Stimson-Green Mansion

We had a great turnout yesterday when the Seattle Urban Sketchers group met at the Stimson-Green Mansion for its monthly sketching session.

Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter designed the residence for C. D. Stimson, early Seattle industrialist, and his wife Harriet Stimson. It was completed in 1901. In 1915 Joshua Green, a leading figure in the Puget Sound boating industry and later a banker, purchased the house from the Stimsons and maintained almost all of its original features. When Green died in 1975, the Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority purchased the property. After working on its restoration, Historic Seattle sold the property in December 1977 to Priscilla (Patsy) Collins, granddaughter of C. D. and Harriet Stimson, with an easement protecting the main house, carriage house, and grounds from demolition, alteration, or remodeling. In 2001 Collins donated the mansion to the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, which provides continued stewardship.

As an example of eclectic architecture, the house’s English Tudor exterior features half-timber work, wooden gables, and pointed arches, while the interior rooms combine elements from various historical styles including Moorish, Romanesque, Gothic, Neoclassical, and the Renaissance.

The first drawing is a 20-minute sketch of the exterior I did while waiting for the 10 am meeting time. The second is a view of the central hallway looking out from under a Romanesque style arch supported by clusters of small columns. The space ascends the main stairway to the upper two floors and extends back to a warm, sunny dining room on axis with the front entry foyer. I always enjoy drawng these kinds of transitional spaces because of the multiple viewpoints they offer.

3rd International Urban Sketching Symposium

Returning to the present and looking toward the future, I want to alert everyone to the Third International Urban Sketching Symposium, which is being held this year in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, July 12–14. In addition to panels and lectures, there will be a series of sketching workshops centered in and around Santo Domingo’s Colonial District, within walking distance of many of the scenic city’s landmarks. I’ve always these enjoyed these gatherings. It’s a great way to see new places with fresh eyes and to share the experience with fellow urban sketchers from around the world.

For more information, visit <http://sdq2012.urbansketchers.org>.

Hello world!

Welcome to my new WordPress blog. I’m excited for the opportunity to share some of my work and thoughts on seeing, thinking, and drawing.

To begin, I am reposting a composite image of the Spanish Steps in Rome I had originally published on my facebook page last December. I drew the portion on the left when I was a student in 1965 and traveling around Europe after a summer internship in London. The right half was done when I was teaching in Rome in the Jubilee Year, 2000—a span of 35 years. Different times, different circumstances, different set of eyes, different pens.

Going forward, I intend to post about once a week, recycling sketches that I had previously posted on facebook the past two years, interspersed with current work. I’m hoping to link each post to <www.facebook.com/chingfanpage>, and so while I have comments turned off on this site, please feel free to comment on my facebook page.