Sketching Here and There

Last Thursday, Nicole and I went to the UW campus to sketch the cherry trees and the buildings in the Quad. The trees were not yet in full bloom, but they had enough color, and as it was Spring Break, the place was not overrun with students.

We would have done more sketching if the sun had not vanished behind the clouds, making us chilly.  It has been a most inhospitable March, with far too much rain, clouds, and low temperatures.

Luckily we did get sunbreaks on Saturday, and Truman and I were able to jaunt to Magnuson Park with Michelle, Winston, and Chloe.

On Sunday, the rain returned.  Tina and I headed to the Woodland Park Zoo, where there are enough areas under shelter where we could get some decent sketching done.

At the Australia exhibit, the kangaroos were avoiding the outdoor area and the rain, and were lounging lazily inside:

In the Northern Trail exhibit, the grizzly bears were also lounging by their pool, where we could see them easily from the covered, heated viewing area.

On our way out, we stopped by the Komodo Dragon exhibit.  We always like to sketch an animal that doesn't move around much.

Next, we went to the Norse retirement home where Tina visited her mother while I popped up to the sixth floor for a view of Ballard.  I drew this scene once before, not terribly successfully, and had a second go at it from a slightly different angle.

It's a bit better than my first effort, though I think I need another go at it some time.

The forecast for this week is, of course, "showers/rain" every single day.  I believe I will get a lot of reading done.