Washington, DC, Part 1: Family

 

3/28/26 National Mall, Washington, DC. A kite-flying festival was one of many events associated with the annual cherry blossom festival.

With members scattered on both coasts, my family tries to reunite annually. It helps to have an event to gather around (we especially like eclipses). This year the event was a taiko festival associated with Washington, DC,’s annual cherry blossom festival. Since I had never visited the DC area before, it was also an opportunity to sketch sights that were all new to me.

On stage in the shadow of the Washington Monument, the all-afternoon Sakura Taiko Festival was organized and led by my nephew-in-law, Mark Rooney. A challenging factor was that the event was the same day and location as the No Kings march and the peak of the cherry blossom bloom around the Tidal Basin. Lots and lots of people everywhere! Another challenge was that the temperature was in the low 40s with bitter wind most of the day. 

The taiko drumming could be heard from a long distance, adding a festive flair to other general cherry blossom festival goings-on all around. (Since I had opportunities to sketch the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms twice, I’ll put those sketches in a separate post.)

In addition to instructor and leader Mark, his wife Kristen and my other niece (and Kristen’s cousin) Alix are also taiko performers. The two cousins practice on opposites sides of the country, so it was especially fun to see Kristen and Alix perform together on the same stage for the first time. 

The highlight for my family was a performance by Kristen and Mark that was a tribute to my mom (Kristen’s grandmother). Called "Waiting for Spring," the performance included my mother’s haiku poetry. I got a little teary thinking about how proud and happy she would have been to see that performance (and I’d like to think she did from somewhere).

On another day, we visited the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism together. The memorial honors Japanese Americans who served in the US military during World War II. The 100th infantry battalion and 442nd regimental combat team, fighting in Europe, became the most highly decorated army unit for its size and length of service in American military history. (Ironically, many of these servicemen had family members who were incarcerated by the US government while they served). It also acknowledges the injustice of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent being incarcerated for the war’s duration.

Ten markers surrounding the memorial indicate the names of the 10 concentration camps and the number of citizens who were held at each. My parents and both brothers were incarcerated first at Tule Lake and then Minidoka. Since the two markers happened to be next to each other, this spot was ideal for a family portrait.

A highlight for me was collaborating with my grand-niece Kaila at the memorial. Now three-and-a-half, Kaila had taken interest as I sketched the memorial’s central crane sculpture, and I invited her to participate.

3/30/26 Collaborative work by Kaila and Tina

3 1/2-year-old Kaila hard at work

Finally, we all got to meet two furry members of the Koyama family, Roxie and Mugicha (whom I had sketched previously from a photo).

4/1/26 Mugicha and Roxie

Blustery Evergreen Washelli

 

10/20/24 Evergreen Washelli cemetery

I've sketched the Doughboy monument nearly
every time I've visited the cemetery. I decided on
an abbreviated composition this time.

Totally unsheltered Evergreen Washelli cemetery is an iffy proposition in late October when the weather can be all over the place, but it seemed like a fun idea right before Halloween. USk Seattle decided to chance it. With high winds blowing all day and a forecast of rain by 3 p.m., I was afraid I might be the only one waiting at the American Doughboy monument, but seven other hardcore sketchers showed up!

The weather was definitely all over the place: Despite the harsh wind and eventual rain, the temperature was in the balmy mid-60s – unusually warm for October. My sketchbooks were hard to hang onto for most of these sketches. When I got tired of being shoved around by the wind, I drove to my favorite tree at this cemetery and sketched from inside my mobile studio: A gnarly yet elegant old sakura that I’ve sketched at least a couple of times before, including in April when the last of its petals were still clinging. This time I used ArtGraf water-soluble graphite, and I was reminded of how much I miss graphite! (I’m looking forward to Pencilvember.)

Cherry tree

We decided to meet for our throwdown a little earlier than scheduled to avoid the oncoming rain. As I pulled out of the cemetery for home, the first drops of rain started falling. Whew!

The windblown look!

Evolution of a Comic Diary

 

2/5/24 Most of my early sketch journal/comic diary entries were simple observations I had made that day, usually on my walks.

Late last year I quietly (that is, by not sharing the results on social media) restarted the sketch journal habit that I had previously let fall to the wayside several times. Keeping it up daily, I reported on my progress in January.

3/6/24 I still find it especially challenging to imagine and 
then draw myself in various scenarios.

Around the same time, Drewscape’s YouTube videos and his comic book approach to urban sketching opened my mind to telling stories with multiple small scenes on a page. As often happens on the YouTube rabbit trail, I then became intrigued by the comic diaries of Drewscape and others. In fact, I revisited my own exploration of Lynda Barry’s books on comic diaries a few years ago. With all of these fascinating methods and ideas for telling personal, visual stories crashing around in my brain, my daily sketch journal habit began to morph organically (without my pushing consciously in one direction or the other). To reinforce the habit and encourage more organic morphing, I challenged myself (again, quietly) to make a comic diary entry daily for 30 days beginning April 1.

Since I’m more than halfway through the month, it’s a good time to share some of my progress and process (which actually interest me more than whatever results I may end up with).

As with other self-challenges, my objective is to avoid naval-gazing (which I do enough of in my written journal) and stick as much as possible to sensory-based observations and related thoughts. Although internal monologs are unavoidable when one considers the diary format, which by definition is writing for oneself, I try to minimize that.

4/2/24 More observations

With travel planned for the first week of April, I was afraid I’d have difficulty keeping up with my self-challenge while I was away from my usual routines. Instead, travel turned out to be an ideal opportunity for a comic diary. With ongoing family activities, I couldn’t always sketch when I wanted to or spend as much time as I might if I were alone, but I made mental notes to sketch from memory later. The small sketches were easy to make during moments of downtime. I also used my photos as memory prompts and sometimes for reference.

4/8/24 A comic diary page I made from photo references and memory.

As you can see from the examples shown in this post, some entries are nothing more than crudely illustrated notations similar to my original pandemic scribble journal. They hardly resemble “comics,” even the single-panel type. Although I’ve made some attempts at using a theme (“Things I Missed/Didn’t Miss While Traveling,” below), I still have difficulty with developing a story arc visually. (As a lifelong writer, I find it ironic and frustrating that it’s much easier for me to do that with words.) That’s my goal for the rest of the month.

4/11/24 A "theme" comic from imagination

The closest I’ve come to any kind of “narrative” is the page I made after I met a friend for brunch in West Seattle’s Admiral District (below). You already saw the sketches I made on location the same day; it was an additional challenge not to duplicate what I had already sketched from life. The comic diary page (made from memory and photos) has a behind-the-scenes feeling to it – editorializing about the sketches from life. I didn’t plan to do this, but it was another organic outcome: Making the urban sketches first helped to give narrative to the diary page.

4/14/24 Based on memory and photo references, this comic diary page
is "behind-the-scenes" of the urban sketches made earlier that day.

I recently had a V-8 moment which would probably amuse others: For most of my urban sketching life (which began in 2011), I’ve been very strict with myself about keeping the sketches I make from direct observation “pure.” For example, I would never start a sketch on location, then finish it at home by embellishing it with imaginative details or polishing it up by using photo references. Unlike many urban sketchers, I don’t even add color later. It’s just my personal policy: A sketch begun onsite is finished onsite.

In the same vein, making a comic diary that includes sketches done from life alongside those made from memory or imagination was unacceptable to me. I seemed to have an unconscious desire to protect the Urban Sketchers philosophy from getting muddied (as an admin for USk Seattle, I have enough work trying to explain that philosophy to new members regularly). To avoid potential confusion, I simply kept memory/imagination sketches segregated from urban sketches.

Suddenly one day, it hit me: This is my diary, for cryin’ out loud! Most pages will not be seen by others, let alone judged for mixing urban sketches with imaginative ones. Heck, I could put sketches made from photo references right there on the same page as an urban sketch! Lightning will not strike me down!

4/13/24 The statue of James W. Washington, The Brothers and the magnolia blossom were sketched from life. The donut and poke bowl were sketched from memory -- and all of it on the same page! Lightning did not strike me!

You’re laughing, I know. I’m sure most people never think twice about mixing sketches made from a variety of sources. But after being a dyed-in-the-wool urban sketcher exclusively for most of my sketching life, evolution comes slowly.

As for materials, I am staying simple: a brush pen or other black marker in whatever is my current daily-carry Uglybook sketchbook.

Using one Uglybook as a chronological sketchbook/comic diary
makes it easy to complete in two or three weeks.

Speaking of that, I am keeping up my personal pledge to completely fill each Uglybook before switching to a new color. Although I sometimes miss the fun of jumping from color to color, the much larger benefit is that I am maintaining chronological continuity in that one book.

I still use my daily-carry A6 Hahnemühle sketchbook when I want to use color, and I also occasionally use an A5 Hahnemühle when I want a larger page, especially with watercolor or chunky Derwent Inktense Blocks. With multiple sketchbooks, I can’t keep all sketches in chronological order, but I enjoy filling the Uglybook every day with something – a sketch on location; a sketch from memory, imagination or photo reference; a comic diary entry. (Another benefit is that I complete each 48-page Uglybook much faster now – in only two or three weeks.) It’s something I’ve always wanted to do for a long time but couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. That makes it especially satisfying now.

Chief Seattle

6/12/19 bust of Chief Seattle

It’s been several years since I sketched the bronze bust of Chief Seattle in Pioneer Square. His image appears in various forms and places in the city, including a modern one that simultaneously portrays George Washington’s image.

Wandering on the Seattle University campus last week, I came upon this bust of the Suquamish chief and city namesake that I didn’t know about. Fully in shade as I sketched, I still felt the heat creeping up on me on the day that would be the beginning of our mercifully brief heatwave.

Victoria, Part 1: Urban Sketching with Gabi

4/14/19 BC Legislative Assembly Building

Although I have been to Victoria, British Columbia, several times, all those visits had been before I began sketching. A few months ago, Gabi Campanario announced that he was offering urban sketching workshops in the charming Canadian city. Recalling the historic architecture and lovely harbor, I jumped at the opportunity to visit again – this time with sketchbook in hand.

4/12/19 Gabi and I met up on the Clipper ferry to Victoria. Here
he is finishing up his presentation.

Co-sponsored by Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, the workshop weekend began last Friday afternoon with a free presentation by Gabi about urban sketching. Although I’ve heard Gabi give similar talks at other workshops I’ve taken with him, I always find it helpful to be reminded of his tips, basic practices and principles to get the most out of urban sketching. For example, here’s the order of priority that Gabi places on the elements of a sketch:

1. Composition (more than 60 percent of the success of a sketch depends on a strong composition)
2. Tones and values (“squint hard to see them”)
3. Color (might not be necessary if other elements are strong)

Other words of wisdom:

• For the sake of speed, keep drawings small (he favors pocket-size sketchbooks; workshop participants received a small Stillman & Birn free) and stay on your feet (you’re less likely to spend a long time on a single sketch if you don’t get too comfy)
• “Keep your eye on your subject, not on your paper.”
• “Don’t be intimidated by all the gear. . . all you need is a pencil or a ballpoint pen.” Keep materials simple.
•  “My sketchbook is a laboratory, not a portfolio.” Gabi encouraged us to experiment and take chances with our sketches instead of trying to make them perfect and precious.
• “I have nothing against erasers.”

4/12/19 My notes while Gabi gave his presentation.

4/12/19 St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

After Gabi’s presentation, members of Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, “a group of Greater Victoria residents dedicated to improving our region’s shared places,” took participants on a short walk around the neighborhood to experience public urban spaces. They encouraged us to use all our senses to observe without judging. Since urban sketchers naturally observe their surroundings closely as part of sketching, the group’s values – “we focus on what happens in ‘the public realm’” – complement urban sketching well.

Although making a sketch was not necessarily part of the brief exercise, sketching is the easiest way for me to efficiently observe and focus on any space, so I chose to make a quick one (at left) of the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church that I could see in the distance. (Little did I know then that it would be a dry run for the next day’s workshop!)

Gabi offered three workshops over two days: Architecture, People, and Nature. I opted for Architecture, which continues to be my biggest challenge. Saturday dawned wet, cold and windy (much colder than Seattle only a hundred miles south as the crow flies). We were originally supposed to sketch the stately and formidable BC Legislative Assembly Building, but without nearby shelter, it was untenable. Gabi decided to change the workshop location to the same church I had hastily sketched the day before, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, because a building with a deep overhang was conveniently available directly across the street. The overhang kept us all dry and somewhat sheltered (though not warm! We were all frozen by the end of the workshop). All weekend as he had to change plans according to the weather, Gabi noted that being flexible is an important part of urban sketching!

 

Gabi demo's composition options.

I look cold, don't I?

Thumbnail of the composition I chose.

The street light fixtures had an unusual curved shape that was different from the ones I’m used to sketching back home, so I wanted to include them in my sketch. As we talked about composition, Gabi noted that it might be a better choice to move slightly down the sidewalk so that the light poles wouldn’t be planted firmly in front of the church. Although the rain had slowed by then, I admit that I was reluctant to leave the overhang’s shelter. I stayed put and made my thumbnail. When I told him I had chosen to stick with the original composition, he said that it was still possible to make a successful sketch if the poles were given prominence so that their lines didn’t get mushed together with the lines of the church.

My final sketch is below. In retrospect, I think that Gabi’s idea of moving down the street would have made a stronger composition. But I tried to use color (on the church) and heavier lines on the light poles to distinguish them from the church.

 

4/13/19 St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Gabi wrapped up the architecture workshop inside a nearby coffee shop so that we could warm up and share our sketches. He demo’d watercolor techniques and showed us his favorite sketch materials there.

 

Architecture workshop participants

The next day, the rain had stopped, but the temperature was still not amenable. Instead of following the Nature workshop students to a nearby park as I had planned, I decided to explore the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel. Thinking I would find an interesting interior to sketch there, I was delighted to find something much better: a fantastic view of the Legislative Assembly Building that we had to forego the previous day! And a cozy, comfy couch to sketch it from, to boot (sketch at top of page)!

Normally I would fill the entire composition with a huge building like this, but as I scoped out the scene, I heeded Gabi’s suggestion during the workshop: “Leave extra room in front of the building so people can ‘walk’ into your sketch as if they were walking into the real building.” A bus, a vendor’s umbrella and pedestrians in the foreground seemed like a handy way to give the composition the space that Gabi had advised.

The park in front of the legislative building was the location for the final event of the weekend – a sketchcrawl open to the public. Since I had already sketched the domed building from the comfort of the Empress, everything else seemed like icing. I chose the statue of Queen Victoria prominently placed in the park (you can also see a tiny version of her in my sketch at the top of the page).

 

4/14/19 Queen Victoria's statue

Despite the rain and cold, I had a very enjoyable weekend meeting sketchers from Victoria, Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia. I learned new tips to apply to future sketches, and as always, I was inspired by Gabi’s enthusiasm for and commitment to urban sketching.

Cathy sketching a totem.

Gabi sketching the legislative building.

Sketchers at Queen Victoria's feet.

Final sketchcrawl participants

Chilly Blue Sky at Volunteer Park

11/25/16 brush pen

Blue sky! After several continuous days of rain, it was good to see the sun yesterday morning at Volunteer Park. Several hardy Friday sketchers took advantage of it to sketch outdoors, but despite wearing two layers of Polartec, I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. I did, however, have a great view of William Henry Seward from my parking spot. Nostalgically I remembered the last time I had sketched the monument more than four years ago on a warm August day – warm enough that I had to seek shade instead of my car’s heater.

After that I ducked inside Seattle Asian Art Museum, which will be closing soon for major expansion and restoration. First I went to the rear of the museum where I knew the tall windows look out on some of Volunteer Park’s old trees – a good opportunity for a value study. Then I walked through the sculptures in the museum’s permanent collection and found one of a Buddhist monk “at the moment of enlightenment,” whose expression was nothing less than joyful. Or so I thought. The placard, however, said, “it is a moment of intense mental struggle and often associated with actual physical pain.” Well, he looked happy to me.

11/25/16 water-soluble colored pencils

By the time of the sketchbook throw-down, it was warm enough to stand outdoors for the few minutes it took me to capture one of the museum’s stone camels, who also looked happy to be in the sun.

11/25/16 graphite, water-soluble graphite

11/25/16 brush pen

Happy 7th Anniversary, USk Seattle!

6/26/16 inks, watercolor, Zig marker, water-soluble
colored pencils

Just a couple of weeks shy of our seventh anniversary, Urban Sketchers Seattle met this morning at Fishermen’s Terminal, the site of the group’s very first sketch outing in 2009. I, myself, would not join USk for another three years, but in many ways I feel like I’ve been part of it all along, watching it grow in both members and enthusiasm.

Starting up shortly after Gabi Campanario founded our international parent group Urban Sketchers, USk Seattle was one of the first regional chapters to form. We’ve been meeting on monthly Sundays ever since, and in 2012 we began meeting additionally twice a month on Fridays.

Last year at the terminal, I focused on the boats, but it had been a couple of years since I sketched the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial, a tribute to the people who have died at sea as part of the region’s fishing industry. With that in mind, I remembered to bring along my Field Notes Byline reporter’s notebook, whose long, skinny format is just right for tall, skinny memorials. In the small red Field Notes is a detail of one of the many fish at the foot of the sculpture.

6/26/16 inks, colored pencils

6/26/16 brush pen, white Gelly Roll

As I walked along the pier, thinking I would sketch one of the gazillions of boats, what should I find? One of my favorite subjects, a bright yellow crane! And just beneath it was Frank Ching, whom I knew wouldn’t be there for too long, so I sketched him first (top of page).

On this sunny morning when it felt like summer had finally returned again (after three weeks of a wet and chilly June-uary), we were out at Fishermen’s Terminal in nearly record-breaking numbers – someone counted 38! (I think our record is nearly 50 on an equally beautiful day at Pike Place Market a couple of summers ago.) Happy seventh anniversary, USk Seattle! I’m proud and honored to be a member!

Photo by Kate Buike

Japan, Part 3: Ueno Park

11/11/15 A South American flute player

Similar to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and San Diego’s Balboa Park, Tokyo’s Ueno Park is practically a city within a city. Housing several museums, temples, shrines, a zoo and even a university campus, Ueno Park was at the top of our list of places to visit.

First of all, I found buskers! While I didn’t generally see musicians or other performers on Tokyo’s downtown sidewalks as I often do in Seattle, Ueno Park is obviously a popular place for buskers. I especially had fun making a series of gesture sketches of an acrobat who did various handstands and energetic dances.

When I wanted a more static subject, I chose a statue of Imperial Prince Komatsunomiya Akihito (1846 – 1903) mounted on his steed.

11/11/15 An accordion player

Finally toward the end of the day, we explored the National Museum of Nature and Science, an enormous collection of natural history exhibits with an amazingly low ticket price (around US $6). Greg noted that many of the exhibits in the museum’s older section didn’t have English interpretations, so it was sometimes hard to understand the exhibits. I stayed in the newer half of the museum, which seemed to have sufficient information in English, but who had time to read? I barely had time to sketch one dinosaur skeleton! We closed the place regretting that we hadn’t allowed more time for this fantastic museum – I could have spent an entire day sketching nothing but dinosaurs.

One reason both Greg and I enjoyed the day so much was that the spacious park gave moms with toddlers in strollers, buskers, workers on their lunch breaks and even sketchers and photographers plenty of space to play without feeling crowded. Although we weren’t feeling particularly oppressed by Tokyo’s crowds, I imagine that the city’s residents use Ueno Park as a much-needed respite from the daily crush of people. The park gave us a slice of Tokyo life away from the typical tourist attractions, and some of my most memorable sketching moments occurred there.

11/11/15 Here's a larger view of the accordion player and her audience (at left is
Greg taking her photo).

11/11/15 An acrobat/dancer performing in the park.

11/11/15 Statue of the Imperial Prince

11/11/15 I only had about 20 minutes to sketch this dinosaur!