Outside at Columbia Park & Inside at ShareHouse Cafe

                  Outside, learning about light source, line and how warm and cool colors work.

Jan and Felicia are scheming/waiting for my empty cup to sketch on.  My extra hot latte cooled a little while I sketched my airline zipper pouched art supplies atop the table.

Columbia Park's Playground of Dreams - 02/18/15

               

A very crisp, sunny day in February in Kennewick's Playground of Dreams.  This is a haven for anyone under the age of 10 and a Godsend for moms, dads and grandparents with little ones going crazy with cabin fever!  I saw/heard several small kids with their adults obviously having a ball inside.  I chose a prime vantage point right in front of the entrance for my sketch.  Unfortunately, my "prime" spot was in the shade and it got really cold.  Trying to sketch with gloves on wasn't working very well so I would sketch with one glove on my left hand and take sips of hot coffee with my right!  

Red Balloon

One red balloon found in a tree at the park...

To see more of my art you can check out my personal blog in the sidebar or go to www.feliciafollum.blogspot.com

Columbia Park: The Old Lagoon

Every time I go here, I have to sit and let the nostalgia blanket over me. As a teenager in the mid-sixties, this was the "go-to" place in the summer, filled with teens from Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, Washington, swimming, sun-bathing, eating hot-dogs and ice cream, and drinking pop from the concession stand (which is still there, but boarded up). We called it the "Lagoon" - today it is the Fish Pond - so much for romanticism and excitement...

The road leading into the lagoon was a dirt-road filled with deep potholes. You had to be careful driving in, especially if you drove an old car like most of us did in those days. As the years rolled by the water was found to be polluted from the septic tanks up on the hill in the distance where I left out all the homes that line the ridge. And it was closed to us human forms for anything other than the relaxation one gets from the peacefulness (minus the road noise from the freeway).

So when I sit here, I see all the girls in their bikinis, the guys out on the floating dock in the middle jumping off the edges, the yelling, and the laughter, and all the old cars and hot rods that used to line the edges. Makes me wonder where they all went.

Gone are the Days.

Columbia Park Playground of Dreams

Since we were there on a school day at 10am, there wasn't a kid anywhere in sight at the Playground of Dreams down in Columbia Park this morning.  This fort looking play area was built about 8 or 9 years ago with community donated funds.  Almost as soon as it was finished, it burned to the ground, then rebuilt.  On a warm, sunny day, when school is out, the place crawls with kids. It is a great place for them to play.

Great morning with the sun shining on my face.  Great peeps.  Trying to do a little water color sketching...what ever that is ;)

Active Lifestyles in the Tri Cities

 USTA Men's Tennis Competition this weekend, so I snuck a moment of the action at Columbia Basin Racquet Club, Richland Washington.  Fierce tennis is being played on all 6 indoor courts this weekend.   By day, I am a tennis professional, movement is an emphasis on court.  I need so much practice in sketching movement.

 At our latest outing, we were at the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center.  I opted to sketch Leslie, one of our Tri City US!

 This afternoon I took the opportunity to enjoy nature at the McNary Wildlife Refuge, Burbank, Washington.  There were plenty of high powered scopes on tripods promoting the beautiful birds of the Columbia Basin.

The snow geese are in abundance and restless resting before their continued northern migratory flight. I caught the snow geese in action, like swarming bees!

Buttons and old socks

Today, at my friend, Jan's house, from across the table, I sketched her sorting her treasure of buttons.
I hadn't a clue she collected buttons, or old socks to be made into wonderfully thick pot holders.  Last week, I sketched with my local urban sketcher group at a coffee shop.  I also focused on sketching people, coffee cups and instead of buttons, sketching supplies.