Seattle Art Museum Mirror

by on March 24, 2013 at 11:27 pm
Posted In: Test

Serendipity is an interesting thing.

I had gone downtown to the Seattle Art Museum to continue with my viewing and recording of the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit. When I got there a good chunk of first avenue was cordoned off and people were in the process of setting up a stage. All of this made finding a place to park my bike. When I got into the Museum it turned out that admission was free today so the exhibit was packed which meant I only got one sketch done which I botched completely. As I’ve mentioned before I really have trouble getting into my zone if there are more than five people in a gallery and this was considerably more. I found out that the hubbub on first ave was for the new Mirror exhibit by Doug Aitken that was going to be a new permanent fixture on the outside of the exhibit. I was encouraged to hang out to see it get unveiled at 6:30. So I dragged my feet to do just that.

It turned out that they were running late and didn’t start the show until 7:00 then after speeches by Mayor Michael McGinn, Museum Curator Catharina Manchanda and Charles Wright they got the ball rolling. The whole thing is a set of large LED screens that show several hundred hours worth of Seattle footage in an abstract “kalidosope”stye. This was accompanied by what sounded like a tone poem performed by members of the Seattle Symphony. I watched for about a half hour before heading home glad to have been part of the experience no matter what I thought of it..

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Friday Museum Sketches

by on March 22, 2013 at 6:15 am
Posted In: Art

Figures-With-Fruit-and-GameAs I mentioned on Monday I finally got around to seeing the Seattle Art Museum’s Rembrandt Show last Sunday. Regretably I got their just under an hour before closing so all I had time for was a rushed circuit and this sketch.

So anyway this is “Figures with Fruit and Game” CA 1635 by Franz Snyders 1579-1657 A friend of Rubens they often collaborated. Snyders specialty was backgrounds and still lives and according to the caption on the painting often provided these details for Rubens’ paintings.

 

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Stretching My Range

by on March 18, 2013 at 11:02 am
Posted In: Test

The new bike is beginning to pay off great dividends. While it isn’t that much faster than my old dirt bike (It seems to be cutting off about five minutes from my previous best times) It handles hills REALLY well which means I don’t have to pick my routes based on how flat they are.  But the best thing is being able to start extending my range once again.

Yesterday I had been invited to a memorial at the Elliot Bay Yacht Club. I figured it was roughly in my general range that I should at least try to Bike it. It wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. (mainly thanks to Google Maps it was one of those classic cases of where the program considers every kink in the road as a turn. I got very confused when it told me to turn left on a street that was running parallel with the road I was on.

But other than that brief frustration the trip planner introduced me to two good and safe bike trails that will make it easier for me to navigate in areas directly to the south of Ballard and get to Discovery Park safely and quickly (before I had been using 15th Ave NW one of those major arterials that always makes me feel mildly suicidal whenever I so much as think of using it)

Afterwords I used this new information to take the scenic route downtown to spend the rest of the day to break in my new sketchbook at the Rembrandt Show at the Seattle Art Museum,  the only downside was having to walk my bikes up the Harbor Steps to get from the waterfront to First Ave.

Unfortunately the Museum closed at five so I never really got into my grove and came out with one sketch. And then it was mostly straight home. But all and all a good next step on the bike everywhere thing. (I went over with a map and calculator later on the day’s total was 26.5 miles.)

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Friday Sketches

by on March 15, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Posted In: Art

CharlesToday we have the picture I finished off my last sketchbook with. This is a very brief portrait I did with someone I had a very good conversation with over at the Emerald City Comicon’s Drink and draw the night before the actual event. (Good tip when your muse is ignoring you just draw what is in front of you.) I think his name was Charles Smith formally a graphic designer for Starbucks currently working either at Amazon or Microsoft I hope he will forgive my bad memory.

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New Bike

by on March 13, 2013 at 6:14 am
Posted In: Test

Well I’m happy to say an inconvenience that I’ve endured since the new year is over.

My old mule of a dirt bike, which had been pretty much been held together by spit and prayer for over a year finally broke down for good. You know it’s a bad sign when you bring your bike to the shop and the first thing they ask you is “how much do you like your bike” As in the amount of work would cost as much as a new bike.

So I took it home feeling like it was another sign that my life was falling apart, and took to walking and busing and getting out of the office a lot less because of it. Maybe I was feeling a little bit paranoid but I was beginning to get the feeling I was beginning to gain weight again.

Finally I had had enough of it and started shopping around for a replacement bracing myself for something way too expensive. Happily I found out that once I stopped looking for anything fancy the price dropped down pretty fast. And I soon had myself settling on a nice gray Raleigh.

So far I’m happy with it. Perhaps it is a reflection on how bad my old bike was that I’m being impressed by the little things. For example this one is my size which means I can look behind me for oncoming traffic which I couldn’t do on the old one because I was leaning down too much. On the way home I went up a hill that I usually struggle with as if they were nothing and it is noticeably faster. (of course the old bike I used to believe could be passed by little kids on tricycles so I don’t know just how much of a big deal that one is.)

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