Singapore

I just returned from the 6th Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore.  Hundreds of sketchers from around the world converged in Singapore for four days of workshops, activities, demos, food, and sketchcrawls.  Singapore has a lot of interesting modern architecture, as well as a lot of tasty food and a diverse population, so there was a lot to sketch. One thing I found particularly interesting was the many religions represented: one street had a church, a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and a synagogue - all on the same street.

I got a lot of energy from spending the week with so many other sketchers, and I feel like I learned a lot from them.  Getting feedback and ideas from the instructors and the other sketchers can be valuable for improving your work.  The time between the organized sketching activities is a big part of the fun as well - I spent a good part of the week hanging out with a group of Australians who "adopted" me, and of course we continued the Symposium tradition of drawing each other over dinner.  I filled several sketchbooks there - too many to post here, but you can see the rest on my flickr album for the trip.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of the Symposiums, I highly recommend it - it is worth the jet lag.  Next year the Symposium will be in Manchester, U.K., and I hope to be able to go.

Rolling Thunder

Every year on Memorial Day weekend, Washington D.C. becomes host to Rolling Thunder, a large motorcycle rally originally started by a group of Vietnam veterans. Thousands of veterans from around the country ride in on motorcycles to honor those who served, and remember those who were left behind. They don't come on small, quiet bikes either - they ride the loudest Harley-Davidsons they can find, to make Rolling Thunder live up to its name. You can see all sorts of motorcycles on the road all weekend, and the various riding groups all have unique logos and patches.

Many of the riders proceed to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to pay their respects. The Wall, designed by Maya Lin and embedded in the ground, bears the names of the 58,000 American service members who gave their lives in the war. One end of the Wall points to the Washington Monument, while the other points towards the Lincoln Memorial.

Many of the activities take place near the Lincoln Memorial, which has a lot of visitors at any time of year, but is particularly crowded on Memorial Day weekend.

On Sunday, the riders will gather in the Pentagon parking lot and ride slowly over the Memorial Bridge towards the Lincoln Memorial and the Wall. Previous events have had as many as 900,000 participants. The sound is not something you will forget.

 

Nationals Park

From the upper deck at Nationals Park you can see the Capitol (currently covered in scaffolding), as well as the Old Post Office, the Cathedral, and many other D.C. landmarks. But last night we also saw the Nationals fall to the Marlins, 2-1, which is definitely not what we came there to see. But at least they still have 'W'-shaped pretzels.

Sketch Virginia

I just returned from a weekend of sketching in Richmond, Virginia. We had perfect sketching weather - the temperature was pleasant, the sun was shining, and the dogwoods were blooming. Sketchers came from around the state, and a few far-off places as well.

Marc Holmes led a two-day workshop on sketching techniques - we focused on building up a sketch from pencil, to ink, to watercolor, working from big, light shapes to small, dark marks as the sketch progresses. I had fun sketching the gargoyles adorning the entryway to the Branch House. Towards the end, we also explored dispensing with the scaffolding, and moving straight to watercolor. I had taken some of Marc's workshops before in Portland and in Barcelona, but he always has something new to offer, and I'm glad he was able to come down to offer this.

After the workshop, we had an open sketchcrawl down Monument Avenue, to which we invited the community. A couple dozen sketchers showed up from Richmond, Charlottesville, and the surrounding area. There are a lot of lovely houses along Monument that were fun to sketch.

At the end we met at a local bar where Marc challenged people to "sketch duels": we'd face off one-on-one, pull our pens and brushes out of our holsters, and sketch each other for just a few minutes, face to face. This was a lot of fun. My duel with Marc is below (check out his sketch of me in the green hat).

At the Virginia Center for Architecture, at the Branch House on Monument Avenue, Jessie Chapman has curated an Urban Sketching exhibit, with sketches from Don Gore, Rich Johnson, and some local Virginia sketchers. It is worth checking out - it was really neat to see their sketchbooks in person.

It was a fun weekend, and it was great to meet so many other Virginia sketchers.

NIH Community Orchestra

The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD sponsors a Community Orchestra that performs in the D.C. area. Many of the musicians are employees at the NIH, or their friends and relations. For this year's winter concert, they performed selections from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite, Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave, Kalinnikov's Symphony No. 1, and selections from Handel's Messiah (including the Hallelujah Chorus). I got there a little early and got to sketch them while they practiced - then finished the sketch during the actual performance.

Bruton Parish

Bruton Parish Church

Bruton Parish Church, in Colonial Williamsburg (about 3 hours from D.C.) has been in continuous use as a church since 1715. Many of the Founding Fathers, including Jefferson, Washington, Mason, and Henry once worshiped here, and it is still an active Episcopal congregation today.

This month, the church is hosting a different choir every night for a candlelight concert series. On Friday night, my dad's church choir from Winchester, Virginia sang Christmas songs to start off the season. The whole family came down to support him and enjoy the music in this space. My sister and I are both William and Mary graduates, so we all used to spend a lot of time together in Williamsburg, and it was fun to do that again - and show off Colonial Williamsburg and the College to my nephews.

Candlelight Concert

Bruton Parish from a visit in 2009

USk Symposium Paraty

I just returned from the 5th Urban Sketchers Symposium in Paraty, Brazil. Over 100 sketchers from around the world converged in Paraty, a little colonial town on the southeastern coast, for a week of sketching, workshops, demos, and eating. I attended workshops by Behzad Bagheri, Suhita Shirodkar, Liz Steel, and João Catarino, some of which were pretty challenging, but from which I learned a lot. We also spent a fair amount of time just sketching together informally in the city, and often sketched each other at mealtimes. I also got to explore Rio de Janeiro for a few days before the Symposium itself started. You can see more of my sketches from the Symposium on flickr, or check out everyone else's work in the Urban Sketchers Paraty Pool.

The Symposium is a lot of fun - I highly encourage any of you to go if you get the chance. It is a lot of fun to explore a new place with a bunch of other sketchers. And since we only get together like this once a year, it is also a bit like a family reunion of sorts - it is great to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while, but whose work you have been following online. I look forward to the next Symposium.

But for now, it is back to sketching D.C.

The Silver Line

Wiehle Avenue - Reston East Station

Today was the opening day for phase 1 of Metro's Silver Line. I live within walking distance of the last station, Wiehle Avenue - Reston East, so I walked over to sketch the opening day festivities. There were a lot of people there to ride the first train - I had to wait in a long line outside the station. But I eventually got on board in the second car, and rode the first train in through Tysons to East Falls Church, where the new tracks join the rest of the system. Riders cheered when the train started moving, and some even sang Silver Line songs they made up to the tunes of Christmas carols.

Riders on the very first Silver Line Train

I briefly met up with some folks from Greater Greater Washington who were touring the new stations, but lost track of the group while I stopped to sketch.

Spring Hill Station

I grew up in the outer suburbs, and have been waiting for this line to open for years. Now I can ride all the way in to DC without getting in my car, so this is an exciting day.

Crane at Wiehle Avenue

Friday Night Live in Herndon

On Fridays in the summertime, the town of Herndon puts on a series of free concerts on the town green. Last night, we saw country-rock band Shane Gamble, along with U2 tribute band "2U" (the world's "second best U2 experience"). I sketched until it got too dark to see, at which point I had to put my sketchbook away and just listen to the music like a normal person. But that was fun too.

Cathedral Flower Mart

This weekend was the annual Flower Mart at the Washington National Cathedral.  Many vendors set up stands selling flowers and herbs and crafts (and food) on the Cathedral grounds, as well as activities for children.  I heard bagpipes and banjos while sketching (though thankfully not at the same time).
 

I felt particularly motivated to sketch the Cathedral again after meeting David Macaulay last week, author/illustrator of Cathedral and The Way Things Work, who was speaking at the USA Science and Engineering Festival.
I have loved his books since I was very small, and it was exciting to get to meet him, so I just had to go out and draw a cathedral today.

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.

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.