"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." Vincent Van Gogh

Sunday, December 29, 2019

Christmas Trip to the Nations Capital!

My husband and I just returned from a whirlwind Christmas trip to Washington DC. It must have been windy in Reno while we were gone as we returned to find a huge mound of tumbleweeds up against our front door. Our first order of business was to clean them up and restore the yard to order!

Eager to get back to the easel, I did two quick portrait studies for warm up.
Rosy Cheeks / oil on linen /  12x16

Practice /old corrugated cardboard / 12x8

Our trip to Washington was exciting, fun and jam packed! 

This is a photo taken at dusk from our hotel room overlooking Constitution Avenue.


The building with the tall clock tower is the old US Post Office now refurbished into the Trump International Hotel.

On our first day, we spent the morning touring the Pentagon. It was a unique experience - very high security  with no photography allowed. In the afternoon  we toured the Capital building, the Rotunda and Hall of Statues. 

Inside the Rotunda showing some of the iconic historical murals painted by artist John Trumbull, a Veteran and personal aide to General Washington during the Revolutionary War.



180 feet up, the dome of the Rotunda features The Apotheses of Washington painted by Constantino Brumidi in 1865 showing Washington flanked by figures representing Liberty, Victory and Freedom . Amazingly the figures are up to 15 feet tall in order to be seen from the floor.

A closer view showing Washington with the lavender robe across his lap


An imposing figure of Andrew Jackson

In my next post, I will show you the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and inside the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

5 comments:

  1. Una bona excursió ! ;)
    I bons dibuixos !

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  2. Thank you, Artur, and thank you for visiting my blog. The holiday was great but its good to be back home. Happy New Year to you!

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  3. What a beautiful time of the year to visit Washington, D.C. Love the photos..but the portraits are amazing. Always SO unique. I haven't visited the Pentagon yet. On my list for next time.

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  4. Beautiful portraits, Susan!
    The murals are amazing! Wish I could visit it one day.

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