Ad Hoc Sketch-out at Jason Lee Middle School Hot Shop 4-28-17

I have an invitation to sketch in the 'hot shop' at Jason Lee Middle School, located at the intersection of 6th Ave. and Sprague in Tacoma.

I will be going tomorrow (Fri. 4/28).

My invitation is for anytime between the hours of 3-9 pm. I was thinking of going around 4 pm. However, I am flexible as to time if anyone wants to come and sketch with me.

If you're interested, do let me know (fbuckmasATixDOTnetcomDOTcom)  no later than noon Friday and I will send you any other details I gather..and perhaps we can negotiate a time ideal for all. The staff is sending me a detailed map of the location on the school premises.

The glass blowing studio program is part of Hilltop Artists.

May's Sketch Outings.

1st Saturday May 6th Freighthouse Square

2501 East D Street, Tacoma WA 98421 

Meet inside the Food Court at 10:00 AM

Freighthouse Square is a block away from the Tacoma Dome, it fronts E. 25th St at the corner of E. D Street.

Ample free parking is right across E. 25th St, but as they are building the new Amtrak terminal on one end of the long Freight-house building, East 25th Street is closed to one lane and cars must enter the Tacoma Dome Station garage from Puyallup Avenue (on the Greyhound station side of the multi-level garage).

Lunch can be had a multiple of cafes and restaurants inside the Food Court after our 12:30 PM sketch share and photo.

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Second Thursday May 11:  

The Gazebo in Uptown Shopping Center

4600 Point Fosdick NW, Gig Harbor, Wa 98335.

Meet at 10 AM . Great public spaces, people watching and hopefully lots of flowers.  Many dining choices.

Second exit after bridge on rt 16, left at top of ramp onto Olympic, 2nd light left onto Pt Fosdick.  Left into center at Marshalls.

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Third Wednesday May 17 Lakewold Gardens

12317 Gravelly Lake Dr.SW, Lakewood, WA 

Meet at Garden Entrance at 10 AM
Free parking on site - see directions
$9. adults $7. seniors

There is a Red Robin 1.4 miles from Lakewold Gardens - 10311 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW

Walk the paths of Lakewold Gardens and you will be strolling through a period in garden history when classic European design came face to face with America's emerging landscape masters. It was a time when the South Sound's Lakes District was first being discovered and when Tacoma's new prominent families would introduce the world to their unique vision of a cultured country estate. With help from Thomas D. Church, a leading landscape architect of the 20th century, Eulalie Wagner made this garden her personal life project and generously left it for all to enjoy.

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Fourth Thursday in Gig Harbor area:

temporarily suspended; returning in summer

UW Library Tacoma Campus Sketch Outing

Today nine USk Tacoma sketchers braved the rain to sketch mostly indoors at the UW Tacoma Campus Library. The main attraction is the reading room that once housed the Snoqualmie Falls Power company's transformers. The classic brick building with high arched windows and infrastructure once used to move heavy equipment was the main attraction for our group.

Our smiling group photo

What a great place to sketch indoors

Talk about lost to the moment and to the detail

Today, as I was hunting for something in my old sketchbooks, I realized that I had been an urban sketcher long before I knew such a term existed. These posted drawings are from 2006 to 2009. I found it interesting to see the inclusion, even back then, of descriptions of what was happening at that moment in time. Due to the fact that the act of drawing makes one observe more closely their surroundings in order to capture them on paper, I found that looking at these sketches took me immediately back - with great clarity  - to those individual snippets of my life. What a fun trip down memory lane. I have to say that one of the things I like about the urban sketching group is the visual diaries we all are creating. We all will be reminded of our individual experiences when we look back at our work and will have stories to tell about them. May we all be able to add many more visual stories to our collections and share them online for others to enjoy, too.

Happy sketching!

Pat 

Growing a community of Port Townsend Urban Sketchers one workshop at a time

Two of Port Townsend Urban Sketcher group attended the April 8 and 9 Travel Journal Sketch Work Shop at the Port Townsend School of the Arts helping to inspired and encourage the rest to join this ever growing community of dedicated Urban Sketchers. Saturday and Sunday were windy, cold and often rainy causing us to seek shelter and sketching opportunities indoors. Saturday afternoon we sketched in the Fort Worden Commons building which has a wonderful lodge like feeling with a large stone fire place in the main lobby sitting area as well as an adjoining cafe. Sunday morning we met at Velocity Coffee at the Northwest Maritime Center and sketched in and around the boat shop until a little after noon.

This was my 3rd workshop at the Port Townsend School of the Arts, the first two-day workshop and the first time a seven year old attended one of my classes. At the PTSA Open House a few weeks earlier I met Eric and his young daughter Anora who along with her father wanted to sign up for the upcoming Travel Journal Sketch Workshop. I admit I was caught off guard, not sure I would be able to keep her interest for a full two days. Boy, was I mistaken! Anora was as intent and engaged as anyone in the class, inspiring us all with her sketches and her composure. Here are Anoras sketches from the NW Maritime Center and the Fort Worden Commons. Anora and Eric plan to attend USk Port Townsend sketch outings.

A Sunny Bothell Day

It was 54ºF, and sunny. So, I went to the Sammamish River Park, took out my scooter and helmet, strapped on my Darsie Beck bag, and hunted for sketchables.

This was drawn on my iPhone and the Procreate app.

The bent mossy tree caught my eye and the reflections on the the creek running along the Sammamish River. While I was doing this, a kid on a stroller was having a tantrum. I was surprised at my reaction to her high-pitched squeals. You see, though I need hearing aid to understand conversations, I am sensitive to noise, especially high-pitched sounds. But this time, maybe because I was drawing nature, as opposed to say, a city scene, I heard the squeals like hearing ducks quacking and geese honking. Just part of nature symphony.

Anyway - here's the first sketch.

 

Then I mounted my scooter and after a couple of yards, I saw this blue heron. It just stood there, unmoving, a willing model! So I dismounted and sketched this beauty. It waited for me to finish the portrait, and it slowly walked away as I finished the rest of the scene.

Then my wife texted me that she's sick and coming home. So I scooted back to my car, and drove back home. That's where I saw our neighbor's daughter on their driveway selling her origami creations. So I went over, bought one of $1.75, and sketched her, then gave the sketch to her. 

So that's my sketching life this Tuesday of the Holy Week.

Sketch on!

Antique Center

We  met yesterday for our regular 1st Saturday outing together at the Tacoma Antique Center in Fife. I carpooled down with 2 other sketchers and it rained the entire way.

The antique shop was completely overwhelming with choice of subject matter.  One of our number is a local historian and told me that this location used to be a famous dance hall that attracted all the best bands of the time, including Tommy Dorsey.

I went out to my car to get my stool and noticed the rain has stopped.  I immediately walked to the far other end of the strip mall in order to sketch the Poodle Dog restaurant sign.  I'd really wanted to be able to sketch it and had hoped for better weather.  The rain held off long enough for me to get it done!



The Poodle Dog opened at this location in 1933.  It originally had only 2 tables and a lunch counter with 15 stools.

I went back inside and wandered for a while.  I finally decided to sketch some of the "antique" (?) bunnies.

Sharing sketches.

the group

A few more photos:  https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2017-0401-Tacoma-Antique-Center/