March 18, 11:16 a.m. [Click sketch to view larger]

This empty storefront at 7615 Aurora Avenue N. will burst with new color this spring.

A mural by local artists John Osgood CQ, Zach Bohnenkamp CQ and Kevin "Sensei23" Sullivan will hang in the six large windows, featuring the theme of waking up to a new Aurora -- which means dawn in Spanish.

"It's better than looking at empty space," said property owner Andy Wang, who hopes the art will prevent graffiti and break-ins and attract new tenants

Cindy Potter, of Greenwood Alliance of Involved Neighbors -- one of the groups responsible for the project, said Columbia City did something similar in the 1990s and the locations were rented within a year.

Muralist Osgood said 90 bottles of spray paint were used to cover the six 8-by-4-foot wooden panels, which will be unveiled Tuesday.

Judging from my sneak peak, the piece looks as promising as the community effort.

More information at www.gainseattle.com

4:34 p.m.

Metro bus 41 to Lake City was packed with people. I got on at Convention Place and stood on the back of the bus. In front of me was Ryan, a tall young fellow checking his cellphone.

The trip to Northgate Transit Center only took about 15 minutes and I approached Ryan to show him my sketch after we arrived.

He kept walking as I explained what I do and handed him my business card. Why do you take public transportation? "It's good for the environment. I don't have to park. It's easy. I can relax in the morning," he said.

Thanks Ryan!

[This is one in an occasional series about Seattle commuters.]

Sketched March, 6, 2009

Former readers of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer may still miss their paper, which was printed for the last time a year ago today.

Even though I wasn't a regular reader, I miss it too. And I miss the sight of the ubiquitous P-I red newsracks around the city.

When the paper shut down, The Times's blue boxes lost their twin counterparts and Seattle lost a unique piece of urban furniture.

Curtis Huber, single copy operations manager for the Times, tells me there were about 3,000 in the city. (Under a joint operating agreement established in 1983, The Times Co. handled advertising, circulation and printing of the P-I, owned by Hearst Corporation.)

What happened to them? He said some of them have been refurbished and used in Times locations and some have been sold to other publications. The ones that were in disrepair have been recycled, he added, and a few are still in storage.

More drawings
Other sketches I did on the days before the P-I closed last year.

Extra!
One year later, what's happened to some of the former Seattle P-I staff? by KIRO Radio's Linda Thomas, aka The News Chick.

Huesca Cathedral

Plaza de la Universidad

While in Spain last week, I had the opportunity to talk about sketching in Seattle to more than 400 journalists gathered in Huesca for the XI Digital Journalism Conference, a one-of-a-kind event launched by local tech journalist Fernando García Mongay in 2000 to discuss the future of journalism in the digital era.

Huesca is a 50,000-population city about an hour away from top-notch ski resorts in the Pyrenees. They're bidding to host the winter Olympic games in 2022 in partnership with the nearby cities of Jaca and Zaragoza.

Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to stroll around its peaceful streets before heading back to Barcelona to catch a plane to Seattle. I'll have to come back for more sketches!

At the conference, I participated in a panel about illustrated journalism with fellow artists João Catarino and Enrique Flores. Broadcast journalist Sergio Fernández-Vizarra --shown in the sketch-- interviewed me for Cadena SER and I also talked to journalist Rosa Jiménez Cano for the digital edition of El País -- my serious look on the photo doesn't reflect at all what a great time I had in Huesca.

I miss it already!

Extra!
More sketches from the conference.
All the photos from the conference.

My wish for at least one snow day a year came true after all. But not in Seattle.

I was in Barcelona last week for the first snowfall since 1985. Only a few inches fell but it was enough to cover the Mediterranean city for a day.

The storm started mid afternoon while I was out sketching with my friend Lapin, a French illustrator and sketcher who moved to my former hometown a few years ago.

Despite the snow, we managed to do quite a few drawings before taking refuge at a neighborhood bar. "Un café con leche, por favor."

Here's a look back at some of the sketches from the winter months. Seattle Sketcher is taking a little time off and will return the week of March 15. Looking forward to the longer days and warmer weather ahead, thanks for stopping by!

New to the blog?
Read my first post, where I introduced myself. You may also follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Feb. 24, 11:35 a.m. [Click sketch to view larger]

Alleys look interesting in comic books but rarely in real life. Except for Nord Alley, which connects S. Jackson St. and S. Main Street in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.

When Todd Vogel opened the offices of the International Sustainability Institute (ISI) here two years ago, alley windows were boarded up and garbage dumpsters filled the corridor. "People would use it as a bathroom," he said.

Now Vogel parks his bike next to patio furniture he bought online for $26. Windows feature planters and light filters through an art installation of 1,600 water bottles above. "It was that simple," he said. "We started respecting the space and people started to respect it."

In order to make downtown more pedestrian friendly, the City of Seattle is looking at the the Nord Alley experience as a potential model for other locations. That's one of the recommendations made by ISI and Copenhagen-based Gehl Architects in a survey to be released next month.

The report collected data about how many people walk downtown, how far they go and how they use public spaces. More than 40 University of Washington students walked every block, mapping street furniture and trees, counting pedestrian traffic and interviewing more than 1,300 people about the purpose of their visit to downtown, explained Helle Soholt, managing partner of Gehl Architects.

Soholt said the only places where there are significant numbers of pedestrians are Pike Place and Pine Street leading to Weslake. But she thinks Seattleites have the right attitude about making downtown a livelier place. "We found that 75 percent of the people we asked are willing to walk nine blocks or more," she said.

Besides sprucing up alleys, the report also recommends temporary closures of Pike Place, completing a network of bike lanes and widening sidewalks along 1st Avenue. "First Avenue ties everything from the sculpture park to Pioneer Square. By upgrading 1st Avenue you can really make a difference in the area," Soholt said.

Chris Overdorf walked through Nord Alley as I was finishing up my sketch. He said he's used it as a shortcut ever since they removed the garbage containers and would like to see more alleys like this one.

Me too.

Alley party
The City of Seattle, the International Sustainability Institute, People for Puget Sound, and the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects have sponsored a contest on how to green our alleys. The contest winners will be announced at an event in Nord Alley next Thursday, March 4. More information at aiaseattle.org.

More on the art installation
Currently Hanging: By Christopher Ezzell, Matt Hutchins, Shahreyar Ataie, by Jen Graves.

Feb. 22, 4:42 p.m. [Click on sketch to view larger]

These past few days of nearly spring-like weather were nice while they lasted. I even thought the cherry trees at the University of Washington campus may have started blooming. But I only found two trees on campus with flowers Monday afternoon -- you can see one in my sketch. The cherry trees along the quad still displayed their intricate net of naked branches with no blossoms on sight.

The weather also misled Bryan Hubert, a photography aficionado strolling along the quad with his camera. He was expecting to see the blossoms even if it's still too early for spring. His friend Walt Derke shared Hubert's disappointment, as he was trying a new Nikon camera he just got for his birthday in December. But he remained optimistic about the outing. "I'm sure I'll find something else. I'll make the best of it," he said.

And that is not difficult on any given day at the majestic campus. The experience of walking around the red square and taking in the views of the Gothic-revival architecture is well worth the visit. Specially when you don't have to worry about being late for class or studying for the next exam.