The Old Post Office Pavillion

I'm a little late sharing, but this is a sketch from the tower of the Old Post Office Pavillion in DC.  We headed there for our most recent sketchcrawl (and later found out well we timed our visit, as the site was just a couple weeks away from a major renovation) thanks to the suggestion of Matt Malone.

The highlight of the sketchcrawl was the amazing view to be had from the clock tower, an open air space with 360 degrees of DC around it.  It was fricking freezing though, so I didn't manage much more than a few chicken scratches before retreating back to the main hall.  I have a few pages of unfinished drawings, but this one I managed to get done after paying it a little more attention at home.

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.

This Site Is Closed Do Not Enter

Part of me just wants to say "presented with no commentary" and leave it at that, but I don't want this to be mistaken for some kind of libertarian protest or a complaint about park rangers like we've seen in the last week. I only felt as though it would be interesting to go check out the Mall and see how it looked when "barricaded". Now, if instead you want take this as a criticism of politicians not doing their job, go crazy. Especially those that instigated the shutdown then shamelessly postured in front of cameras to complain about it's results. Not that I feel like sketching those nincompoops.

Crafty Bastards 2013

Crafty Bastards was just a couple of weeks ago.  It's similar to SPX, as it's the kind of fair you walk into just thinking you're just going to browse, then walk out realizing you spent every bit of cash you had on you.  I swear I really didn't think I'd actually spend every dime on me, I thought I was just going to sketch...

H Street Fest

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 put together and sketch, but I'm diggin' it.

So Long Marla

The latest Dr. Sketchy's this Sunday featured Marla Meringue's last session before traveling around the country with the Wizard of Oz for a year.  She is one of the consistently best Dr. Sketchy models  in the DC Baltimore area, she'll be missed.

Sketchcrawl #38. Three views of the Capitol Building. Part 3.

And finally, here are three views of the Capitol building.





Last Port-o-potty, I promise.

Sketchcrawl #38. Part 2.

The landscape of the National Mall changes quite a bit with the coming of the inauguration.     News trucks, t-shirt vendors, security, etc... Though not quite a Tardis, the Police box certainly caught my eye as an interesting addition to the surroundings.  And you can't miss the Port-o-potty's, and checking out CNN was just kind of fun.

Sketchcrawl #38 The National Mall, leading to the Inauguration. Part 1.

For this past weekend, we decided it would be timely to have our Sketchcrawl on the National Mall here in DC, as the Presidential Inauguration is happening shortly.  I got there a little early to get a sense of what was around, and there was plenty to see.  My first couple of sketches, as I waited for the other 'crawlers to arrive, aren't strictly Inauguration themed, but a couple of scenes of the Mall.

The East Wing of the National Gallery- in the midst of a face lift.


And a view of the Natural History Museum from Hirshhorn, across the Mall.

I'll post another batch in a moment or two...

Cheríe Sweetbottom

These are from the second Dr. Sketchy's DC, but last to be held at the Red Palace [RIP] featuring the lovely & talented Cheríe Sweetbottom as our model.

Here are some 10 minutes sketches

And a left-handed sketch that won me a cool pop-up book.

Eastern Market

Dr. Sketchy's DC with Eyrie Twylite

Dr. Sketchy's made its triumphant return to Washington DC last week at the Red Palace, hosted by Reverend Valentine with Eyrie Twylite posing for the group.  It was a lot of fun, and it is pretty nice to have a Dr. Sketchy's in town & within reasonable driving distance. Not that I am going to forgo the Baltimore sessions- heaven forbid.

Add to all of that, Crunkcakes was there with an amazing selection of their specialty cupcakes. Dear god I really wanted to win that half dozen...

Marilyn

The Marilyn Monroe mural by the Woodley Park/Adams Morgan metro stop at Connecticut & Calvert. Commissioned (in either 1968, or 1981) by Roi Barnard of Salon Roi, and painted by John Bailey.

Artomatic Sketchcrawl

Since there are quite a few DC Urban Sketchers/Sketchcrawlers participating in Artomatic this time around, I thought it might be a good idea to have a tour & sketchcrawl to highlight our work, and the rest of the show.  (I stuck to sketching non-sketchcrawler sculptures, as it was a little easier to do than sketching our 2D stuff.)

P.S. The show is over on June 23rd,  so if you are in town come check it out.
1851 S Bell St. Arlington, VA 22202. 

Waterfront SE

We intended to go into Nationals park to have our sketchcrawl during the ballgame, but had a hard time finding each other!  So when I finally ran into Matt we decided to stick to the waterfront and sketch a bit there.  I finished one sketch, but only got through a little of the other.

Albert Einstein Memorial

After I sketched Martin and saw how much attention he was getting, I thought I would give a little love to Albert too.

MLK Jr. Memorial

I may not be the first person to sketch the just-dedicated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, but I was happy to go finally see it, see the very moved crowds, and get a chance to sketch it myself.

Congressional Cemetery [September Sketchcrawl]

A bunch of us were itching for another sketchcrawl, so we gathered up at Congressional Cemetery (near the Stadium Armory Station) this past weekend. We started by getting an extremely interesting tour of the grounds from former chairman of the board of the Cemetery Preservation Association & sketcher himself, Patrick Crowley. We had a great overview of the grounds, peaked into a vault or two and learned quite a bit about the cemetery and DC history. Add to that, there was an over abundance of subject matter to tackle.

After our tour I began the sketch below, and managed to halfway finish it before being interrupted by the rain. Now some of the other sketchers braved the rain better than I and made some beautiful work, but not I. So I took a break and walked around a bit, searching for a beautiful little statue Patrick pointed out on our tour. "Marie Estelle Krachmar" caught my eye with her broken legs, eroded surface (marble is vulnerable to acid rain) and the fact that everyday someone puts a coin in her lap. So I began sketching her when a there came a lull in the rain. That lull was short though, and ultimately I had to finish the sketch at home, but the group has talked about coming back on a sunnier day that may be more conducive to sketching outdoors. I'm looking forward to it.

Sâuçá Restaurant

The brilliant Sâuçá fleet of food trucks recently opened a brick and mortar restaurant just around the corner from my apartment. And not only is it as delicious as the trucks, with an even bigger menu, but I can now mosey my way over there anytime I like. They took over a fantastic building that has a great retro design to it, with a beautiful overhang that covers the patio, making it a fun subject to draw.

P.S. Get the Fish Taco or Butter chicken with a side of Yucca fries. And ask for a few of their many tasty sauces to dip it all in.

District Taco

Finally got to sketching the District Taco food truck in Arlington. The main reason I even head over to the Courthouse farmer's market on Saturdays is so I have an excuse to grab a breakfast taco from them. Orale!!