This past summer I was having breakfast with some old friends in Washington DC and we found a sweet little cafe with a big open back area, grape trellises and sunshine. It was a perfect spot to catch up after a long time apart. This young woman was studying under the grape leaves in the sun. As I look at the finished drawing I realize she looks a bit like she's in a Victorian wheelchair, which she isn't... it's the cafe chairs which I should have designed a little differently.
This is my 28th entry for #Inktober. Thank you for looking.
I lived in Washington DC during most of my twenties. I loved the city, and have been back for a number of visits since then. Recently, my daughter and I took a week-long road trip, spending a couple of days in DC. The city is even more beautiful than I remembered. We had beautiful weather, dry, bright, and sparkling. One evening, NC Wyeth-like clouds formed behind the monuments as the sun set over the Potomac. What a lovely day.
The Girls Just Wanna Paint theme for June was "value". Regardless of the political turmoil roiling about our nation's capitol, the city is active, vibrant, multicultural, and a reminder that each of us has something to contribute to the value of our nation. See the rest of the Girls Just Wanna Paint interpretations of "value" here.
My daughter and I embarked on a week-long road trip the day I finished school, just over a week ago. I packed my classroom, finished my grades and left school for the summer. Next day, we headed off to make a loop, the bottom of which was Columbia, SC where my niece is living and attending college. We had a wonderful time, reunited with old friends, delivered a few baby gifts in person, occasionally struggled to find radio stations we could both agree on, ate great food, but especially, lingered over many meals with people I love! We stopped in Burlington, NJ, Petersburg, VA; Columbia, SC; Greensboro, NC, Washington DC; Briar Cliff, NY then home; 2009 miles!! I discovered a few things, especially that my daughter is a very good driver!!! We haven't spent a lot of time on the highway together, and if so, I usually drive. I learned that grits are a vehicle for whatever you want to put in/on them. I learned that Mount Vernon now has a monument commemorating all the slaves who are buried there and that they are conducting archeological digs of these grave areas, which I look forward to revisiting when the work is visible to the public. I learned that, despite my concerns about the current political climate in DC, the city doesn't carry that pall. It is even more vibrant, multi-cultural, exciting, and beautiful than it was when I lived there decades ago. We were blessed with two days of uncharacteristic dry, clear weather in the mid 80s, lovely for sitting outside, walking among the monuments in the evening. I carried a sketchbook with me, and used it a few times during the trip. My daughter was in charge of of the Airbnb portion of the trip and she did a tremendous job!!! More to follow as I convert a few more ideas to the sketchbook.
