Guitar Player in the Park

Seemingly endless cloudy and rainy days gave way today to a spectacular afternoon.  In Dupont Circle Park in Washington, D.C.,  a man strummed songs on his guitar in a soothing way. The soft chords he played seemed to erase the sound of the traffic surrounding us.   Each melody was a well-known one to anyone around and listening to music in the 80’s.  The songs blended with the sound of the water falling from the fountain nearby. A perfect afternoon and venue for a quick sketch!  Hopefully the guitar player will return soon for an encore!  (And, hopefully, so will the sun!)

Illustration: Watercolor and Platinum Carbon pen-and-ink sketch, “Dupont Circle Park,”  by Black Elephant Blog author

 

Gridlock Sketch

Illustration:  Watercolor, gouache,  and Platinum Carbon pen and ink sketch, with some wax-resist and salt applied, in a Stillman & Birn “Epsilon” sketchbook by Black Elephant Blog author

A light snowfall caused havoc in the Washington, D.C. area last night as, unexpectedly, treacherous sheets of ice quickly formed and clung to roads everywhere.  Major interstates were clogged or even shut down.  No one was prepared for this. Despite the ordeal the wintry scenes made the ordinary appear quite extraordinary–such as this bank on a corner in Georgetown.  The sketch was done from a reference photo which was taken while in the probably historic traffic jam of 20 January.  By 3 a.m. the next day, the journey which started at 9:30 p.m. was safely over, thank goodness.