Agave Americana takes time to bloom.

Some time this spring, I noticed that a large Agave put out a flower stalk. And by the end of June, it was very high (I estimated 30 feet based on the first sketch). And it was amazingly interesting to draw: the explosion of leaves at the base was overshadowed by the intricacy of all the curly parts on the tall, strong stalk - that signals the end of this plant's life.  

Agave Americana has a common name "Century Plant" which comes from the fact that some plants flower only once at the end of a long life, monocarpic plants. Agave does not live a hundred years - more like 10 to 30. I did not notice this particular plant until it put up a flower despite drawing by it for many years. But I am noticing changes weekly now. It will bloom for quite some time, and then it will put out lots and lots of offshoots. Last week, there were many open flowers, and bees were having a party way up high where blossoms are. 

Taking a stock of my current palette by painting an artichoke flower.

I've been on a "let's rethink the palettes" track of thinking (sub-set of "let's think how to NOT take all the art supplies you own with you when you go drawing on location"). But making it all happen required taking stock of what I've been using lately and what I want to do going forward. So I went to paint on location with my main palette of late, where I have both watercolors and gouache. This little artichoke is what I ended up with. And below is an older sketch record where you can see what's in this palette (helps me as a reference). And I ended up keeping the same set of colors for now - just refilling some that were used up. 

Seattle 2025: Part 5 - Touristy Things in Seattle

Sometimes, taking a ferry and spending a day in the forest and on the beach during a tide-out is a way to vacation. And sometimes doing touristy things is a way to go.

Under the Seattle Needle, there is a wonderful museum and garden filled with the glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. I enjoyed the vases more than the abstract compositions. Reflections created by black postaments and dramatic lighting were cool :) Looking at the tools and learning a bit about the glass and additions that make colors was interesting. Garden is always fun (this is my third Chihuly exhibit - I saw one in San Francisco and one in Botanical Gardens in New York quite a few years ago). The best part was watching a demo! (and sketching it:)

A visit to Pike's Market, a walk through the underground part of downtown Seattle (aboveground too), and a quick visit to the zoo - before a run to the airport. Seattle is definitely a city on my list to visit again (and soon!)

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 4: Sketching Across the Water

Watching the ferry go back and forth became such a part of my days during Edmonds Sketcher Fest that I just had to get on it! 

Ferry is a beautiful boat designed to be double-ended (meaning there is a propeller on each side and the vessel does not need to turn around), is a part of the public transportation system of the Washington State, and is a wonderful way of getting around! 

I went on the Kingston Ferry two times: once as a part of the post-Sketcher-Fest outing with a bunch of people who were sketching too (Thank you for driving and conversation, Nishant!). I got to see Port Gamble and enjoyed a wonderful walk from the church to the water and back. 

And second time with the family - to explore forests on the Olympic peninsula, flip some rocks on the beach at the tide-out, watch people and dogs, and eat a crepe lunch. Here are some sketches from both outings.

More from this series - Seattle 2025: 

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1: My Workshop.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2: Workshop View.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

I just posted an attempt to summarize my experience at Edmonds Sketcher Fest in words and photos.

And these are my sketches made during all the little and big things that happened during the weekend.

I wish I had sketched more! Next time I will: 

- do a portrait party with all who could be persuaded;

- find a way to attend more artist talks (can we have a volunteer man the table from time to time during the sketchbook fair?)

- Find a company to draw sunrises and not only sunsets.

- bring some stickers to share (I got a collection from other artists!)

- petition for a "private viewing" hour before the sketchbook fair opens up to go and flip through sketchbooks of other artists;

- ask people all the questions I was shy to ask :)

More from this series - Seattle 2025: 

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1: My Workshop.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2: Workshop View.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

As I look back at my experience of being part of the International Festival of Travel Sketchbooks (Edmonds Sketcher Fest), I think that what made it super special was the many opportunities for connecting to people in so many different forms.

I lead a wonderful group of 15 people on a workshop, but also:

- had a chance to present an art talk (more below);

- I attended a couple of art talks by other guest artists between all the other activities;

- spent a whole day at the sketchbook fair sharing with attendees my actual sketchbooks, tools, and process, answering questions, and collecting interesting insights;

- participated in a dinner event where people had a chance to share both meal and conversation with guest artists and with many guests of the Sketcher Fest;

- went on numerous outings to draw a sunset, or morning swimmers in a fog, or to grab an ice cream, lunch, dinner, nightcap - all while sketching, looking through sketchbooks of other people, and talking about all sorts of things, life- and sketching related. 

Here are some photos from the sketchbook fair and other outings - on them you will find all the guest artists though I have to admit some were present only in the form of their elbow or sign - I will try to make better photos next time! :) A list of all the artists and information about them can be found here: 
https://sketcherfest.com/sketchbook-fair/sketchbook-fair/ I salute and thank every one of you - and I am very grateful for an opportunity to meet, connect and sketch side-by-side! 

Image above is how my table at the sketchbook fair looked like.

My art talk was on a subject that is one of my favorite topics: extreme sketching. I gathered examples from my experience in all sorts of situations. From kayaking to skiing, from riding a horse to taking care of humans ages 0 to 96, and of course, sketching while scuba diving! My talk covered both what to bring with you on an adventure like that and how to survive it. And I enjoyed answering many questions and receiving lots of great advice as to where to go scuba diving next!

Thank you Laurie Wigham for making this wonderful sketch of me giving an art talk!  (photo above). 

Lastly, this was a chance to meet many new people, make great friends, and also connect in real life with many online sketching friends whom I've known for years now! This connection to the community was such a luminous gift!

It would be impossible for me to list all the encounters and thank all the people that I was so happy to connect with - so I will just say a huge THANK YOU to the organizers of Sketcher Fest and all the volunteers, and Gabi Campanario in particular for support throughout the preparation and during the event. Here is to sketching together more! 

More from this series - Seattle 2025: 

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1: My Workshop.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2: Workshop View.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

On My Table: Beginning of August 2025

August began for me at my kitchen table - trying to sort through all the sketches and notes I brought with me from the trip to Seattle. My sketchbook was at the very end, and I decided to somehow fit everything from the trip in the last few pages. Now that I look back at my reasoning, I understand that I wanted to have a whole trip in one place, which future me would appreciate. But it made for some extra work figuring out how to glue and tape a lot of things in some sort of coherent way - which is why it stretched for several days, and I got to August with this not completely resolved.

This is why the main tools you see at this table are my scissors and glue stick. My tape rolls are somewhere buried under the sketches. 

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2 - Workshop View.

I found a perfect location for my workshop right in front of the Edmonds Waterfront Center, and then found a couple of slightly different angles, and tried to sketch it several times before doing it with all the participants. I also sketched it for the back of my name tag, as a little memento for the organizers about this year's Sketcher Fest - I do not have a scan of it. Then I sketched the same view with my group while explaining all the steps, making mistakes, and showing how to correct them. And then I sketched the same view after the event. Can you guess the order? 

A

B

CD

EF

More from this series - Seattle 2025: 

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1: My Workshop.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2: Workshop View.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1 - My Workshop.

It was my absolute pleasure to be one of the Guest Artists at the Sketcher Fest Edmonds this year! 

The weekend spent with so many great sketchers was amazing and I will make several posts about it as there were too many wonderful meetings, overlaps, and connections. But officially for me as an Guest Artist the weekend contained one workshop on Saturday (mine was "Printmaking on the Go: Wild Textures Tamed with Stencils"), one Artist Talk - I gave a 45 minute presentation on the topic of "Extreme Travel Sketching: What to Bring and How to Survive" where I talked about how I sketch while scuba diving a lot. And there was a day at the sketchbook fair where all the guest artists had a table where they were sharing original sketchbooks with visitors. And they were available for answering questions, commenting, etc. In short, it was AMAZING and I would love to attend one of these events myself!! (Being a guest artist meant that between teaching, manning my table, and giving a talk, I could not do all the questioning, nosing, looking, and asking that was available for the attendees).

Now that you know a little bit about the event, here are some photos from my workshop. I was honored to have an amazing artist, Virginia Hein, as my class volunteer! She took all of these pictures and was a wonderful support on many levels - not to mention that she created an amazing poster for the Festival this year!

I had a fantastic group of students who enthusiastically dove with me into the world of making textures on location. We had an inspiring view, perfect weather, and shared the experience of learning a ton as we captured a view at a pier and across the Puget Sound in our sketchbooks. Would do this again in a heartbeat! 

More from this series - Seattle 2025: 

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1: My Workshop.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2: Workshop View.

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in words and photos)

Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 3: The experience (in sketches and IDEAS for the next time)

Chicago Trip, Part Four: Extra Time

Before my workshop I got to walk the city with a Mary Jo Ernst (finally meeting in person!) and see her do some magic with her blue pen at my location. And then we joined a USk Chicago Seminar Sketchwalk by the Water Tower and sketched a view down the Michigan ave. 

And after the workshop I got to spend time time in the city - I already wrote about my museum visit and sketch of the bean - but after that I drew the lake and at the very end of the day as I passed through the tiny park by the Drake Hotel I witnessed a sparkle of fireflies (and some rabbits too) - being in a tiny dark park in the middle of huge city and watching fireflies dance in front of you was an experience that made this whole trip extra special! My huge thanks goes to my trop companion who talked me into "one more walk before calling it a night" and then noticed fireflies and pointed that in my attempt to make a firefly sketch and video at the same time I did not notice bunny sitting right in front of me. Thank you!