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Had a good day sketching with Joel, Heather, and Casey in downtown Fredericksburg. It was a gorgeous, sunny day but the temps never got above freezing. We tried to work outside for a while but when Joel's watercolors began to freeze, he and I moved inside and sketched from a second floor window where Heather joined us. Met up with Casey for lunch and shared our work. Everyone did great! Here are mine (Paula). The first one was done with diluted Noodler's Lexington Grey ink which I accidentally used to fill my fountain pen. This, of course, ran when I applied the color. The 3rd one was done with a crow quill dipped in Walnut Ink. It is also not waterproof but I tried to use that to advantage here. Cheers!

Great work, Paula! And thanks for inviting me to participate in the Sketchcrawl for Fredericksburg!

Here are my sketches from this morning: One of the National Bank building on Princess Anne with the Presbyterian Church in the background and one with a more close-up look at the massive lanterns that hang from the Presbyterian Church's pillars.

Some Civil War trivia: These bank steps are where Lincoln stood to address the troops on his visit to Fredericksburg after one of the big battles. And the Presbyterian Church, which served as a hospital during the war, was where Clara Barton served as a nurse and began what turned into the Red Cross. Notice that there is still a small cannon ball or two embedded in the church's columns from the big battle.

Casey

Glad you could join us Casey. I look forward to sketching with you when we're not freezing.

Great sketches under tough conditions! April will be better for sketching, one hopes. Enjoyed the Civil War trivia.

It was great to meet both of you, Paula and Casey.

I started off with a warm-up sketch of a fire hydrant outside Hyperion Espresso (with a latte in hand):



And here is the coffee shop itself, from across the street (one of those figures on the benches in from is Paula):



And when my palette started to freeze, we decided to find a warmer place to finish up the day. I'm sure our sketching friends from colder climes are more used to this happening, but I'm not, and it took a while for me to realize what was happening. Here is a sketch of the Soup and Taco on Caroline Street, from a second-floor window:



Fredericksburg is a great town, with a lot of good sketching subjects, and I'm glad I made the drive down.

Thanks for making the drive down Joel. It was great to meet you too. Hope we can sketch together again.

I love the individual styles you each have. Great sketches!!! People up north tell me you have to add vodka to keep your water from freezing. lol I haven't tried it either but I know from experience it isn't easy to create when your paints and water are freezing. Glad you found someplace to stay warm later in the day. It was freezing here on Long Island so we planned on being indoors at a greenhouse at the arboretum. Thanks for sharing.

Great work, Joel! Thanks for coming to visit our little 'burg. Come back again soon!

I enjoyed reading the narrative with your sketches. Nice line work. Looks like it was a fun time.

I enjoyed reading the narrative about the day that you included with your sketches. Nice line work and watercolor too. Looks like it was a fun time.