Sunny forecast!!!

A very sunny (aka non-rain) extended forecast here in the Seattle area.

Family Resemblance

Starbucks and Oysters with Cousin Bruce

My Cousin, Bruce, is in town for a speaking engagement tomorrow. I picked him up from the airport this afternoon, and we spent the early evening hanging out in Downtown Seattle.

His hotel was very conveniently located near the convention center. We were able to walk to Starbucks Roastery for some fancy coffee, dinner (oysters and soup!) at Taylor Shellfish Store, then down to Pike Place Market for a stroll.

It was a nice evening to catch up with my Cuz. :)

Twin Peaks Tavern Painting

"Twin Peaks Tavern"
2014
oil on canvas
24 x 24 inches

I had (mostly) finished my "Twin Peaks Tavern" painting back in late December but I realized soon after that wasn't quite complete - I had forgotten to add the chains from which the light fixtures hang! We can't have light fixtures floating in the middle of nowhere!

This painting is in San Francisco, and I keep all of my painting supplies there at Dean's studios for when we have lessons. Because of this, I needed to wait until I was back at his house (about 6-7 weeks later) to really finish the painting. It worked out well, as I also had to put a coat of varnish on it.

So, now that's it is complete, I can put together my progress photos and notes about the entire painting! I had actually completed it last week while I was in San Francisco, but only getting to the blog post now.

Twin Peaks Tavern is a historic bar on the corner of Castro and Market Streets in the Castro District of San Francisco.

From sfgate.com:

Twin Peaks Tavern, which first opened in 1935 but was purchased by Cunha and Forster in 1971, is believed to be the first gay bar in the nation to feature full-length, open plate glass windows that let its patrons look out, and more importantly, the public look in. The lesbian friends, known to most regulars as "the girls," opened the bar to the world at a time when many gays still feared losing their jobs or being socially ostracized if their sexual orientation was revealed. It has now survived for 40 years as one of the Castro district's most memorable and welcoming establishments.

Dick and I have long enjoyed going to Twin Peaks on occasion to have cocktails on their second-floor balcony. They make great drinks, and it's great for people watching. I took this photo right before we moved from San Francisco to Bellevue.


Original Photo

I popped the photo in instagram, and used a filter to bump up the colors/contrast. I thought it was a strong composition and that it would make for a fun and interesting painting to work on.


The photo after having a filter applied in instagram

Looking at my calendar, and previous blog posts, it looks like I spent six sessions with Dean working on this painting. It is helpful for me to have this info to look back on when looking back on the process of each painting.

Here are some of the various stages the painting went through over those sessions:


session one


session one


session two


session three


session four


session five six: Painting with the original photo source


session six - for all intents and purposes, it's done here, but I forgot to add the lamp chains


the final painting

Gay Boyfriend in Seattle: Day Three. Happy Birthday!!

Last day of Spencer's visit, celebrating his birthday!!

We took the bus to Pioneer Square and took the Historic Underground Tour. Super fun, and a really neat way to learn the wacky history of Seattle.

After the tour, we walked around Pioneer Square, discovering the gorgeous (and very quiet) Train Station!!


Seattle's train station

Yummy lunch at Rain Shadow Meats.



Spencer really lucked out on the weather the entire time he was in Seattle. Clear, blue skies, no rain, and gorgeous sunsets!



We made dinner at home, and celebrated with cupcakes for the birthday boy!

Gay Boyfriend in Seattle: Day Two

Another beautiful day in Seattle!!

We took Spencer to Pike Place Market, then walked up to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. Spencer and Dick enjoyed a special Siphoned coffee of a coffee that is only sold that this location.





Next up: more oysters (and clam chowder and calamari) at Taylor Shellfish Store.



Ended the day with an early birthday celebration for Spencer at Paula and Reeve's home. So wonderful!!




Beautiful sunset!

Gay Boyfriend in Seattle, Day One

Beautiful, sunny day, oysters for lunch, pretty sunset and dinner with friends.

Spencer is Here!!

Yay!! Our Gay Boyfriend is visiting for his birthday weekend!! First stop: cocktails and burgers at John Howie Steakhouse.

Old Navy Mannequin Trina

I paid a quick visit to Old Navy Mannequin Trina again today. She seems well, and that is totally an outfit I would wear.

Heading back to Seattle

Thanks to the SF Crew for holding down the fort in San Francisco!! Time to fly back to Seattle to my hubby and my kitty. :)

Dinner with Mom, Dad and Carol

Nice dinner in Milpitas with my parents and Carol!

Afternoon with Grandma Chan

Visiting my Grandma Chan in Milpitas this afternoon!! Dim Sum lunch, followed by Paddington the movie!! One of these photos shows her stuffed animals with the sweaters she made for each of them. You can see where I get it from, right? ;)

Visiting Grandpa Chow

I decided to visit Grandpa Chow while I was in town today.

Gung Hay Fat Choy, Grandpa.
We love you and we miss you. xo

Zuni Cafe

Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants with four of my favorite guys.

Oysters, beet and blood orange salad and the best roast chicken.

To top it all off, today is Zuni Cafe's 36th Birthday!! They had a mariachi band playing around the restaurant to celebrate!

Sunny Sunday in San Francisco

Another beautiful day, another long walk around our beautiful City.

Dolores Park (again!), yummy lunch at Samovar, walk around Castro, checking out an open house with a great view, and the Wishing Tree near our house.