We were in London in late January 2008 so that Jim could do research at the Royal College of Surgeons. While Jim sequestered himself with skeletons of giants and things with too many heads, I went to museums and got to see some of the best collections of artwork on the planet.

One afternoon, Jim — needing a break from medical specimens — accompanied me to the National Gallery to see the incredible Holbein's and Cranach's. We were coming out of the National Gallery and saw this beautiful late afternoon light raking across Whitehall looking toward the Houses of Parliament.

I came back the next day to sketch. I got a decent gouache painting done and then it started pouring rain and washed away my sketch. But luckily, Jim had snapped several reference photos of the view from the steps of the National Gallery.