It’s Memorial Day weekend and many of us are going to spend some time paying our respects in a cemetery.

Cemeteries are quiet sanctuaries in the urban jungle and good places to sketch. However, cemeteries are not public parks. There are rules, so it may be a good idea to call ahead and ask what they are. Usually,  if you show some respect, and you don’t set up an easel and make a big mess, and you don’t sell artwork depicting the monuments of the dearly departed, most cemeteries don’t mind if you sketch.

One of  the best cemeteries to sketch in is Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. The landscaping is awesome with lots of trees and hills overlooking the old trolley and Lake Calhoun. Lots of monuments with the names of famous people from the pages of Minnesota’s past:

I sketched this monument I think  is dedicated to  folks who have donated themselves to the Anatomy Bequest Program at the University of Minnesota:

Lakewood has an amazing Memorial Day observance.

There are other cemeteries in the Twin Cities that are good for sketching. Adath-Yeshurun Cemetery in Edina is the final resting place for mob king Isadore Blumenfield, alias ‘Kid Cann:

This Memorial Day, we’ll be biking to and sketching (if I wake early enough and weather permitting) at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery where we hope to sketch guest speaker  Jim Moffet, 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry (Grand Army of the Republic). I sketched Jim Moffet in his Civil War uniform at another Memorial Day ceremony a few years ago:

Enjoy your Memorial Day!