Silver day

“Silver” due to the hockey results, but then if Canada had lost to the US it might have caused border issues…

Once again along the Burke-Gilman to Fremont and back to Gasworks, where I watched a tugboat tug a tugboat…

No kites on kite hill since there’s no wind…

But a half-dozen skateboarders grinding along the concrete and filming a video.

The world has gone mad

But it couldn’t have picked a better day for it.  First it was Matthew’s Beach and the homeboys in their inflatable fishing boat with detachable motor driving right up onto the beach.

Then it was down to Gasworks which was totally packed with people, including a gaggle of ballerinas doing some sort of photo shoot.  Yes Gasworks and Lake Union are quite picturesque but it’s a bit odd to see an arabesque in front of the barbed-wire fence that surrounds a decommissioned gas refinery.

Next comes the police action – on the water.  Two police boats peel out of the dock (can you “peel out” when you’re on water?) and head out toward Lake Washington.  Was there a kayak pileup somewhere?

Then there’s the Sherlock Holmes Bicycle festival.  No idea what it’s actually called, but there was a whole bunch of folks on old-time bikes and dressed the part.  One guy had a bike from the Danish Postal Department – he’d bought it in a yard sale in Ballard.

The high school students talking about tequila samples in Costco in Mexico just blended in with the dozens of kites.

When the hippies started playing guitar and tambourines and singing out of tune, that was my cue to head home…

Early summer in Seattle

Groundhog be damned, it's summer in Seattle. The last few days have been absolutely wonderful, so I've been out enjoying them (it won't last - so soak it up while it's there!). There were my usual rides along the Burke-Gilman trail (nicest piece of pavement in all of Seattle) to Matthews Beach, Fremont, and Gasworks.

There was also a trip to Golden Gardens for a low-ish tide, and there were a number of kiteboarders out there. I noticed that one of the guys was not wearing gloves - he must have way better circulation than I do!

This afternoon after my class I went for a walk along Eastlake and down by the p-patch - things are blooming already!

The groundhog was wrong

We’ve been having a lovely spring over here. The east coast is getting pummeled in snow, but Seattle is beginning to bloom! It’s been great biking weather and looks like it’s going to be great allergy weather pretty soon (you can have your flowers and sneeze at them too).

 
I have of course been riding, and when a drawbridge goes up you have to sketch quickly!

Beaches are fabulous in the winter.

There were two gals swimming in wetsuits - they must be preparing for a triathalon.  If the air is 50, then how cold is Lake Washington??

Ding Dongs and Destiny

My friend Deborah had an opening at the Bauhaus here in Seattle, and being the hostess that she is, she served Ding Dongs and Twinkies.  I don’t think either of them are actual food products, but Twinkies are really horrible.  I seem to remember enjoying them more as a kid, but maybe I just like the fact that they were injected with foam.

We had a hard time figuring out the expiration date on the Twinkies:  All it said was “Feb 19.”  What year?  Even milk has a year.  We think it means February 2019 (I mean why would you need an exact day?).  Wikipedia claims they only last a week or so, but we think that may have been written by Hostess.

Check out Deborah’s work: http://deborahkscott.com/

Chilly but sunny

Yesterday was sunny but chilly, and while I can’t hold a candle to the great Jerry Waese, I had to draw my bike at the beach. 

I always seem to end up at Gasworks, but that’s just because it’s so cool (and it’s one of the few places where the restrooms are open year-round!).

This time I also drew the view looking toward the parking lot:

The Sun

That crazy guy The Sun made an appearance this afternoon.  I caught him on the neighbor's house:

Bicycles and brush pens

Friday was another beautiful day, and I did some more sketching from Gasworks park.  It’s nice being able to draw in the winter without your fingers freezing!  One of the crew boats went by while I was doing the other sketch and I quickly turned the page and sketched them in. 

When I got home from the ride, the mountains were looking pretty stellar, so I thought I’d experiment with a blue brush pen to catch the crinkly edges, and it ended up looking more hairy than rocky – ah well.

Beautiful day for a ride

What a gorgeous day!  I went for a nice ride up to Matthews Beach, then back down to Gasworks.  I climbed into the lifeguard chair for this sketch, and it triggered my vertigo, but I said, hell, I climbed up here so I’m doing the sketch!

Then it was back to Gasworks.  This is looking east toward my place, and it's amazing the colors in the buildings.  There was a Frisbee game going on, and no, that's not Sasquatch playing - my first figure sketch without warming up is always a bit, well, awful. :)

Looking south toward downtown everything had a blue cast - the sun was off to the right and the clouds were starting to come in.  It was amazing how much the reflection in the water was as big a part of the image as the buildings themselves.

A gorgeous day - it's always nice to be able to sketch in the winter without your fingers freezing!