Feeling Blue @ The Needle

“Feeling Blue @ The Needle” 
is a painting of the Space Needle in Seattle Center as seen from the base of it looking (almost) straight up.
Although I still don't understand why Seattle, the suicide and heroin capital of the US has a big fat needle as their most beloved and widely recognizable land mark., but I may never get that one.
This particular painting was done with a variety of paints including oils, dimensional paints, acrylics, latex and glitter was applied to create a rain effect.

 
My ex-sister in law had a condo right across from Seattle Center and I loved house/dog sitting and admiring the view. The photo to the right is of me working at their dining room table, notice the Space Needle in the window.

The Space Needle is an icon of the Pacific Northwest and prominent landmark of Seattle. It was constructed for the World's Fair when Seattle hosted in 1962, at that time it was considered to be so "futuristic" looking and now it seems pretty retro...

I have always been intrigued by the needle and it has been the subject or focal point of many of my drawings and paintings. I spent most of my teenage years and early adulthood living in Seattle and loved seeing the needle everyday in my travels around the city.

The Space Needle at Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Below is an except from Wikipedia Article about The Space Needle

The Space Needle at Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Being a major symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows and other works of fiction. A few examples of films include It Happened at the World's Fair (1962), where it was used as a filming location, and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). In the 1974 film The Parallax View, the inside and outside platforms of the observation deck are the setting for a political assassination, and there's a brief chase on the roof above it. In the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, it served as a base of operations for the villain Doctor Evil with the word Starbucks written across its saucer after his henchman Number 2 shifted the organization's resources toward the coffee company. It's also featured prominently in Chronicle(2012), and is a key element in the film's climax.

Space Needle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In TV shows, one of the most prominent showings is in the series Frasier where an outline of it appears in the opening credits and the base of it is visible from the high-rise condo although the view is really a composite image as there are no high rise condos in the right area of that height.[23] It also appears in nearly every episode of the Seattle-set series Grey's Anatomy, often in helicopter fly-by shots. The Space Needle also makes appearances in Nickelodeon TV show iCarly where it can be seen with other surrounding buildings in the Seattle area.

Other TV appearances include The History Channel's Life After People where it falls because of corrosion. It was also destroyed in the TV miniseries 10.5 when a 7.9 earthquake hits Seattle. The movie mistakenly portrays the Needle as crumbling concrete, though the structure is actually made of iron. The needle is also featured in some episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy, such as the episode "Storms" where Bill Nye uses the lightning rod on top of it as an example of conducting lightning strikes. It also appears many times as a refuge for the hero of Dark Angel.

In video games, it has been used to represent Seattle in Pilotwings 64 and Rock Band and it appears in the Seattle Circuit reverse ofGran Turismo 4. The Space Needle and the area around it also appear in the last campaign mission of World in Conflict as the site of the Soviet invasion force's last stand.

The Space Needle has been used for some other purposes as well, including a large 57 piece Lego construction set of it that has been released as part of Lego Architecture's structures.[24] The Needle is also featured on the logo of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC.[25]

The Space Needle was used in Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' song Can't hold us, in the final part of the music video.”

I hope you enjoyed your little history of Seattle lesson…  Maybe one of these days I will get around to finishing my Viaduct painting and I can give you a dose of Alaskan Way Viaduct history too!!!  Adios Amigos!

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