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As a retired architect and urban planner, i look back on the many small communities that i had the honor of working with throughout the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and Alaska. Within those communities, usually resource based towns for lumber, fishing, maritime activities, mining etc., there are the physical leftovers from past cultures that tell us stories of the past and provide us with possible bridges to the present day and future. An example is an old military fort in Haines Alaska, Fort William H. Seward, constructed in and around 1914 and sold to private veterans after WWII. I label it a remnant that has survived as an element from a larger pattern, possibly with a future reuse within the community. Fort Seward is now a residential neighborhood, art shops, art studios, bed and breakfasts, hotel, restaurants and more, along the shores of Lynn Canal in southeast Alaska, about 90 miles nw of Juneau.

Capturing these remnants is an enjoyable aspect of my watercolor efforts. see images below of the barracks building and view of Lynn Canal watercolor sketch.

the image on the left is an example of merged washes and the sketch on the right is a watercolor sketch plein air. (images may be in different locations on final blog(

Another example of a remnant is the Old Olympia Brewery in Olympia WA on Tumwater Lake. Vacant and waiting for some form of rebirth: the first image is again using merged washes to avoid cumbersome detail in the massing and the second image is a study, lacking some drama, of the larger complex and the lake.

The last example on the right is unfortunately no longer with us, but at its resting place in the Hoquiam River WA. the Robert Bush dredge, with so much history and stories in its making and utilization. At least i found it in time to capture some of its magic in watercolor .

More examples may follow if some interest. Enjoy, Ron K