Takhlakh. These sketches were done with a water soluble marker on lightweight paper.

Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi in Volunteer Park, Seattle.

More Sketches from Olympic National Park

I had the most fun with the sketch of Madison Falls. Started with my lightest marker and kept building up darker and darker layers.

Pen and Ink Sketches from Olympic National Park

A camping trip in Olympic National Park turned up a some "urban" sketching opportunities. A few years ago the hydro-electric dams on the Elwha river were removed in hopes of restoring the former salmon runs on the river. I did these quick ink sketches of the dam and the area that used to be Lake Mills. The remains of the dam at Lake Mills on the Elwha River have been turned into observation decks from which you can see the whole area of the former reservoir being restored.

Shoreline Steetview

Drawing from one of the steep steets in Shoreline, looking out toward Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

A Papercut Version

Papercut, about 4x6 inches. This is version 1, I think. Among other things, I did not notice until I looked at the scanned image that the right edge is uneven. Also, I want to work in the bicycle from the original sketch and maybe add some foreground shadows.

Georgetown Garden Tour with Urban Sketchers

Tree Sketches

I have more or less got it down to 3 markers. Now if I could just convince myself to leave the rest of them at home!

Cedars at Alki Elementary playfields by Sue Heston

I walked down through Schmitz Park to Alki this morning and caught some great shadows to sketch.

Path through Schmitz Park, Sue Heston

Kabota Gardens with Seattle USk

Kubota Gardens, Heart Bridge (I think!) by Sue Heston

Another place I had never been until the Seattle Urban Sketchers met there last week. The gardens are beautiful, free, and accessible by Metro bus (106) from downtown Seattle (they are actually in Renton). They seem completely un-urban, yet they are practically next door to Boeing Field.

Another Sketch from Spray Park

Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park

Spray Park has to be one of the most popular hikes in Mount Rainier National Park, if not all of Washington State. And it's popularity is pretty well justified by the beauty of the park. I knocked out three sketches on Sunday just drawing what I could see from the spot where we ate lunch.

This one is also done with Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens. About 6-8 greens and blues made a portable and lightweight sketch kit. While finishing this one up, I discovered that it is possible to quickly blot some of the color before it dries on the paper. That helped me to get the lighter values in the foreground. The clouds got finished up at home.

Sketches from Mount Rainier National Park

Some sketches from a recent hike to Spray Park in Rainier National Park. I am still using the Pitt Artists' Pens in my Stillman & Birn Gamma sketchbook and finding new ways to sketch with them.

Spray Park sketch

View of Mother Mountain from Spray Park

Practice Sketches

Practice sketches by Sue Heston

An hour on a sunny day drawing people at Alki Beach.

Sketching at Fisherman's Terminal

On Friday, I joined the Seattle Urban Sketchers at Fisherman's Terminal in Ballard. It is a great place to sketch. Boats of every size and shape fill the marina, from recreational cruisers to giant commercial fishing boats. 

the Kittiwake

Viking Magic and her dock neighbor

I was using three Faber Castell Pitt Artist's Pens in pale, medium and dark green. I found them good for sketching values quickly, and I like that they did not bleed through my sketchbook pages at all.

Sketching the Sketchers