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.

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.

Small Press Expo

So Baltimore Comic-Con was fun, but the real action came a week later in DC (well, North Bethesda...) with the Small Press Expo. If you are into comics, or just art in general this was the place to find every indie or underground comic creator you wish you've heard of. This expo is one of my favorite times of the year- made apparent by how I spent way too much money on said art and comics. So as with Baltimore, I thought I would put together a page of SPX sketches in a way that seemed appropriate.

LOCK 6

LOCK 6. This lock is located at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C & O Canal) near Georgetown in Washington DC. The canal is 184 miles long and it goes parallel to the Potomac from Cumberland MD to Washington D.C. This lock and the canal was used from 1831 until 1924 where many goods came in and out. The main principal cargo in the latter years was coal which it came from the Allegheny Mountains. This is a beautiful place very near to South west Washington DC area where engineering meets nature. This fantastic place is well used by the locals for physical activities like running, fishing, or kayaking. The 1st look at the lock give you the impression of ancient ruins that just were recently discovered. The height of the lock is about 12 to 15 feet. I was bless to have the opportunity to sketch inside the canal because the water level at this time of the year is very low. During rainy season I will not have the same opportunity. I strongly recommend people to visit this little known part of the U.S. Capital history. I spend the entire day at this park and it took me 3.5 hrs of sketching with breaks in between. I used black ink on white paper.