The Old Post Office Pavilion

During the 42nd World Wide SketchCrawl we went to this fantastic old building which is currently almost abandoned with just few offices and small food vendors businesses. This building have a lot of details from an era gone by which illustrated the admiration to renaissance style of architecture as well as the mix of other eclectic details. The building is do for renovation/restoration/part demolition starting this March. The building will be converted into a luxury hotel own by Donald Trump. I focused of a part of the main lobby entrance which has exquisite architectural details and it is partly used for storage. It took me 2.25 hrs, I used black ink on white paper.

Old Post Office

For the 42nd World Wide Sketchcrawl, the D.C. sketchers met at the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, because it has a nice atrium where we could sketch out of the elements. I happened to be in the neighborhood last week, when it was a little warmer, so I went ahead and did a sketch of the exterior that day, since I knew it would be colder today.

In front of the building is a statue of Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General. Inside there is an atrium with a food court and shopping, and an observation tower that gives a nice view of the District.

We had a few new people this time, as well as some familiar faces. It's always good to get a chance to see other sketchers.

Cafe Life in Downtown Silver Spring

Washington, DC is a geographic square turned on a 45-degree angle, and sitting just atop its northern point is downtown Silver Spring. A mix of urban and suburbia, the local cafes are filled with the laptop-set, plugging away at Facebook, email, spreadsheets, school reports, and whatever social media they are hoping to start up and get rich off of. Caribou Coffee and Starbucks are the dominant chains, but lately, smaller indie cafes are getting in on the action. I did these at the Caribou one day, and like the buildings I often sketch in Washington, DC, the people transfixed to their laptops, caught up in the hyper-information flow that is Washington, DC, don't move much and make for great sketchbook fodder.

Obama's 2nd Presidential Inauguration 44th President of the U.S.A.

Well I thought that I lost this sketch and I looked for it for almost over a year and few days ago I found it!  I did this sketch during a very cold January morning right in the middle of the action! It was a great event and a celebration of democracy. Yes! there were NO cars and the city was a pedestrian/bicycle civilized place during that day which made it even more democratic! It took me 2.5 hrs and I used black ink on white paper.

Smithsonian at Sunset

The Smithsonian Castle

Arts and Industries Building

The Smithsonian at sunset.  I had to work quickly because the light was changing fast.

McMillan Sand Filtration Site

Talks have been going on since 2008 about developing the area between North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue.

City Paper

Facts