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Nice Seattle weather

by Nolen
Jun.06.2013

A couple of sketches of some nice weather we’re having in Seattle. That’s something you don’t hear often!

: Swimmers hang out on the dock at the Kirkland waterfront.

: A grove of trees beside the parking lot.

Sumo gestures

by Nolen
Jun.03.2013

Some gestures from yesterday’s Sumo + Sushi event in Fremont.

Sumo wrestler sketches for LivingSocial’s Sumo + Sushi event.

Sketch dump

by Nolen
May.28.2013

A little late, but congrats to Sung Hon and Cola for tying the knot!

: Sung Hon finishes his words of encouragement to Cola.

: Dancing gestures

: Dancing gestures

: Dancing gestures

I got back from spending this last weekend with the in-laws in Vancouver for a wedding of their family friends. Usually when I am with them, it usually ends up becoming a Chinese lesson with me providing the laughs as I struggle with my broken Cantonese. Here are some of the notes.

: “Ah-Ma” (Polly) and “Low Dao” (Rex) enjoy some dessert after arriving on Thursday.

: Jason and Jackie, family friends, tie the knot.

: Jackie gives her vows to Jason. A couple more Jason sketches.

: Two attempts at Jackie. I think Jason was the first Mountie I’ve ever seen in person.

: Uncle Silas, a family friend, looks on. Ah-Ma and Low Dao watch the bouquet toss.

: Auntie Jenny and Mark enjoying lunch at their restaurant. Low Dao photographs an obelisk at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

: A quick sketch of the Richmond Olympic Oval where the speed skating event was held.

: Auntie Jenny had some bananas in the car much to the chagrin of Olwen. A couple value studies inside Auntie Jenny’s house. “Fei suk-suk”, Auntie Jenny’s husband, takes an order at his restaurant.

: Coordinated kite-flying at Garry Point Park.

: A view off the shore of Garry Point Park.

: An attempt at drawing a friend from memory, Ah-Ma, and Olwen lounging on a couch.

: Some highlights from my Cantonese lessons.

Zoo Sketches & Sara Bareilles Concert

by Nolen
May.12.2013Oct.04.2013

Seeing as it was going to be one of the last remaining sunny weekends in Seattle for a while, I spent part of my morning at the zoo doing some animal sketches for my mom. My mom would give me all sorts of books from the library about insects and other bugs, as well as dinosaurs, and rocketships. As a tribute to her fostering my curious side, I spent a little time in the humid bug world exhibit over at Woodland Park Zoo.

: American cockroaches, Black Widow web, and giant water bugs

: White-eyed assassin bugs, flamboyant flower beetles, and golden orb weaver

: Leaf insects and tarantula

: Red swamp crayfish and northern helmeted curassow

: Temerick’s tragopan and blue magpies

: Blue magpies and Japanese serow

: Red panda napping

: Red panda waking up

In the evening, I rendezvous with some friends over at the Showbox to catch a Sara Bareilles concert. I don’t go to concerts usually, but this was the first that I got a seat this close to the stage.

: Head sketches of Sara Bareilles concert

: Sara Bareilles sings for the audience

: Singing from the stage right with ukulele

: Playing the e-guitar stage left

Weekend in SF

by Nolen
May.04.2013Oct.04.2013

Spent a few days this last week in San Francisco for a workshop conference held by Schoolism. Although I can’t show anything from the conference, I learned a couple things that I can’t wait to try out later in the future. Also got to hang with family and friends in the area and visit the Chuck Jones exhibit at the Cartoon Museum, the director behind many of the old WB cartoons who got me inspired to do animation in the first place. Overall a really inspiring week. Anyways, here are a few sketches from the weekend.

: Oyster feast at the Lee’s. Left to right: Matt, Uncle Doug, Auntie Ruth, Galen, Mark, Annie, and Pastor John.

: Derek gets pulled over right in front of us for touching his dash-mounted phone.

: Enjoying some bubble tea at Tea Way in Sunset with Mark, Annie, and Galen.

: Watching Derek’s bball game at Mercy High.

: Uncle Doug preps some scraps to take to the junkyard.

: On the ferry approaching San Francisco.

Weekend sketch dump

by Nolen
Apr.22.2013Oct.04.2013

Getting ready for bed after a busy weekend. I got a chance to hang out with Dad as he was in town for a conference and was looking to make some contacts at the flight museums for his book about my grandpa’s days during WWII.

Olwen and I also had babysitting duties Saturday and today for some of the families at our church. Fortunately, the weekend concluded with a nice relaxing dinner at the Chan’s.

: Cloud study during lunch break.

: Gestures during Perspectives Class of speakers Marria Gladwish and Gene Daniels.

: More gestures of Gene Daniels.

: P-40 on display at Museum of Flight.

: Rumpler Taube reproduction on display at the Museum of Flight.

: Olwen shows off some videos to Stacey and Tyson as Morgan squirms on the sofa.

: P-40 on display at Flight Heritage Collection.

: Dad shows off his photos to a Flight Heritage Collection employee.

: Top left, clockwise. Random stranger, Michelle, Jennifer, and Dan.

: Families gather together for dinner after Bible study.

: Brian brags about his saffron.

Sketch dump

by Nolen
Apr.17.2013Oct.04.2013

: Closing shop at Fuel Coffee.

: Dinner with the Righteous Tales families at Kingfish Cafe.

: A retention pond behind our office.

: Afternoon clouds by retention pond.

Weekend in Portland

by Nolen
Apr.16.2013Apr.17.2013

Went to Portland for a quick overnighter last weekend. A few cousins were in town for a short while, so my mom drummed up a family dinner. Got to squeeze in a few sketches and tried to show my mom how to use a French press for better or worse.

: Waiting to be seated at Kenny & Zuke’s.

: Clockwise from top left: Kaela, Quinn (x2), Galen, and Drew.

: Dara, Olwen, Elise, and Cheyenneh relax into a pose.

: Dad shows off his latest invention to the Jims.

: Lunch with Dr. Joe and the family at Golden Horse.

: Mom listens to Dr. Joe over lunch.

Easter Weekend sketching

by Nolen
Apr.02.2013

Spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out with the Higashi boys sketching at Woodland Park Zoo. It was pretty awesome weather which we haven’t seen for a while. The rest of Seattle noticed as well and decided to pack the zoo to the rim. I hadn’t done animal drawings for a little while so there was a little rust that I needed to shake off. One of these days, I’m going to get something out of these brush pens! Nate, Josh, and Andrew had a really great time and were loving the sketching even though drawing live animals is one of the hardest things to do. We even got a lot of compliments from strangers about our sketches!

Later that day, Olwen and I got to swing by the UW campus to get a glimpse of the cherry blossoms in the quad before grabbing dinner and heading out to the Holy Saturday service over at Blessed Sacrament. Other than a funeral, this was my first vigil, which ended up being, as my friend Lawrence who invited us described, the “mother of all vigils.” I probably didn’t get all the etiquette involved with a Catholic service, but it was quite a spectacle to witness. Despite the three-hour duration, I could sense the joy behind all of the singing, readings, and prayer and how every article and gesture seemed to have a purpose behind it.