Kelsey Creek Farm is a large park within the high tech city of Bellevue, east over the lake from Seattle. While Himself was at another appointment, I had a little over an hour for sketch-waiting.
There were not very many farm animals out yesterday. There was a sign for pigs, but no pigs. There were several empty bunny hutches. But sheep, goats, chickens and 2 cows were out. I was amused by the animal shaped benches.
This afternoon I was sketch waiting again in Bellevue. I’d heard about this excellent Korean BBQ on the King 5 Evening TV show and put it on my list to sketch.There have been a few trips to Bellevue over the past couple months and today was a good day for sketching. OBOP
The outside is painted like a food truck. The small food counter is inside a gas station! I sat in the shade at the edge of the pavement. One of the Food Mart workers kept coming out to look in my direction.
Once I was finished with the sketch I went into the store. I showed them the sketch. And I ordered some BBQ, which we had for dinner. Himself had “Po Bop” BBQ spicy marinated pork at level 3 and said it would not have been edible for me! I had “Mandoo” (potstickers) with 0 spice level. All the food was very good and we’ll stop in again when in Bellevue.
I went back this afternoon after the rain stopped to sketch the B-29 “Doc”. I only got part of it done as the wind got too strong. It blew my drawing board and spilled the water back on the painting. I nearly lost my Rosemary travel brush but a person I was talking to managed to retrieve it from under the fence. I finished painting the aircraft at home outside of the wind and cold.
I sketched it through the chain link fence, which you don’t see in my painting. Once again, I had interesting conversations with Museum visitors who stopped to look and admire. One man is reserved for a flight in it this weekend. He paid $1200 to be in the navigator seat near that front window. The bombardier seat is right next to the glass and cost $1500!
I might go over and use my member admission to get a ground tour.
Seattle Times article with great photos, some from inside!
The entire afternoon was spent at the Museum of Flight awaiting the arrival of the B-29 “Doc”, which was a little over an hour delayed.
I arrived early in case Doc did. So I spent most of the afternoon at a table under the Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation. I sketched the view.
Once the B-29 arrived at 1545, I made over 150 images with 3 different cameras. The big DSLR was on motor drive, so I’ve culled the images to about 40. They are all here.
I’d intended to sketch the aircraft once it arrived. However, no sooner was it parked then it started prep for departure with a payload of press.
This aircraft was built in 1945 during WWII. However, it served in noncombat rolls until it was retired to be a target for bomb training at China Lake, California. Once found, it took many years to restore.
Today I visited the Renton Technical College Car Cruise-In and Career Showcase. I’m certainly not looking for a new career! I’d suggested it for a sketch outing but we cancelled for today due to expected rain. I still wanted to see what the event was like to know whether it’s a good sketch venue if they have it again.
It is. There were lots of old cars and interesting displays. And two food trucks: Dicks’s Burgers and Pecos Pit BBQ.
I sketched this 1941 Ford Fire truck owned by Gary and Sherri. I only did the line drawing on site as it was spitting rain a little, on and off. I drew straight away in pen. I finished the color at home.
It was the Jameson whisky bottle in the engine that intrigued me. Then I forgot to ask about it. I heard from them by email later: “The Jameson bottle serves as an overflow receptacle for the radiator”.
This is Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) month. The Museum of Flight has used it’s various Instagram accounts to publicize accomplishments in aviation. I’ve decided to sketch them. Here are the first two.
I used water soluble ink for the first one. Mr. Gunn was made with permanent ink and Paynes Gray watercolor. Both are from black and white photos.
On Sketchbook Skool “Draw with Me” by Danny Gregory this morning we drew frogs. I joined a little late and just watched. Then in the afternoon I watched the entire presentation while I drew the frogs. It was a pleasant activity during an all day rain.
One of the few motivational speakers I ever liked was a retired General at a VA conference in the late 1990’s. He was old school even then, placing plastic frogs on the overhead projector screen as he talked. What I remember the most was his advice about how to prioritize a day’s tasks: “If you have to swallow a frog, swallow the largest ones first.” There after I gave small toy frogs to the staff I supervised! I still have one on my desk at home.
I illustrated that during a journaling workshop with Brenda Swenson back in 2018 at the Daniel Smith store’s classroom.
And then there is the joke about the “Big Mouth Frog”.
This is another sketch waiting occurrence. Himself had an appointment at the VA. Since we retired, they finished the multi-story parking garage (but I had to endure the mess during construction while still working!).
Going in to try to visit former co-workers wasn’t going to happen as he said they screen entry at the door and unless you have an appointment or visiting an inpatient, you shouldn’t go in. This makes perfect sense during the pandemic. Also, it was at 8am. I remember not having much time as the day started when I needed to prioritize referrals that came in overnight, etc. And for those on the inpatient service, Rounds used to start at 8 am (ugh).
Anyway, he suggested I drive to the very top to see the view. Even the top has two open air levels. I found a spot with a distant view of the Seattle sky-line. You can see the Space Needle with its new coat of Galaxy Gold paint for the 60th anniversary. Small pointed white building in the middle is the Smith Tower, long ago the tallest in Seattle. The tallest and darkest is the Columbia Tower.
@statuestylistgroup dressed the Interface sculpture for Mother’s Day. I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to sketch it as rain has been predicted all day every day for several days. But there was a brief window of sun yesterday about noon so I scooted out to sketch. However, it was cold and windy and I only did the line drawing because I didn’t think the watercolor would dry. You can see the balloons blowing in the wind.
Today I finished the color.
Not those irises. These are growing in my side yard in a sunny south facing spot next to the garage. A friend said they would spread but they’ve been there for years and it’s the same few every year.
This is the second sketch I made yesterday as I haven’t yet finished the first one. It was raining early but about noon the sun came out to stay.
Red Harp Arts 