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

Marrakech and the Random Buildings of Washington, DC

This is the Marrakech restaurant, located in the trendy DuPont Circle neighborhood here in Washington, DC. It's a unique building, and looks nothing like the buildings next to it, which look nothing like the buildings surrounding them. Outside of the granite-columned federal government buildings such as the Capital or the White House, Washington's architecture is best described as a truly wonderful assortment of random aesthetics.

This sketch was done with Sakura Pigma Micron pens and an assortment of Pantone Tria and Prismacolor Design markers into a 4" x 6" hardcover sketchbook. It was fully pre-sketched in pencil and inked onsite, as was 95% of the coloring. Thankfully, the whole process was pretty much undisturbed; no surrounding police activity, no delivery people dropping and spilling a keg of beer in front of me, no being questioned by a federal agent, and no being surrounded by homeless people looking to collect change because they're sitting next to an artist (yes; all of this has happened to me while sketching in Washington, DC!)

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...

THE DYING GAUL

The Dying Gaul, Roman sculpture 1st or 2nd C.E. This masterpiece from the Capitoline Museum in Rome is here in Washington DC National Gallery of Art from Oct 15, 2013 - Jan 26,2014. The Dying Gaul was found in Rome during excavations of the Villa Ludovisi in 1621. This sculpture depicts a warrior in his final moments, his face contorted in pain just before he collapses from the mortal wound to his chest. As an image of a vanquished enemy, the sculpture embodies courage in defeat, self-possession in the face of death, and the recognition of nobility in an alien race. The Dying Gaul is a deeply moving celebration of the human spirit. It took me 3 hrs and I used black ink on white paper.

2014 Urban Sketchers Symposium

You can now find more information about the Symposium and subscribe to the mailing list at paraty2014.urbansketchers.org. I'm jealous of anyone who makes it to Paraty, Aug. 27-30, 2014!

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.

Washington, DC Food Trucks

Washington, DC isn't all about politics, politics, and...er...politics; it's also quite the food town as well. While some neighborhoods feature eateries of all sorts, others are somewhat devoid of plentiful lunchtime options. For the latter, the void has been filled with an eclectic selection of increasingly popular food trucks. Such is the case with the West End neighborhood, which features plenty of luxury hotels, high-end condo buildings, and non-profit headquarters, but not much when it comes to quick lunchtime spots, hence making West End a food truck destination. Here are two of them, which I sketched during lunchtime strolls:

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.