Thursday, April 23, 2015

World Famous Bob's Java Jive

Took a stroll down memory lane or rather a drive down South Tacoma Way and came upon Bob's Java Jive, once condemned but still standing. Using micro pens and watercolor pencils I was able to create this particular scene.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

First Post and Connections - Washington State History Museum and Seymour Conservatory

Good fortune visited me the day I discovered Urban Sketchers - Tacoma. Please bear with me on this, my first, somewhat lengthy post. My art endeavors in past years have been tied to the connection between experience and place. Having moved here two years ago, I was, of course, enthralled with the majestic and expansive natural world which bumps right up against and embraces our equally fascinating urban areas. On our first visit to the Pacific Northwest, I was especially drawn to Tacoma. I loved its artistic legacy and sensibilities, its fierce independence. For me, the City of Tacoma is authentic. Tacoma feels real.

The recent visit to the Washington State History Museum was almost overwhelming in its abundance of sketching opportunities. After wandering around in awe for a while, I settled on two primary subjects. 

The first is a sketch of the wedding dress of the wife of fellow Urban Sketcher, Peter Darling. He and his wife married in 1968 and the very stylish wedding outfit is now on display in the museum. The sketch does not reflect the beautiful creamy white of the dress and pillbox hat with veil, but does show the modern style.  It was a delight to show Peter my sketch at our sharing session.


I was also immediately drawn to the printing press which was used to print off the Freemen's Labor Journal during the early 20th century.  I studied printing in college and used to work in a printing company in San Francisco that used very similar platen press.  



The visit to the Seymour Conservatory in Wright Park also presented connections with personal import. I am drawn to these magical "fairy" glass houses, my term for them when a young girl.  It was a glorious, if cool, day and I set myself the task of painting the beautiful building en plein air. Though the image is small, I knew at some point it was shifting from being a sketch to a small painting.  At what point does this occur?  Does it matter?  


I am so thrilled to be a part of this friendly, talented, encouraging, and fun group. Everyone has made me very welcome. As Bonnie Raitt, Madonna and  Linda Rondstadt have all sung: "It feels like home." I hope you will join us.  

Sunday, April 19, 2015

First Saturday in May Sketch-Outing

On May 2, 2015 we will be meeting for our sketch-outing at Freight House Square ( 2501 E D St, Tacoma, WA 98421)...to sketch inside OR possibly outside in the surrounding neighborhood.


10 AM--Meet inside Freight House Square Food Court at tables located between the Mocha Stop and Wendy's Vietnamese Restaurant.

12:30 PM: Share sketches and join the group photo at a location to be announced on site.

1:00 PM: Coffee/tea, snack or lunch at the Olive Branch Cafe and Tea Room at the west end of Freight House Square. Email Frances to be on the reservation list for the restaurant. (fbuckmas AT ix DOT netcom DOT com....note that the email is set to prevent misuse of the address). The lunch gathering may also be time for a sketch or two, as the restaurant is filled with irresistible items, begging to be sketched.

NEW: AN AFTERNOON SKETCHING OPPORTUNITY: After lunch, some may wish to sketch more. If that is your plan, you may join with others for a 4 pm sharing of your after lunch sketches, at a table near the Sasquatch (watch for the #12 t-shirt) at the west end of the Food Court.

PARKING: There are two (free) parking garages across the street from Freight House Square. The western garage is entered on Puyallup Ave. The eastern garage is entered from E. 25th.

Freight House Square is a circa-1909 building. It used to be the westernmost freight terminus for the Milwaukee Railroad, and has been a Tacoma landmark for over 100 years. Inside is very sketch-able, and  nearby you'll find an industrial area, an old wooden trestle bridge, the Tacoma Dome, the LeMay Car Museum, Alfred's Cafe (black and white checkerboard coffee bar), and a lot of interesting views near the bridge towards Johnny's Dock and the Glass Museum.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory


Great place to sketch and as with other places recently, I will return to this destination and its abundance of organic subject matter. They've got some massive and very hungry looking koi in the water pond, I could have sworn I was being sized up as a mid-morning snack. Do they do amber alerts for missing sketchers?

Pen and ink with watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor sketch book.

Conservatory sketch outing

The Urban Sketchers Tacoma met at the WW Seymour Botanical Conservatory today for the second of our monthly Wednesday outings.  I was early and it was a nice day, so I started with a sketch outside the building.



Then inside to get warmer.  Neither sculpture of this figure with the tongue was labelled, so I don't know its significance.





Back outside for one last sketch.  The tree had lots of pinkish white blooms.



The group:



More photos here:

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Indoors at Outdoor World

After failing to check the open hours of my intended Tacoma destination, I reworked my plan.....As I drove down, I noted the sign for Bass Pro shops.  I'd thought I might eventually scope it out as a possible sketching venue. Since my intended venue was closed,  I decided today is that day.
For those who are anti-hunting, it might not be a place to sketch.  However, there are lots of other things to sketch besides the mounts!  It's a huge and impressive environment. 

All photos here.

As I entered, I just stopped in the 3 story lobby. There were chairs so I sat to sketch the opposite wall.  As I wrote in my book, within the range of vision as I moved my head side to side and up and down, there were 62 trophies mounted on the walls.

Stillman & Birn Zeta hardbound (5.25x8.5) 180#/270gsm; Platinum Carbon Black in a Platinum Cool Pen; Daniel Smith Watercolors

Monday, April 13, 2015

An unlikely medium for Urban Sketching

"Exit" 5x7 scratchboard Nichols Center, Fox Island
   There is a place I go to on Fox Island to work on Wednesdays. In the spring I notice there is a particular drama/beauty about the way the sun streams in through the window and down the stairs. I am so enamored with this scene that I have rendered it many times... in pencil, on a shellac etching plate (printmaking) and now in scratchboard, my new reacquainted medium. The cool thing is if you make a mistake you can just blacken it back in with permanent mark which seems so counter intuitive.

Friday, April 10, 2015

View from Dungeness Spit

With the weather changing fast I got this sketch of the olympics from the Dungeness Spit done in watercolor pencil and ink.


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Ad Hoc outing - Post card Exchange

Urban Sketchers Tacoma Special Event:  "Post card exchange"
May 1, 7-9pm, The Arts and Crafts Press, 2515B South Tacoma Way

This is not a sketch outing.  But it is a chance to show your sketches and to help out Historic Tacoma.  You can get the details
on the Ad hoc page. Essentially, you sketch buildings in Tacoma....postcard size or reduced to that size, to submit.

For more information .

Leroy

The paper I'd ordered came in at the UW bookstore in Tacoma.  I drove down to pick it up. I now have 20 sheets of 22x30 Strathmore Series 500 Mixed Media paper with which to make some sketchbooks.

Since it was such a beautiful morning, I brought my sketch kit.  I sat in the sun on the patio across from the Washington History Museum to again sketch the classic view.



I used my reciprocal benefit from MOHAI to visit the Tacoma Museum of Art.  I saw the George O'Keefe exhibit.  No photos and I didn't do any sketches.  Photos not allowed but pencil sketching was.

I did sketch Leroy, the Big Pup by Scott Fife of Seattle. It's made of  cardboard, carpenter's glue, and drywall screws. The 10-foot-tall Pup has become an icon of Tacoma Art Museum. He even has a LinkedIn page.   "Languages:  Dog"  Ha!



And he's been made into a plush dog, available in the Museum shop.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Tacoma Urban Sketchers Gathering - Washington State History Museum


A most enjoyable gathering at the Washington State History Museum. It was my first visit here and I certainly didn't see all the exhibits, yes, there is a sequel in the works. Kudos to the museum staff, they were welcoming, friendly, and helpful (not something I experience at all museums).

The fish butchering machine on the right is much more complex than represented. One of the benefits of the two and half hour format is that it often keeps me from 'biting off more than I can chew' when it comes to what is included in a sketch. I've gone back to putting a border around a lot of sketches in this book and the boxed date is blatantly stolen from Pat Graham's work. Pen and ink with a watercolor wash in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

 Post-sketching lunch was had at the Tacoma Art Museum Cafe, I recommend the coconut black bean soup. Good food, good conversation, looking forward to the next gathering.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Irony on the scene

Gazebos 7 x 9 watercolor

   I have walked past Wild Birds Unlimited frequently and always turn my head with a smile to see what's past the fence between the  deeper depths of the two adjourning properties- a courtyard of garden toys! When one goes into the area there is a walkway, that splits the surplus of outdoor items, which leads to the little store in back. Perhaps it's the windchimes, maybe it's the birdbaths but flocks of sparrows have taken refuge in the cracks and crevices of the brick wall which creates a bluster of activity at dawn and dusk- adding to the charm of the place.
The lap warmer
   So last week I found myself with a little time and thought to visit this place for a little watercolor sketching and found three small gazebos sitting on a bench with the sun hitting it just right (my sketch doesn't do it justice). So I sat on the edge of the sidewalk, began pulling out my supplies when something caught my eye, a black and white cat playfully watching the water swirl in a birdbath.
   It wasn't 2 minutes I was sitting on the cold concrete before the cat helped himself into my lap. He demanded petting, dug his claws into my jeans and wriggled onto his back while swatting at my hand as it swished the paint brush into the water... just like when I'm at home working in my studio. I set boundaries, had a warmer lap and got a fair (at best) study at Wild Birds Unlimited- not a bad day.