"Old Town"

A Weekend in Northern Virginia

Monday, November 04, 2013

Took advantage of a crisp fall weekend to drive down to Virginia. Stopped at Ellicott City and Frederick in Maryland, then Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, on the way. Visted a friend from high school in Winchester, then proceeded south on Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park before exiting at the tiny town of Sperryville to have lunch and sketch with Jessie while M. biked.

On the hill, Sperryville, VA

Then it was onward to Old Town Alexandria, where I spent a leisurely Sunday morning with a block of Hahnemuhle Quattro watercolor paper. I strolled down King Street from the Lorien Hotel & Spa to the waterfront, stopping to sketch along the way.

Old Town, Alexandria, VA

The town takes a while to wake up on a Sunday morning, so I had the streets mostly to myself.

Old Town theater, Alexandria, VA

Prince Street, Alexandria, VA

Union and Prince Sts, Alexandria, VA

A highlight of our trip was Wisconsin-style pumpkin frozen custard at Dairy Godmother in Alexandria's Del Ray section. So decadent! On a future visit, will have to stay longer and sketch that neighborhood, too!

"Jim Himes"

Weekend Sketchbook: Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Was all set to draw and paint cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington this past weekend, but the mercurial weather made a hash of those plans.

Nonetheless, I did get a bit of sketching in. Drew this one quite rapidly with a refilled Pilot Varsity pen while we were waiting to have breakfast with our congressman, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. I'm calling it "The Constituents." The private Capitol tour following breakfast was a highlight of our weekend.

As we sat in Himes' office in the Cannon building, we heard our elected officials (on a small television screen) loudly and dramatically debating the merits of shutting down the government.

Waiting in Rep. Jim Himes' office, Washington, D.C.

In between the sudden showers and gawks at stately architecture, I did manage to meet an artist friend in Old Town Alexandria. There was an interesting group of gentlemen sitting on a bench at the docks, but I chose to paint just the guy in the middle, who was relaxing with a cigar. I had to rush because I had to make it back to Arlington for a dinner reservation; in my haste the watercolor got a bit gouache-y and opaque. Touching it up with more paint later didn't really help!

At the dock in Old Town Alexandria, VA