Thursday, February 28, 2013

Flowered Balcony

With the wintry weather we had lately I started something from a photo I took in Positano, Italy. This was a corner of our balcony at the hotel where we stayed. I worked on this over a few days.
This is 11 x 14.

I may not get to post over the next week. I will be taking a watercolor workshop with Judy Morris in Myrtle Beach, SC. If I have internet access for my computer I will post from there and show you some of the work I am doing in the class. 

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Janet in Red

Yesterday we had Janet as a model again for our portrait group. To make things interesting she came in wearing a red wig and a hat. Painting her was fun.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Seatuck Shed

Yahoo...I got to do actual plein air painting outside yesterday. Our temperature reached about 47 degrees. I went down to the Seatuck Environmental Center in Islip and had planned to sit in the car and sketch something. There was no good view from the car. So I got out with my supplies and went and sat on a bench in the sun. I had my earwarmers and fingerless gloves just in case, but was able to work without them.
This is a planting shed on the property there.

Monday, February 25, 2013

House on Station Road

Yesterday I was in Bellport and decided to go down by the water to paint. This house up on the hill was calling me, so I answered with my brush. This is about 5 x 6.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

32nd Ave Parking

On Friday my husband and I went to have our taxes done. The accountant is over an hour's drive from us, and we always leave early in case of traffic. Of course we were quite early. I convinced my husband to sit in the car with me while I sketched instead of sitting in the office. This was the view out the car window where we were parked in Jackson Heights. Most of the homes there are attached and have garages underneath, but the cars are all parked in the driveways.n I just noticed that these cars don't have license plates...the police better not notice. lol

Friday, February 22, 2013

Yesterday I drove up to Setauket to look for a view to paint. I was attracted to this scene by the tree. I loved the character of the tree. Unfortunately it is marked to be cut down. I think it has severe damage from the storm. It will be a shame if that is what happens.
This is 5 x 7.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Last night I joined the Patchogue Sketch Club at Gather Studios in Patchogue for our evening sketch night. We've sketched there several times, sometimes doing journaling instead of actual sketching. This time I sketched the sink area over by the window. Since there are pottery classes given there you can find an assortment of clay pieces around. I thank them for being so gracious to our group.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Janet

Yesterday the South Bay Art Association's Portrait Group met, We had a wonderful model named Janet who posed for us. Hopefully she will return.
This is 5 x 7.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Houses in the Snow

I'm still trying to do a few paintings while there is snow on the ground.
This was done of part of the library in Brookhaven. This is about 4 x 6.

Yesterday I went to Lily Lake and painted the view across the frozen lake.
This is 5 x 7.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Mountain View Farm

On Friday I had to drive up to Middletown, NY to drop off my paintings for the North East Watercolor Society's Member's Show. The paintings were due last Sunday but I was still snowed in. Of course while I was up there I had to paint a barn. There are many scenic barns but very few of them that you can sit and paint at this time of the year without getting stuck off the side of the road. So I ended up doing one that I've done several times before. This is Mountain View Farm in Chester,  which I don't think is a working farm any longer. This is 5 x 7.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Indoor Sketch

On Wednesday evening the Patchogue Sketch Club met at a home in Patchogue. Karen and Tom, the owners are part of the Patchogue Arts Council that our group is a part of. Karen graciously opened the first floor of her home to our band of 4 sketchers. The front part of the house attracted me so I sketched part of the foyer/sitting room.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Snowy Course

I headed down to the West Sayville Golf Course yesterday to check the view. I figured there would be spots to sit where I could see snow and shadows. While I was painting a man came with his gold club and was hitting some balls from one of those green patches. How do you find your golf ball in the snow? lol
This is 5 x 7.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Sweet Sentiments

Happy Valentine's Day!
Even though I bought a box of these little sweet hearts, I much prefer chocolate as a Valentine treat. But I do love the little messages on the hearts. The sugar rush from actually eating these is not worth all the calories. lol However they were perfect models for my Valentine card this year.
Enjoy the day and cherish those you love!


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Dreaming of Italy

The other night I wanted to sketch something besides the snow that is still all around me so I started thumbing through some of the photos I have taken. For some reason I tend to be drawn to some of the same photos over and over. lol This was done from a photo I took of the Ponte Vecchio when I was in Florence. Some day I'm going to do a larger one of the bridge. This is about 4 x 8.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Grange in the Snow

I actually got out of the house today and hit the streets, many of which are still not cleared from the storm on Saturday. I have never seen the NY roads in such a state. Whoever is in charge of them should be really embarrassed by the work that wasn't done. There are many people in the area whose streets still haven't seen a snow plow. Luckily I live right off a main road, but even that isn't completely cleared. Yesterday's rain helped in some respects, but now there is a lot of slush and water that can't get down the blocked drain....but enough of my complaining.
I headed down to the Islip Grange which is about 5 minutes from me. It is a group of 19th century building replicas in a very nice park. This is the little white church. I was afraid of driving too far into the park and getting stuck or not being able to turn my car around. Instead I sat across the street in a restaurant parking lot to paint.
It was actually warm enough to sit with the windows open. This was done in my Stillmann & Birn journal and is about 7 x 8.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Monhegan Path

You would think that staying inside because of the storm, I would be doing some painting, but sadly no. I did the sketches but didn't really work on anything else...maybe today since I'm not planning on going out anywhere until the roads out here are a bit better.

This painting I did last week when it was too cold to go out and sit in my car to paint. It was done from a reference photo I took when my sister, Michelle, and I went to Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. I did another version of this reference in a workshop a few years ago.
This is 8 x 10.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Out the Window

I am still inside due to the snow. Hopefully we will dig out today, but many of the roads here are still now plowed and those that were plowed are still icy.
I decided to do another view from my window. This is the view out my bedroom window. There is a bush near the window that is just piled with snow. It looks really nice, but lots of snow is hard to paint since there is so much white. 
This is about 5 x 8 again in my Stillman & Birn Alpha Journal.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Snowed In on Long Island

Well the weather reports were right. Snowstorm Nemo dropped a lot of snow where I live and it is pretty much impossible to get out and go anywhere. The two major highways here are shut down because of the amount of snow as well as all the cars that got stuck on the road last night. Apparently the national guard came to rescue some people who were stranded in their cars. It will be quite a while before the roads are clear out here.
Here are a few photos of what it was like in my development around 7am this morning.
Here is my patio covered in snow.

On the other side of my apartment is our garage. Here is the view out the garage door to the parking area. You can see there is a bit of snow behind my car. 
How much snow? I stuck a yardstick in and it measured 21 inches.
Here are some of the cars that park outside and are covered with snow.
I am pretty much snowed in until they come and plow up to my garage door. They did plow a path through the lot but it is about 30 feet from our garage door to the plowed path...and I'm not shoveling!
Since I had to be indoors I did a small 5 x 8 painting from my living room window. I used a new journal, a Stillman and Birn Alpha Series that has 100 lb paper. I wasn't sure how that paper would handle my watercolors but it didn't buckle at all. It worked well.
Unfortunately all my windows pretty much have the same view since they are all on the same side of the building. I'm going to go check what the view is like from the bedroom. Maybe there is a different pile of snow there to paint a second scene. lol

Friday, February 8, 2013

City Sketching

My husband and I had tickets to a show on Broadway yesterday, and we went in early so I could sketch a bit before we had dinner. I started with a sketch of some people on the train. The motion of the train made me sketch in pencil and the trip is fairly short so I didn't bother with color. As you can see everyone is dressed for our NYC cold weather.

It was much too cold to sketch outdoors so I went into St. Patrick's Cathedral. Much of the cathedral is being renovated, but the altars were fine. This is the altar to Our Lady of Guadaloupe

I had a little more time so I did a sketch of the altar of St. John the Evangelist.

We saw the Broadway show "Once" which is about musicians in Ireland. The stage set is of an Irish pub. Before the show actually starts the musicians are on the stage jamming.

We took the subway back to Kew Gardens where we had parked the car. I got a seat going home so I was able to do two more sketches in my moleskin journal...again in pencil.


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Camille

Yesterday the South Bay Art Association's Portrait Group met. We had a little snow in the morning but it didn't stop this dedicated group. A lovely young woman named Camille posed for us. I think she had a Veronica Lake look to her. I hope she comes back to pose for us again.
This is 5 x 7.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Hecksher State Park Views

On Sunday I was craving some plein air car time. I drove over to Hecksher State Park in Islip. It is right on the Great South Bay and has distant views of Fire Island and Robert Moses State Park. I found a spot in one of the parking lots where I could see one of the long bridges that cross the Great South Bay.

Then I angled the car slightly and painted the beach grasses.

Monday, February 4, 2013

On Saturday I needed to get out and do a plein air, but it is still much too cold to sit outside. My handy car/studio worked well for this one. I sat along Montauk Highway near Shirley to paint this.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Seashells

I think I'm craving a little sunshine and warm temperatures...maybe a nice sandy beach would do.
I guess I'll just have to dream. This is about 3.5 x 6.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

After all my sketching on Thursday it seemed strange to not have a great scene in front of me to get inspired. It was a busy day and cold, so when I was at the library I took my sketch pad inside with me. This gentleman is always there working on his computer. Doesn't he look comfortable?

Friday, February 1, 2013

A Day in the City

Yesterday my husband and I had tickets for a Broadway show in Manhattan so we went in early so I could sketch a bit. We took the subway and I sketched on the E train from Kew Gardens. The time passed really quickly since it it only about a 30 minute ride so I sketched in pencil.

This week was NYC Restaurant Week so we went to lunch as soon as we got into the city. Then Jerry went off to do his thing and I went over near Bryant Park. There is a bank building across from the park that has a nice atrium with tables and chairs and you are comfortable indoors. Of course I couldn't find a spot with a chair and a good view when I got there. So I ended up standing in another part of the bank lobby to sketch this. That is the view toward Bryant Park.

I checked again for seats and found a chair that I positioned so I could sketch the Empire State Building above the entrance to the subway station.
 
My last sketch was done in the Broadway Theater where we saw "Cinderella."I had a little time to sketch before the show started and during intermission. The stage was decorated for a forest scene with a sunset background.


It was a long, exhausting day. I didn't get any sketching done on the ride back because the train was too crowded and we had to stand part of the way. lol