"Kadlec Hospital: Richland, WA"

Noodler's Lexington Gray ink, Dick Blick watercolors, 9x9 Super Aquabee Sketchbook

With 20 minutes to kill, I parked in a local parking area and sketched out one of our local hospitals today, Kadlec Hospital, in Richland, WA.  Once home, I added a few details and some color.  Total time on this sketch: 30 minutes.

VINEYARD CITY ARTS FESTIVAL!

JEAN, DAVE, NANCY, GREG

DAVE:

JEAN:

GREG:

NANCY:

SKETCHING TOMORROW - SATURDAY!!

Please join us from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm (or whenever) tomorrow, Saturday, May 18th, 

for the Third Saturday Sketch Day!  

We'll be meeting up at the park in Benton City for the "VINEYARD CITY ART FESTIVAL".  

It's a small park so I'm sure we'll run into each other (just look for people on stools sketching) and we can meet up for some sharing, photos and lunch around noon.

Should be a beautiful day!

"Local Sketcher Organizes Event for July Sketchcrawl Event in the Bay Area"

Click the image to find an announcement that went global throughout the urban sketching community today when it was published on the "Urban Sketcher" main blog in, "'Round the World Sketching News."  This blog is followed closely by over 1,200 urban sketchers across the globe.  Jim Bumgarner is the organizer of the event.

Jim says he came up with the idea driving down one of the local streets and thinking about what he could do rather than go to Barcelona.  So, with the help of some of the sketchers he has met both in person, and online, the event has come together and will be held July 12 - 14 this summer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This event was designed for those folks who, like Jim, couldn't make it Barcelona this summer, but want to participate in the social event that urban sketching has become.  So far there are respondents from far and wide who have committed to being there.

A full day of marathon sketching is planned in San Francisco on the July 14th, day of the "40th World Wide Sketchcrawl," in the the city where Pixar artist, Enrico Casaros, came up with the idea.

THIRD SATURDAY SKETCHABOUT !

"VINEYARD CITY ARTS FESTIVAL"

The folks in Benton City have specifically asked the "Urban Sketchers: Tri-City" Group to come do our thing at their thing this Saturday, May 18th from 10 - 1pm.  

Here is the email that Desiree sent - so you can see she is really excited to have us there!

Oh I am so excited!

The park is only about a mile from the freeway
- coming from the tri-cities, you take exit 96 I think.
at the stop sign, turn right. Stay on that road, despite the turns /
curves / name changes. You pass the Conoco on your right, cross the
bridge, swoop to the left, then swoop to the right (and you MUST swoop,
right?!)  pass another Conoco - this time on your left - and the street on
your RIGHT, after that, will be Dale. I don't believe that you will be
able to turn there (think that it will be closed) but the park is right
there, behind the US Bank, etc.
Thank you again, Nancy!
Desiree

If you were at the Cinco de Mayo Festival last week, you will know what you are missing!

Please let me know if you'll be there and maybe we can carpool...

"Meetings, Meetings and More Meetings"

My local school retirees association put on a pre-retirement workshop today for teachers thinking about retiring. There were just over 80 signed up, but due to there being no fees to attend and it being a beautiful day, we were about 16 people short. This is small sample of the crowd at the workshop.  They are listening to a presentation regarding Social Security. 

It's nice nowdays that I don't have so many meetings to attend.  There was a time in my career, early-on, when I thought those who "lucky" enough to attend meetings had more seniority and clout than I.  By the time my career closed in retirement, I had been to so many I was beginning to gag on them.  Not literally, of course, but "gag" is the best word to use here.... 

 

"New Hospital Construction"

On our Wednesday morning sketchabout, Nancy and I met up at this construction site here in Kennewick, WA., where the Kennewick General Hospital (KGH) Board has begun construction on a new hospital.  They are a public board, but the public did not approve this facility in a recent election.  Good for the board for finding the funding needed without having to go the voters for more tax dollars.

  

KGH Construction Site

Jim and I met up in South Kennewick at the site of the new Kennewick General Hospital to draw.  

It is very l o n g and clean (for a construction site).

CINCO DE MAYO!

Dave, Jean and I met up at Pasco's Cinco De Mayo celebration on Saturday and even though it got a little breezy (!), the little mariachi band was a big hit with all of us...  

JEAN

 DAVE

NANCY

NANCY

NANCY

When the band cleared out, I did this larger view.  

SATURDAY SKETCHING!

The weather should be perfect for tomorrow's Sketch Outing at the Cinco De Mayo festival in Pasco!  Come out and draw whenever you'd like (thinking maybe 9-10am) but be sure and meet up at the extreme SW corner of the Pasco Farmer's Market area at noon to share some lunch and our drawings.

We've also been asked to come draw on May 18th (another Saturday) in Benton City so save the date - more information to come.  The Tri-Cities Urban Sketchers are much in demand these days and it is so darn fun - come join us and we'll see you tomorrow!!!!

CINCO De MAYO (on the fourth...)

Hello All!  We have been invited by the people in charge of the Pasco Cinco de Mayo festivities to come out on Saturday, the FOURTH of May, to downtown Pasco to draw at the festival.  We will start at 10:00 am and draw until noon and then stop and have a taco or 2!

Show up when you'd like (earlier if it's hot!) and meet at noon on the extreme SouthWest corner of the Pasco Farmer's Market area and we'll share our drawings and have some lunch (should be plenty to chose from!).

RSVP if you think you'll be there and I'll let Ana know how many of us she can hope to run into somewhere throughout the morning.

Think of the COLORS!  Think of the interesting goings-on!  COOL!

"Third Saturday Sketchabout"

This is the "Cable Bridge" which spans the Columbia river between Pasco and Kennewick, Washington.  This bridge replaced the old "Green Bridge" that was built in the early 1900's and was here when I was a high schooler.  After they build the Cable Bridge, next to the old Green Bridge (a two-laner), there was considerable community conversation about what to do with the Green Bridge.  Some said tear it down, other said put it on the National Registry, others said they didn't really care.  while the conversation went on, and on, the old Green Bridge just up and fell into the river one day.  Problem solved. 

"39th World Wide Sketchcrawl"

The 39th World Wide Sketchcrawl began at 8am for me this morning when my grandson, Aidan's, baseball team had a game.

The sun was nice, but the wind was cold, cold, cold!!

I dressed in multiple layers, wore my heaviest coat, and draped this blanket over my back, and still nearly froze while doing some sketching of the kids and the field.

The kid sketches are like many I've posted here and elsewhere, so I haven't posted them here.  In fact, I quit sketching after a while but then remembered, hey, this is a WWSK day, so I reopened my sketchbook and sketched out the view straight in front of me.




It's this one: the view behind the 1st baseman from my point of view.


Since I had announced the WWSkcrawl would begin at 10am this morning, I left the game before it ended so I could meet whoever might show up.


I parked in the parking lot where we were to meet-up and positioned my truck directly across the street from the third sketch down.


What is now Edward Jones was, a long time ago, a very popular men's clothing store, "Lantor's Men's Clothing."  I bought my first pair of Levi's in that store when I was about 14 years old.


The sketch was done with colored pencils, something I never, never, do.  I still don't know why I used them.  The watercolor set, brushes, and water was right there in my bag, but for some unknown reason I used the colored pencils instead.  I don't like it. Wish I had used the watercolors.  Oh well.


The last sketch is an old house that sits on Clearwater in west Kennewick.  I had a burrito at Tony's Taco Truck and spotted this old place out my windshield.


The house sits in the midst of an old trailer park and a small forest of huge sycamore trees that were there when I used to ride my bike up and down Clearwater....late '50's.



I'll bet it never thought it would go worldwide.

I had a good day sketching.

Oh, yes, LaPoynte was the only other person to show for the 10am sketch, but he quickly disappeared. I guess he got cold, too. 

SUSHI & SKETCHING!

 "JAMES BOND ROLL" - as good as it sounds - with a little pile of ginger.

I loved the soft pastel colors and the organic shapes on this plate!

This white shaved stuff is always in the neatest little pile, topped with parsley 

and green wasabi on the side...

This, too, made for a lovely little still life.

Before Osaka moved in I spent 2 full days hanging red paper lanterns solid all over their ceiling.  

When Ok and her husband (the owners) saw what I had done, 

they were a little shocked and overwhelmed, adding their own 'stuff' to the walls.  

Personally, I think the lanterns were enough...

(That's Ok behind the counter - the short one.)

"Osaka Teriyaki & Sushi Bar"

This morning Nancy and I met at her Osaka Teriyaki & Sushi Bar here in Kennewick.  Before the sketching began, we ordered a plate of sushi and some hot tea. 

Like any self-reliant urban sketcher, once the food was delivered to our table, we got out our sketchbooks and started drawing. 

Fortunately sushi doesn't come to the table hot, so we didn't have to worry about it getting cold. 

After the quick sketches, we pulled our chopsticks from their wrappers and started consuming this wonderful food.  It was as good as any I've had anywhere.  Mmmmmmmm.

My second sketch is of the two people sitting at the far table, beneath a large red, Japanese lantern.  At first drawing I wanted the lantern to be the focal point, so I made it larger than it really is.  Then as I got into the sketch and as Nancy offered a few pointers I began to realize the focal point should be the people at the table.

So after some lifting of the yellow color in the window, especially at the top, adding color to the wall and darkening it toward the bottom, and darkening the area below the table, and darkening the shadowed end of the benches they were sitting on, some of the focal point moves toward the people.  But I think most of it remains on that oversized lantern.




The bottom image is the plate as it was delivered to our table.  The sushi here is as good as you will get anywhere.  Certainly it is as good as any I have had anywhere, including the sushi I enjoyed in Japan a few years ago. 

Definately a place to return to!!