Cafe Fiora

It has been a long time since I have had a chance to sketch for fun.  Today on the way back from a meeting I stopped by Cafe Fiora for lunch and Coffee.  I had never been there before.  It looked like a cool place from the outside and it was really cool from the inside.  It is a place with a lot of atmosphere and character.
One of the participants of the workshop asked me if I draw people or buildings first.  I told them I draw the space first because I can't draw people very well.  So you will always see lines through the people as you see here in this sketch.  The lines disappear visually after you apply watercolor....at least they become less apparent.
I have gotten a bit tight with my sketches and really wanted to just be loose.  So I took the following advice.  "Be loose, be free and be brave!"  Don't worry just sketch......  I liked what I got.

Pike Place Market Sketchcrawl

Sunday was the last day of our Sketching Workshop.  Our group joined forces with Seattle Urban Sketchers.  I think we had between 45-50 sketchers at the Market.  It was wonderful seeing so many sketchers out there sketching and it felt like a celebration when we gathered at the end of the day.  Here is my sketch of Pike Place Market and a link to photos of the group.

Line to Color workshops

Frank Ching and I just finished two workshops. A one day workshop in Mount Vernon and a two day workshop in Seattle. Both were great experiences. Between the two workshops we had people from all parts of Washington state, Vancouver, B.C., Denver, Wyoming, Oregon, Illinois and California. We immediately realized after the first workshop in Mount Vernon that we had too much material to cover effectively in a day, and even a 2 day workshop would not be enough time, but it was too late to change it. We've learned a lot from both experiences and will continue to fine tune it. Thanks to Frank for teaching this with me. It was great and I always learn a lot from him. Thanks to all the participants, both were great groups to work with. Mount Vernon participants' comments were so helpful in modifying the workshop for Seattle. I am already thinking of how we revise this workshop as I read the comments from the Seattle participants.

Spring is finally here!

It has been a long winter.  I think spring has finally sprung.  When we get to this time of year with hot days and beautiful views, we have to grab the outdoor opportunities. This is a view from the hill surrounding Portage Bay.  It is a view I pass through with my friend as we take our walks.  We stop at the top of the hill and look back to catch our breaths.  But this astounding view takes our breath away in a different sense.  How lucky are we to have this in our back yard!  While I was sketching two little girls stopped by to watch me sketch and paint.  They were from the neighborhood.  I told them they were so lucky to be able to see this view every day!

Montlake Cut

Uncropped view

Practicing Values

Practicing value painting.  This was based on a photo Jackie Helfgott posted of a view she saw while running.  The clouds were amazing and the light and shadows created a dramatic scene.  So I used that photo for a composition to practice values and clouds.  The clouds aren't quite right and it is a bit overworked.  I might have to try it again.

Arboretum View

I took the quick sketch I did yesterday as a composition and repainted it with a pencil line sketch under neath so values and color were the only thing to define object, space and light.   This was done with a limited palette of colors.  Greens were mixed from quin gold, aureolin yellow, pthalo blue, ultramarine blue and cobalt teal. Also used quin sienna with ultramarine blue to create browns and shadows.  Quin rose mixed with ultramarine and cobalt teal to get purple and lavendar colors.

Walking in the Arboretum

Along the trail through the Arboretum in Montlake.

After a rainy weekend the sun decided to come out (of course during the workweek).  I took some time to take a short walk in the arboretum today, brought my chair, sketchbook, ink pen and water....then looked for the watercolors and realized I forgot it.  So I jotted down notes where areas were dark, light  or mid tones and painted this from memory once I got home.