United States Supreme Court

The Unites States Supreme Court, with flag at half-staff to mark the passing of Justice Scalia.  Since I'd sketched the high court in Bangalore just a couple weeks ago, I thought it be fitting to sketch the high court in my home town.

Taft Bridge

The Taft Bridge carries Connecticut Avenue over Rock Creek Park, just below the National Zoo.  I didn't realize this until sketching it, but apparently it is one of the largest unreinforced concrete structures in the world.

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.

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms in D.C. have now reached peak bloom, and I returned to the same spot I sketched from in February. No ice this time - but plenty of tourists with selfie sticks.

I also sketched the Japanese Lantern and the Pagoda, which sit among the cherry trees by the water. The Lantern was a gift from the city of Tokyo in 1954, and the Pagoda was a gift from the mayor of Yokohama in 1957. And the cherry trees themselves, of course, were also a gift from the people of Japan. It is now one of the most popular attractions in D.C., especially in the Spring, as well as a symbol of the friendship between our countries.

Jefferson Memorial

This weekend I paid a visit to the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin.  A black and white image seemed appropriate for the grey day, so went with the dry twig and Chinese ink technique I learned about from Kiah Kiean.

The Memorial itself is modeled after the Pantheon, a building Jefferson himself admired (and imitated in his design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia).  The inside has inscriptions from his writings, including the Declaration of Independence.

The Tidal basin was still frozen over from colder weather earlier in the week, but it was actually relatively comfortable outside today.  This has long been a favorite place of mine to walk around - and it's much less crowded in February than it is in April when the cherry trees are in bloom.

Eastern Market

For the 45th World Wide Sketchcrawl the D.C. Sketchers met at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. The market is housed in a 19th century brick building, and on weekends you can find food, art, crafts, and all sorts of things at the nearby flea market. The building was gutted by fire in 2007, but was rebuilt in 2009 and is now a bustling place.

While I was sketching, I met Alvin, a photographer working on a project called People in This City. He takes portraits of people he finds and asks them a few questions - and shares the conversations online. The result is an interesting cross-section of the life of the city.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival has been going on over the past few weeks on the National Mall, in front of the Smithsonian Castle.  This year Kenya was one of the featured countries, and there was Kenyan food, folk art, music, and dance.  I got there just around closing time on the last day, so I didn't actually get to see much, but I did enjoy sketching to the rhythm of the music.

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.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Spring has finally arrived now in D.C., and the cherry trees are actually in bloom for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival - the timing doesn't always work out quite this good.  There are always a lot of things going on in D.C. during the festival, including the parade, street fairs, music, and various events at the art museums - often with a Japanese cultural theme, since the cherry trees were originally a gift from Japan.

I got to see the Onoe Ryu Dancers perform traditional Japanese dance at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  The costumes and dancers were fun to sketch, and I tried using a brushpen instead of my usual fountain pen to capture them.

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.

Galata Morente

I'll add my Gaul too...

Ricardo pointed out to our sketchcrawl FB group that The Dying Gaul was on temporary loan to the NGA, and gathered a bunch of us to go sketch it.  While the crowd around the sculpture was deep, everyone found a decent unobstructed view or two to draw from. My only regret is that I didn't truly represent his wicked mustache and mullet.

It is pretty interesting how unaware people can be of themselves as the step directly in front of another person looking at the same artwork.  I don't mean just those of us sketching (though I will admit it didn't help) but people who will stand so close to the sculpture itself that the 30 visitors behind them can't see a thing. Whatever. At least no one knocked him over...

Elizabeth

As far as pop culture figures who make good mural subject, DC has a pretty good knack for picking them.  Marilyn Monroe, Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, and Frederick Douglas among others.  Well, earlier this season the Dacha Beer Garden opened up with a pretty spectacular mural of Elizabeth Taylor keeping watch over their beer drinkers down below.

Dupont Circle and Georgetown

I went in to D.C. to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Phillips Collection, which I very much enjoyed (though there is nothing quite like the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam).

On my way back I stopped in Dupont Circle and did some sketching. There is always something going on in Dupont Circle, and Saturday was no exception - there was a wedding, in addition to the usual gathering of musicians, chess players, dog walkers, and people reading and socializing (and sketching). I've sketched here many times before, but this time the fall colors were out. Somehow I don't get tired of sketching this spot.

I also decided to walk through Georgetown, which is also a pretty neighborhood in the fall.

Maine Avenue Fish Market

For the 41st World Wide Sketchcrawl, the D.C. group met at the Maine Avenue Fish Market. Between the buildings, the fish, the customers, and the boats, it made for a pretty good place to sketch, and not too crowded.

After lunch, we headed over towards the docks. The owners of this sailboat, the Chardonnay, stopped by to see what we were doing, and told us some stories about some of the places they'd been with the boat - and apologized for the mess on the deck (which I thought just made the scene more interesting).

H St Festival

Inspired by Joel's sketches from last year, I checked out this year's H Street Festival. Food, weird cars, rollergirls, art and lots of people.  Sadly I missed an opportunity to try a faux-cronut, but otherwise a lot of fun.

I'm starting to enjoy putting sketches together in strip form.  It's taking me a little longer to plan out, put together, and sketch, but I'm diggin' it.

U.S. Military Culinary Competition

The 10th Annual Military Culinary Competition was held this weekend on 8th Street SE, in front of the Marine Barracks. Teams of chefs from various branches of the armed forces, as well as a team from the White House Kitchen, competed to prepare a four-course meal from ingredients provided in a basket. The street was closed off to traffic for the Barracks Row Fall Festival, and the chefs worked in tents along the sidewalk, so I was able to get a pretty close view. Off to one side, a sculptor used a chain saw to carve an eagle out of a block of ice.