Lower Manhattan
I love sketching in Lower Manhattan. There are so many different options and opportunities there! Here are two favorite views, done a couple of weeks ago enjoying some fresh spring weather. This is Doyer Street, in Chinatown. It was once the murder capital of NYC, back when the area was full of opium dens and gangs would capture rivals in the sharp curve of the street. It's also said that the area had a lot of secret passages through the buildings that could be utilized by in
Washington DC: National Mall Sketchcrawl
I decided to spend my final day in DC doing a self-guided National Mall sketchcrawl, starting at the Lincoln Memorial! After painting inside the memorial itself, I sat myself down on one of the top steps, leaning against a pillar, to paint the view of the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. I walked the length of the reflecting pool to the WW2 Memorial We had missed the other night, and was loving the light on all the details! It hadn't been on my sketch list, but se
Washington DC - Day 2
On my second day H had to go to her conference, so I was left to my own devices. I definitely wanted to see the Obama portraits at the National Portrait gallery, so i headed down a little early to get a sketch in before entering the museum. After doing a full lap around the building, I decided I liked the light best on this side. Then I made a bee-line for Michelle's portrait (as Barack is in the President's gallery, they aren't being displayed together. I was thrilled to fin
Washington DC - Day 1
I spent most of this week in Washington D.C. - Hilary had another conference she was going to do some sight-seeing before and asked if I wanted to join. Perhaps less fun than Disney, but closer and cheaper so I said "yes!" We got in Tuesday evening, making Wednesday our first (and Hilary's only) real sight-seeing day. Before we left we had discussed the National Museum of African American History and Culture being a priority. Because all the timed passes that you need to acce
Staten Island Ferry
It's nice having friends who also like sketching! A few weeks ago, my friend Tim suggested a sketch trip taking the (free!) Staten Island Ferry back and forth. We ended up taking it six times! Each of these sketches took less than one trip across. I started out with this view of the interior of the ferry. Next I decided to brave the then-chilly weather to do some sketches from the open-air front of the boat, starting with this view of Manhattan. I did this much quicker sketch
