During the pandemic I lost my job and went back to making fine art while I sat at home, attempting to give my child an education. My family and I had been living in Denmark and what was supposed to be a short stay in the USA to visit family and get our affairs in order, turned into a two-year stay in the Washington city of Spokane.
Not knowing anyone and still having to be cautious whenever we went out in public, I got into a meditative habit of taking long walks around town and drawing various locations I thought were cool. One day I had to take a flight to San Diego and the gentleman in the seat in front noticed me drawing and asked me, "where did you get your coloring book?" I told him I didn't have a coloring book, I was inking a sketch in my sketchbook. Adamant that my simple drawing could be made into a book, he spent the entire flight trying to convince me to make a Spokane coloring book.
#1 Lilacs
Spokane is known as “The Lilac City” and every spring the heavy smell of Lilacs fills the air as hundreds of lilacs bloom across Spokane. This page was drawn at The Lilac Garden in Manito Park.
8points
I posted some of these drawings online, and to my surprise, a lot of people began to comment on them and like them. A few suggested I try and get a grant from Spokane Arts to pay for it, so I did and received a grant in March of 2022. I also surprisingly received sponsorships from local businesses to make the book as well as support from about 70 members of the community. It all just kept rolling forward and things kept pushing me until, sometime in September, I put the last ink line on the last coloring book page, and now, here I am, 14 months after that flight, and my book is finished and printed and ready for sale.
#2 Maxwell House
The Maxwell House building was built in 1905 as a grocery store and a plumbing company and is now a tavern and restaurant. It holds the oldest legal liquor license in Spokane Washington and constantly fights with the coffee company in a Google search. Across the street from the Girl Scout headquarters, I drew this during The Cookie Rally.
8points
#3 The Clocktower
Originally constructed as part of the Great Northern Railroad Depot in 1892 (completion in 1902) on Havermale Island along the Spokane River, it is the only remaining landmark from the no longer standing depot. A reminder of our railroad past, The Clocktower is one of Spokane’s most iconic landmarks.
7points
#4 Railroad Alley
Railroad Alley is seemingly appropriately named. A small alleyway that runs alongside the downtown tracks going from Washington over to Adams, the buildings that line it were once home to many of the factories and machine shops that serviced the railroad.
7points
#5 Garland Theater
This beautiful little theater opened in 1945 and sits on the corner of Garland and Monroe as the crowning jewel of The Garland District. The Garland Theatre operates as a discount theatre and going to a movie here is one of our favorite cold-weather activities.
7points
#6 Crushed House
When I moved to Spokane at the end of 2020 I spent a lot of time walking around Manito park and the surrounding area just trying to find inspiration. At the corner of W 18th and Division used to sit a lovely two-story white house with a fun old yellow truck in the driveway. A few days after I finally sat down and drew the house, we had a massive wind storm and the pine tree, just to the right, fell and crushed the house and the car.
7points
#7 Looff Carrousel
Built in 1909 by Charles I. D. Looff as a gift for Looff's daughter Emma Vogel and her husband Louis Vogel. Charles Looff was the innovator behind the Coney Island style of carnival ride carvings and even built Santa Monica Pier. My favorite horse is the one on the left.
7points
#8 Arrow Leaf Balsam Root
When the earth warms up and the spring is in full force, bright yellow flowers with huge sage-colored leaves fill the hillsides. These flowers are named “Arrow Leaf Balsam Root” and are the happiest flowers to walk through on a warm spring hike.
7points
#9 Spokane
I want to take a moment to say thank you to every resident (and former resident) of Spokane that encouraged me to make this coloring book. It took one year, one month, and 19 days to complete and I am truly grateful for this opportunity. Thank you.
7points
#10 Benny’s House
Most Spokanites know that the movie “Benny and Joon” was filmed in Spokane and when I asked locals about locations they wanted to see in the book almost everyone requested Benny and Joon’s House. Peaceful Valley is the place I love most in Spokane so this location seemed fitting.
6points
#11 Moezy Tavern
With a gravity-defying sign, The Moezy Inn is one of the coolest taverns in Spokane. Built in 1901 as a blacksmith shop originally, it is now home to a healthy selection of beers and interesting characters.
6points
#12 Chaos Arcade
A sponsor of the Spokane Coloring Book and the winner of Spokane’s Best Arcade in 2022, we love going here and spending all of our money. It’s fantastically fun and they have the best prizes.
6points
#13 Duncan Gardens
My favorite place to visit in Manito Park, Duncan Garden gets a new outfit every spring. Gardeners come and help to design and plant the new flowers in the planters and we all get to watch the colors come to life throughout the spring and summer months.
6points
#14 Doyle's Ice Cream
When we moved to Spokane we lived in an apartment up the street from this delightful ice cream shop in West Central. Built in 1940 and serving “home made ice cream;” my daughter loves it most because they have strawberry ice cream without “the chunks.”
6points
#15 Monroe Street Bridge
When European settlers came to Spokane they needed a way to cross the falls and river so they built a bridge. This version of that bridge, The Monroe Street Bridge, was built in 1911.
6points
#16 Washington Water Power
Avista was a sponsor of the Spokane Coloring Book and requested that the Post Street Substation building be included. This iconic red brick building sitting atop Spokane Falls used to power Spokane’s cable car network and is now the home to our children’s science museum, Mobius.
6points
#17 The General Store
Another Sponsor of this project, The General Store is one of the places I frequent and I know I’m not the only one. A wintertime haven and Spokane staple since 1945.
6points
#18 The Shop
One afternoon I was walking through South Perry with my family when I saw this wonderful Auto shop turned coffee shop and just wanted to draw it… and then turkeys walked by.
6points
#19 E428
I am a sucker for a house being eaten by greenery and this South Hill brick beauty was no exception.
6points
#20 O’doherty’s
This page was created in dedication to the O’Doherty family. Located downtown just across from the Riverfront Park, this pub and the family it’s named for are a true blessing to the city of Spokane.
6points