On Wednesdays, St Louis residents get into the Botanical Garden free, so I thought I'd take my sketchbook over there and enjoy the beautiful day. Evidently, so did half of St Louis; the place was packed. I managed to find a park bench nestled among the bushes so I was away from inquisitive eyes (bringing along a sketchbook always tends to draw a crowd). I'm trying to work on speed, so I did this painting in 45 minutes. Notice I left out the black iron bars. I also didn't draw the white marble crypt of Henry Shaw inside the building - a little too ghoulish for me. I thought about staying longer to add some detail with my pen, but I was starting to feel a bit chilled from the wrought iron bench. Plus, the Garden's cafe makes the best quiche and it was lunch time.
