Wright Park

Sketch done at Wright Park in Tacoma. Ink and watercolor wash in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Port of Tacoma - Les Davis Pier

Participated in the June get together at Les Davis Pier.

Les Davis became famous for inventing the 'Herring Dodger' (an attachment to your fishing line that makes your lure dance) in the early '30s.

Pen, ink and wash in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Seattle Sketching - Chinese Gardens

Freighthouse Square - Tacoma

Going loose at the monthly Tacoma Urban Sketchers Gathering. Construction site at Freighthouse Square, man did it feel good to sketch outside in the sunshine.

Pen, ink, and watercolor wash in a Moleskine watercolor book.

Brown's Point Light House Park-Tacoma, Washington

We had an amazing turn-out for a holiday weekend!

It was fun gathering in the Brown's Point Shopping Center parking lot until everyone arrived at 10. There was lots of greeting, putting on of name tags, chatting, laughing, networking....and, on the sidelines, Charlie Glassie showed me some of the many, many watercolors piled in the trunk of his car, some of them paintings from his recent show in Port Townsend. I must admit, I very pushily changed this from a private sharing to a public showing by taking some of Charlie's paintings from him, and showing them around the group. Lots of oohs and ah-s!

19 sketchers from Urban Sketchers-Tacoma basked in a sunshine-y blue-sky day..enjoying (and sketching) views of the Brown's Point Park light house, the Light House Keeper's Cottage,  the water, fishermen, and the park grounds. At 12:30 we shared our sketches around a picnic table. Lots of affirmations floating around in the air...as usual! We're all on our own individual journey and we're journeying together. What a great feeling of understanding and support.

Peter Darling let us know about and arranged this opportunity for us, and was chief-in-charge of Gate-Keeping, so we all could park in the enclosed parking area of the grounds. Kate Buike took our group photo, as she often does, arranging the group so all of us fit in the shot...setting her camera timer..and making the mad dash to join the front row of the group before the camera clicked. It's a special art to do that and still look relaxed in the group picture!

After the sketch-out, many of us joined together for a lunch at the brand new Hilltop Indian Restaurant in the Brown's Point shopping center. Both the food and the conversation were wonderful. Several of us told the owner we were planning to return with our 'significant others.'

Skansie Net Shed - Gig Harbor, Washington

Getting to Gig Harbor that morning was very quick and easy, something I thought would be worse with the golf tournament gearing up. Going home was a different story, one should avoid #16/I-5 from the Narrows to downtown Tacoma until the road construction is done.

My thanks to Feather for opening the Net Shed, what a cool place and there certainly was plenty of marine and other subjects in the area to sketch for some time.

Pen and ink, with watercolor (on one) in a watercolor Moleskine sketchbook.

Sketchers Gathering at Freighthouse Square

Freighthouse Square is experiencing a healthy rejuvenation which is nice to see and fun to experience. The dental office located across the street north of the square, is a most unique entrance to a dental office that leads you into the back corner of a warehouse building. The skeleton of an old dental chair wrapped in Christmas lights, resides on top of the office entrance.

Pen and ink with watercolor in a watercolor Moleskine.

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.