Hi, I am Gail Wong, an architect, educator and illustrator with roots California but now a long time resident of Seattle, WA. My interest in art and drawing began in my youth and I have used it on and off throughout my career. With the incorporation of digital drawing in architecture I found myself spending more time drawing at my computer and less time drawing on paper. My passion for sketching for pleasure and recording the urban environment around me developed more recently since teaching a Summer sketching class at University of Washington in 2007. Joining Seattle Urban Sketchers in 2009 gave me a group to consistently sketch with and a way to ultimately share my drawings with other people. It has truly changed and enriched my life.
I primarily work in ink and water color and rarely use a pencil underlay. I love the spontaneity and directness of the initial line work. I find it hard to recapture that if working first in pencil then inking later. The character of a space and quality of light is what entices me to draw a place. Drawing people is my nemesis but realizing how much people enliven a scene I continue to work on that!
I have included two sketches that represent the history and quirkiness of Seattle. The first one is of the Montlake Bridge near the University District. Seattle is surrounded by waterways and there are draw bridges everywhere. This particular bridge is in my neighborhood and is celebrating its 90th birthday next year.
The second one is a sketch of the Hat and Boots originally built as a Cowboy themed gas station in 1954 named Premium Tex. The Orange Hat topped the gas station’s office and the Boots housed the men and women’s bathrooms. Closed in 1988 it went to disrepair until it was relocated to Oxbow Park in Georgetown, Seattle in 2003.
I am looking forward to sharing my work on the main USk Blogsite.
Gail's blog.
Gail's sketches on flickr.
