Joel's Untitled Blog

Previous visits: 2008 2009.

For the 35th World Wide Sketchcrawl, we decided to explore the waterfront area, and sketch the Nationals in action at the ballpark. Unfortunately, we did not coordinate all that well, and had a hard time finding each other in the crowds, but that didn't stop me from going in to the game:

I was sitting up in the cheap seats by the foul pole, but the view wasn't too bad. I tried to sketch some of the players in action:

After the game, I walked along the waterfront to the Navy Yards:

I went into the District today to see the cherry blossoms, which are blooming early this year. Most of the crowds go to the Tidal Basin, but there are also many cherry trees along the river in West Potomac Park, which is less crowded. I visited the tree below in a different season five years ago.

I made a brief trip into D.C. this afternoon to see the Hokusai screens exhibit at the Freer Gallery (and I'm looking forward to seeing the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, which are coming soon). Afterwards, I walked over to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which I had not yet visited. Sunset was a good time to go, because it makes for some interesting shadows.

While I often sketch people staring at their cellphones, this week I was happy to observe a bunch of subjects reading the printed word.

This weekend was the 34th World Wide Sketchcrawl. Although most of the world sketched on Saturday, the D.C. group met on Sunday instead since that seemed to work better for most people's schedules. We met at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery downtown.

I started off with a quick sketch of Vaquero, by Luis Jiménes, which sits outside the north entrance. Since it didn't make it above freezing today, this was the only sketch I did outside.

Once I went inside to meet the other sketchers, we were greeted by the Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra, which was playing in the courtyard. The Gourd Orchestra plays hand-made instruments made out of locally-grown gourds. They wore colorful costumes, complete with gourd hats, and put on quite a show: there were lively instrumental pieces and soundscapes, songs about gourds, and gardening tips. At one point they noticed us sketching them, and announced from the stage that they would be critiquing our work after the show. A gourd time was had by all.

The Portrait Gallery contains much more than just portraits. I had not spent much time there before, so I enjoyed looking around. I sketched a few sculptures upstairs, and found a view I liked from an upper window of the National Archives, which is just down 8th street.

I went into the District with the intention of sketching the White House Christmas Tree, but I couldn't get an angle I liked, and found some other subjects to draw instead. Pennsylvania Avenue was busy in front of the Old Post Office where people were setting things up for the New Year's celebration later that evening. And the Occupy encampment in McPherson Square was colorful, yet relatively calm and quiet.

I went on a brief business trip this week that involved flying both very early in the morning, and very late at night. Although I wasn't very happy about the timing of my flights, or the size of the planes, on the way in to LaGuardia we did fly up the Hudson river at low altitude, yielding a very interesting view of Manhattan just before dawn while the city lights were still on.

The Handley Library in Winchester, VA, is shaped like an open book: the atrium and dome on the corner represent the spine, and the wings of the library spread out like the pages of a book. A much more rewarding place to visit after Thanksgiving than the mall.

This weekend I attended a performance by the Winchester Arts Chorale, which was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, VA. They sang a number of Christmas-themed pieces, from Renaissance-era music up to more modern pieces by Rachmaninoff and John Rutter. My father sings in the Chorale as a bass, so it was also especially neat to see him sing with them.

The church itself is a beautiful stone church right off of Rt. 50. I'd seen it many times before while driving past, and had wanted for a long time to see the inside, and to stop and sketch. Inside the church there was a lot of interesting woodwork as well, such as the pulpit, which depicts Martin Luther, John Donne, Johnathan Edwards, and other famous preachers.