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| sold |
Yesterday, seven friends and I--the biggest group so far--went to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. We could not have chosen a better weather. It was about 80 degrees, but with low humidity and nice breeze, it felt heavenly. The place was not crowded at all; except occasional picnickers, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We felt truly blessed--well, until we started painting.
The National Cathedral is a 20th-century structure built in the Gothic style. In spirit and manner of construction, you can say that it is medieval. It's situated on a 50-acre ground, which also boasts a beautiful garden, called Bishop's Garden. Last year when I painted there, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the sight of the cathedral. So, instead, I painted a stone gazebo in the Bishop's Garden.
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| "Bishop's Garden, National Cathedral" (oil, 8" x 10") sold |
The gazebo with eight sides was hard enough to draw. When I was finished, I was so pleased with the painting that I emailed it to my plein-air-painting teacher, Sara Poly, to show off. Yesterday, I bravely tackled the cathedral itself. Oh, my goodness. I kept saying this to myself. As it turned out, I had more trouble painting the magnificent cedar of Lebanon on the left. I chose this view on purpose, calculating that with so much of the cathedral hidden behind the cedar, it shouldn't be too bad to paint the main subject itself. I don't think I will be painting the cedar of Lebanon any time soon.
The cathedral was treated suggestively; otherwise, I would be still drawing it out there. By the time, the bones of drawing and colors were put down (as you can see in the second picture from the top), I had to quit painting. The sun had moved and there was no point in continuing. I finished the painting in the studio today.
HAVE A GREAT INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND!
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