NOLA Sketchbook Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches CP 3.5 x 8.5 Inches Click to enlarge

Though this says Garden District on it, in truth, Kathy and I spent very little time in the "proper" Garden District. It is amazingly easy to get turned around in NOLA. After comparing notes, we realized that we had passed through the Garden District but did not actually tour or spend time looking at the old mansions in the area. This is a fairly easy mistake to make considering the number of mansions in the area!

On a side note...we were warned about directions before we went from the various tour guide books we read. The Mississippi curls around the city in a smile or crescent shape. The majority of the crescent runs east to west, but most folks (like me) get it in their heads that it runs north to south. The mouth of the river, where it meets the Gulf is 5 hours away from the city via river travel. North, south, east and west swapped positions at various times during the day and were seldom at their appointed stations when I bothered to try and get my bearings!

I'm coming to the conclusion that despite being on the go for 5 days from daylight (or before) to dark (or after), we did not cover nearly as much of the city and its delights as I thought we did! That said, there's a LOT to see in NOLA! How we missed the Garden District, I have no idea!

Water Lily NOLA Sketchbook Watercolor on 140 lb. Arches CP 3.5 x 8.5 Inches Click to enlarge

As to the sketch, this was a water garden outside of a home in the Uptown area (I think). We stumbled across these lovely blooms and buds on the first afternoon. They were in a large metal "kettle." I'm not sure if it was an old antique salt kettle, sugar boiler (that they use to make cane syrup in) or something similar, and no one was around to ask.

Let me first clarify that this is is a studio sketch, or maybe more aptly named, study. I spent about twice as long on this as I would have if I'd been on location and I did not time myself as I worked on it. The majority of the time went into the fléur-de-lis and lettering. The rest of it went fairly quickly.

Seeing this blossom and the way it seem to glow from within reinforced the thoughts that this was going to be a fabulous trip and that I needed to be paying attention to what was right in front of me!