I recently hosted some friends from out of town that we hadn’t seen since pre-Covid. It’s great that things are getting back to normal and we are able to visit restaurants and galleries again. My wife and I took our friends down to Old Town Alexandria and wandered the shops and galleries along King Street.
During Covid, the city made the last block of King street before the Potomac River pedestrian only and many restaurants installed outdoor seating out on the street and sidewalk.
The restaurant in the photo above installed flower boxes with beautiful plantings to give their diners a nice barrier from the crowds walking by on the street.
I liked the crop below of the restaurant from the first photo above as the inspiration for my painting. I left the couple and young child out of the painting. I’m not skilled enough yet to pull off painting people yet and I don’t really think they added a lot to the painting.
And here’s the final version of the painting. It is painted on an 11”x14” canvas panel in Artisan water soluble oil paints. I’ll build a floating frame for it after it dries.
It’s really a fun place to visit and there are some great restaurants for lunch or dinner. If you are in northern Virginia or D.C., give it a try.
