My friend and I went to the West Village last Saturday. Village Cigars is an iconic building which has been on Christoper Street for nearly 100 years, but has recently closed. The building is part of Greenwich Village Historic Dicstrict and has some protections. The interior of the building is being converted into a coffee shop, and I hope they are planning on keeping the outside as is.
I went over near the ferry terminals in Sayville and sat across the creek from where they depart. The South Bay Clipper was boarding passengers to make the trip across the bay to the Fire Island communities. I've only taken the ferry to Fire Island once, but it was a fun trip. These riders look like they are ready for a great day!
Our family has a tradition of having lobster to eat on the 4th of July. It is my mom's birthday. After my parents moved to Maine to live with my sister, we often went up to Maine to celebrate. Most often we bought lobsters and had a big feast. It was a good time for out of town family members to get together for a happy occasion. After she passed away the family gatherings in Maine tapered off, but most of my siblings and I still try to continue the tradition. This is one of our critters. The Maine celebrations also usually included a patriotic cake (decorated like an American flag) with strawberries and blueberries.
Last week, on a rather hot day, my friend, Suzala and I took a trip to the Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion, and Planetarium in Centerport. It was my first visit there, and I hope not my last. It was the summer estate of William K. Vanderbilt and is called Eagle's Nest. The buildings are Spanish in style.
I started sketching this view of part of the mansion and along came a photographer and a wedding party for their wedding photos. We were asked to leave for a bit while that happened, and about an hour later we returned to finish our sketches.
Last week the Patchogue Sketch Club went to The Grange in Sayville. I've sketched there so many times and I'm always looking for something a little different to sketch. Luckily Mariann was sitting across from me sketching the scene behind me. I started with her and then included the scene behind her.
Every summer my plein air group waits to hear that the lavender at Lavender By the Bay is in bloom. They have two locations...one in Calverton and one in East Marion. I like the one in East Marion better, but the one in Calverton is a lot closer so we've been going there. I did one 8 x 10 painting directly in watercolor.
There are a number of charming houses with beautiful gardens on Greene Avenue. This was done in direct watercolor.
