National Portrait Gallery

We didn't have a lot of time to visit the National Portrait Gallery during my visit to Washington DC, so at first I didn't do any drawing while there. But two of the paintings stuck with me so much that I went back the next day and got quick sketches of them.

On the left, a portrait of architect H. H. Richardson by artist Hubert von Herkomer. This painting wins my "Best Smile" award--though I completely failed to capture the charm of the original painting in this fast sketch, even though I tried twice. (With the giant beard, the warm smile comes through all in the eyes...)

On the right, the portrait of abolitionist John Brown won my "Crazy Eyes" award. Not to mention the crazy hair. It was fun listening to people comment on the painting as they walked by.

Library of Congress

Have I mentioned the fact that I love libraries? I love them so much. It was delightful to get back and visit the Library of Congress during our DC trip. * Debo mencionar que a mí me encantan la bibiotecas. Me fascinan, en realidad. Así que estaba muy entusiamada a visitar el Library of Congress durante nuesto viaje a Washington DC.

The Library of Congress tour guide flat-out described the place as a "Temple of Knowledge." I love being able to enjoy such decadently ornate and monumental architecture outside of the context of a church. Books, education, learning--worth every mural, every inch of gleaming marble. * El voluntario que nos guió por la biblioteca declaró que es un "templo de sabiduría." Me encanta poder gozar arcitectura tan monumental y elegante fuera del contexto de una iglesia. Libros, educación, conocimiento--cada pulgada de marmol brillante, cada mural coloroso, es testigo al valor de aprender.

Of course, one often does learn that our history is flawed and problematic. Some epic murals from the 1890s can be fraught with sexism and colonial ugliness to my modern sensibilities. But perhaps that's just further proof of the fact that we are still learning, as we roll forward into the future?  * Claro que un parte importante de aprender, es darse cuenta que tenemos una historia problematica y difícil. Las murales de la decada 1890 pueden tener aspectos sexistas y colonialistas que me dan asco hoy en día. Pero ojalá esto signifique que vamos aprendiendo más a proceder adelente, ¿no?

National Museum of the American Indian

I had never seen the National Museum of the American Indian before. It was still under construction when I was last in DC. The curving form of the building was so striking that I had to to a sketch before we went in. * Nunca había visitado el Museo Nacional del Indio Americano antes; todavía estaban construyéndolo cuando estaba en DC hace 10 años. Las formas ondulantes del edificio son muy impresionantes- tuve que pintarla rapidamente antes de entrar.

I love the mix of ancient and modern in this museum. It really gives the sense of cultures that are active and relevant today, and that have very deep roots. *  Me encanta la mezcla de lo anciano y lo moderno en este museo--tenemos un sentido verdadero de culturas que son vivas y relevantes hoy en día, que tienen raices muy profundas.

I am a sucker for sculptures of animals, and they had a wonderful display of them on the top floor. There was a school group that came to that area shortly after I did, and they were so engaged that even with all my sketching time, I moved on earlier than they did! * Me encantan las esculturas de animales, y hay una colección de estas muy encantadora. Un groupo de estudiantes jovenes llegó a verlos un poco después de mi, y estaban tan fascinadas que--aunque yo pasé bastante tiempo en dibujar--todavía estaban charlando y discutiendo cuando yo fuí a ver la próxima cosa. 

The day before, I'd learned all about botanical illustration in the Americas, as done by European artists. I was terribly excited to find an example of botanical illustration by the Cherokee--how to identify medicinal plants. * El día antes, había aprendido much sobre ilustración botánico en las Americas, hecho por artistas europeas. Me emocioné tanto a encontrar un ejemplar de ilustración botánico hecho por el tribu Cherokee--cómo identificar plantas medicinales.

I was really impressed by the sculptures of Abraham Anghik Ruben: a mix of traditional Inuit legends with Norse viking influences, looking at the interplay of those cultures across the arctic region. Beautiful and very evocative work. * Me quede muy impresionada por las esculturas de Abraham Anghik Ruben. Mezcla imágenes de las leyendas inuit tradicionales con influencias de los vikingos nórdicos, explorando la dinámica entre las culturas del Ártico. Elegante y muy evocativo. 

National Musem of Natural History

On this recent visit to the Smithsonian Institute, most of my time at the Natural History museum was spent in the lectures about Mark Catesby. But we did get a chance to scamper through the fossil displays at the lunch break. * Cuando visité el museo de historia natural del instituto Smithsonian, pasé la mayoría de mi tiempo en el simposio sobre Mark Catesby. Pero sí logramos una visita muy rápida a los fósiles enormes, durante el almuerzo.

Fossils of a glyptodont, an ancient antelope, and a nautilus. White pencil on black paper, 2012. * Fosiles de un gliptodóntido, un antílope anciano, y un nautilino. Lapiz blanco en papel negro, 2012. 

Skull of Xiphiacetus, an ancient dolphin. White pencil on black paper, 2012. * Cráneo de Xiphiacetus, un delfín anciano. Lapiz blanco en papel negro, 2012.

 
In 2002, I spent part of the summer among these exhibits: the microscope I needed to draw tiny details of fossil leaves was located in the "Fossil Lab" exhibition space, so hordes of tourists watched me through a big glass wall as I worked! It was neat to relive all the memories of working in that museum. (Looks like the same microscope is still in the same place, too.) * En el año 2002, pasé la mitad del verano trabajando entre estos fosiles: el microscopio que usaba para dibujar hojas de arboles ancianos estaba en la exhibición del "Laboratorio de Fosiles." Así que miles de turistas me miraban mientras que estaba dibujando, tan fijamente como miraban a los restos de los animales extintos. Era lindo visitar mi microscopio otra vez--¡todavia esta en el mismo lugar! 

Sketch of my old NMNH staff ID card. Pen and colored pencil on blue paper, 2002. * Dibujo de mi tarjeta de identificación para el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. Tinta negra y lapices de color en papel azul, 2002.

300 Years of Mark Catesby

My recent trip to Washington DC was triggered by an interesting day of free lectures. Mark Catesby was a scientist and an artist who published one of the first books about plants and animals of North America, Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, starting in 1729. As it turns out, he was heavily influenced by another favorite illustrator of mine, Maria Sybilla Merian--no wonder I like his work so much.

I met up with my wonderful friend Ikumi Kayama for the day of lectures at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The topics included techniques for drawing, printing, bookbinding, and self-publishing in the 18th century, as well as the science behind the plants and animals depicted in Catesby's amazing two-volume work.

It was eye-opening to learn that after 4 years of gathering research, the book itself took 20 years for Catesby to produce. He didn't have funds to hire a professional engraver, so he engraved all the plates and hand-painted them each afterwards.

We were entertained by some of the strange myths that other science books of the time were publishing about wildlife in North America: the idea that turtles can hunt by slamming shut their carapaces on neck of a snake to chop its head off; or the idea that rattlesnakes can hypnotize a squirrel and make it run down a tree right into the snake's mouth, for example.

We were thrilled to look at an actual copy of one of the original books after the lectures wrapped up. A very exciting day for me, all told!

There and Back Again

Transit passes, watercolor with pen, November 2012. * Boletos de tránsito, aquarela, noviembre 2012.

Just returned from a wonderful week in Washington, DC. I drew a lot, and am working on organizing it all into coherent mini-stories. In the meantime, here's a sampling of the transit fun we had on the trip: bus, subway, and bike-share on the east coast, plus the ticket from the MAX train that got us home from the airport when we got back to Portland.  * Acabo de regresar de un viaje muy divertida a Washington, DC. Dibujé mucho, y voy a organizar todo eso en un serie de cuentos cortos y entendibles. Para ahora, aquí hay unos ejemplares de los modos de tránsito que usabamos: autobús, metro, y bicicletas compartidas; y luego el MAX que nos llevó del aeropuerto de PDX a nuestro hogar. 

Transit pass, ink and colored pencil on blue paper, July 2002. * Boleto de tránsito, pluma negra y lápices de color en papel azúl, julio 2002.

I hadn't been in Washingington DC for 10 years, and I was glad to find my old sketchbook from 2002 before I left for this trip. The options of how to pay for your public transit are much more plentiful now! * Pasé el verano en Washington DC hace 10 años, y encontré mi libro de dibujos de aquella tiempo antes de este viaje. Tenemos más opciones de cómo pagar por tránsito público hoy en día, que en 2002!