The Right Spot…

Last week was the annual Alaska Airlines Seafair Torchlight Parade, held along Seattle's newly revitalized waterfront. I wasn’t interested in all the hype of the parade, because I live downtown in Belltown for part of the week and wanted a quieter, more serene spot to relax and paint. With that thought, I packed up my backpack and easel and boarded the Bainbridge ferry; a nice 30-minute ride across Elliott Bay to a picturesque island, where surely, I would find the scene and atmosphere meant to be transferred onto my awaiting canvas. I hadn’t thought about the island being busy because Seattle was at its busiest peak of summer activities. The main street was jammed with tourists, and walking down to the park at the waterfront didn’t offer me the lighting or perspective I wanted. After an amazing corn on the cob bite at the local supermarket, which was having a featured chef out on the grill, I decided to call it a day. It was rather warm, and my energy was soon to fade faster than the activities going on around me. By the way, I ended up buying a cookbook the chef was selling, because of that grilled corn with his famous miso sauce. In my summer newsletter, I will feature that miso concoction, which I have since duplicated a couple of times on my own grill. As I was walking across the bridge from the ferry onto Alaskan Way, where the parade and people were starting to gather, I peered down across a sea of people and the energy that sea created. The lighting was at the beginning of its slow descent, and right there I knew. It’s funny how one knows when a painting is calling out to be painted. This was it! I set up and from above on the ledge at the end of the bridge, I painted what I saw: the hustle and bustle of city life, the very life I was avoiding in my own backyard.