Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Post Square 11.26.13 ~ Those Hardy Washingtonians


har-dy  adj capable of living outdoors over winter

The cover photos found yesterday and today on the Washington Post both illustrate stories of the city’s residents taking to the outdoors in spite of the falling temperatures.

The bicyclers continue to ride their bikes, the hikers still hike, the hungry customers sit at the outdoor tables of the restaurants, and the football fans gather in the cold for tailgate parties before the Redskins games.

Everyone seems to be going to these extremes to cope with the crowded environment in which they’ve chosen to live.

The folks who bundle up to ride their bikes downtown know they won’t have to worry about a search for one of D.C.’s exiguous parking spaces. The people eating at the outdoor tables (under tall heaters) can’t get reservations for the insides of the popular eateries. The hikers are getting away to where they can walk without having to dodge people on the sidewalks. And the tailgaters want to be the first in the arena gate in front of the throngs.

Other factors are involved, maybe, like global warming, advanced engineering in outer wear, and the aforementioned outdoor café heaters. The hikers are often singles looking to meet people in the local hiking groups, and the football fans tailgate regardless. For whatever reasons, it is a noticeable shift. Washington is starting to act like other cities around the globe whose citizens have never let a little chill keep them housebound. 

In this 4" square colored pencil drawing you can pick out the legs of the folding chair under the Redskins tailgater. I kept that form all the same color and chose random colors to fill in the other shapes I got out of the 1" square from the cover photo. Not a lot of creativity involved, as I was simply coloring in areas. I left them flat except for a few touches of texture in the large light gray shape center right.

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