Vacation Via Sketchbook: Pt I

So we took a little vacation this week. Nashville! (With a quick stopover in Washington D.C. beforehand.) Normally we take lots of photos but as we get older, we spend less and less time photographing stuff and more and more time enjoying stuff. This does not mean we do not want tangible evidence of our trips however. And after my recent inspirations, I decided I was going to make more of an effort to sketch while we were out and about. Here are the results.

Our stopover in D.C. included a quick run in at the Smithsonian Museums of American History and Natural History. Weird, right? Me going into museums, particularly ones of the natural history variety? Anyways, in the great hall of the Museum of Natural History is a full grown taxidermied bull African elephant. He is a monster. It is also the only place in that joint where you can find a small corner to yourself and sit and work without being trampled. Here is my first effort in pencil.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I took along my watercolors for the first time. However, my on-site watercolor skills SUCK. So, when we got to Nashville I found an art supply store and got some gouache. Then I fixed this thing. Still rough but as you will see, I may be getting the hang of it.

So after the museums, we went to eat. "The Flying Fish" restaurant was not first on our list but it was first as to which we came to. (Do NOT listen to people in Alexandria, Va. when they say "It's about a mile away". They have NO idea what a mile is. Especially if you are walking.) So we sat down to enjoy dinner.

This little guy was swimming around by our table as we waited on our server.

Seated at the table next to us were four middle aged folks who were enjoying their conversation. This gentlemen seemed PARTICULARLY fond of the future of electric cars. He was quite animated about it.

Tomorrow: Nashville. More to come...