Thursday, July 30, 2015

Bellport Village Dentist (Commission)

When I was doing a recent sketch on the street in Bellport, I was approached by someone who asked if I could sketch a business. The man was the dentist, Dr. Graskemper who had his office around the corner. The challenge for sketching this was there are almost always cars parked in front of the office no matter what time I'm there. I wanted to paint it when it had shadows on it (late afternoon) so I made one trip to sketch it and one trip to paint it. I'm happy with it. I delivered it this morning and he and his staff loved it.


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Dennis

I haven't made it to portrait sketching in a while but I did last night to find this handsome gentleman as our model. One of the older ladies in the group saw him in a local restaurant and sent the waitress over to ask him if he would model for us. lol He was really a good sport and told us his wife is an artist so he supports the arts.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

SketchCrawl #48

Saturday was the 48th World Wide SketchCrawl. My friend, Susan and I decided to stay local and headed over to the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank. My first sketch was of a calf, but after coming over to greet us he turned and sat with his back to us.

The red barn is where they sometimes feed the cows if they are not out in the pasture. I like when they bring them in because they eat at a trough and you can get real close. They were nowhere to be found...just our luck.


This is one of the silos on the farm. I'm not sure what is inside...and I should have checked since the door was open.


There was a kid's birthday party going on, so there were moms and their kids over by the animals. I sketched these two little girls and their mom who were checking out one of the horses.


Over in the fenced area were a few other animals...a piglet


and a rooster and a goat.





Monday, July 27, 2015

Beach Sketches

I've done a few pen sketches at the beach recently. I'm practicing my crowds and drawing directly in ink. These were done at Smith Point Park.


For this one I started with the large lady in the middle, got her half done and she went into the water. So I sketched the guy in front of her who now looks puny next to her. I finished her when she came back.


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Lavender Field

My plein air group went to Lavender By the Bay in East Marion recently. I just love that place!!! The fragrance is wonderful and it is so pretty. It started off as a cloudy day and of course as soon as I got out in the field it started to sprinkle. lol I put up my plein air umbrella and continued painting. It was so humid the paper never seemed to dry. I used some kosher salt to make the patterns in the lavender.


Here is the view and the painting.


Saturday, July 25, 2015

Kayaker

When I was down Blue Point Avenue the other night I also sketched a kayaker who was putting his kayak into the water. This is one of my sketches that is currently on exhibit at the new gallery I have been talking about in Bellport, called the Paper Cup Studio.


Today was the opening of the Paper Cup Studio. Here is LuAnn Thompson, owner in front of the display of paper cups that different artists painted or decorated.


Here I am in front of two of my smaller sketches.


Here is my friend, Susan, in front of two of her sketches of motorcycles.
If you look behind her, one of my sketches is hanging there. It sold today. Yay!!!


Here is a larger version of the one that sold.



Friday, July 24, 2015

Blue Point Avenue

On Wednesday my sketch group went down to the water at the end of Blue Point Avenue.There is some nice scenery.


I also sketched a kayaker. I think he was putting the kayak in the water.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Waiting at LAX

Like all good things, my trip to CA came to an end. My final sketch was done in the departure area of LAX Terminal 3. There are always some people around in airports. They make great models.


Now to the reason for the trip...the wedding of Kelly and Jeff.
Jeff's brother did the wedding ceremony.

Exchanging the rings - Kelly, Mike, Jeff

Presenting Mr and Mrs Jeffrey Finn

The first dance.

Me, Kelly, and Jeff

With my siblings - Joe, Tina, Mickey and me.



Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Beach House and Vegetation

This beach house caught my attention when I was walking on the strand in Manhattan Beach. I like the tile roof and Mexican look to it. Of course right next door is a very modern house.


I love all the cacti and succulents that were growing along the beach path.


The sunsets over the Pacific are so pretty.



Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Lifeguard Stand

We did walk down and sit on the beach several times...even going out in the waves one day. I couldn't resist sketching the lifeguard stand. It is so different from what we have here in NY...looks so "Baywatch." lol


Here are my brother, sister-in-law, and my two sisters at the beach. No the town doesn't slope like that...it is my picture taking.


Here we are on the beach. Left to right: Me, Tina, Mickey, and Joe. This is the first time in a very long time that the 4 of us have been together...since our sister Fran's memorial service in 2003. It was really special to be together again.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Neighboring House

I did get to sketch every day that we were in Manhattan Beach. The rental we had didn't have a front door that opened onto the street, so I sketched the house next door. We entered down the alley next to the fence. You can see a bit of the slope of the street. The hill was quite a walk coming back up from the beach.


Here I am...ready for my morning walk.


This is looking up the street. Our apartment was at the very top of the street on the right. The photo doesn't really show how steep it was. My calves definitely got lots of exercise. lol

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Beach House

Along the strand in Manhattan Beach are some beautiful homes and some adorable cottages. This one called to me. I can imagine sitting there and watching the waves.




Saturday, July 18, 2015

NY to LAX

On Tuesday my sister and I flew from JFK to LAX for my nephew's wedding. Of course I sketched on the plane.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Socrates Sculpture Park

Last Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers went to Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens. We had a sunny, warm day there. In the morning there was a yoga class going on under the trees. Mark and I sat to sketch them, which was a challenge because they don't hold a pose for very long. I call this "Yoga Gone Wild" because it looks like everyone is doing their own thing because I sketched each one doing a different pose. The instructor is standing up in the middle. Some of the students came over and checked out the sketches...and nobody seemed offended, which is always a good thing. lol


Next I did the rocky view along the water with these great barns/sheds/buildings. I'm not quite sure what they would be called.


After our lunch break I noticed these two ladies with a little girl and her bike. Luckily I sketched them rather quickly because they took off before I could add the color. The background trees and buildings did stay in place. We were able to also see the lighthouse on Roosevelt Island which we sketched back a few months ago.

 

The park had a few unusual sculptures (see the yoga sketch above). This one was a pyramid shaped living sculpture covered with grass and a few flowers. In the background you can see the building on the right which was a piano factory.


I think we all enjoyed the day. We had a nice breeze and lots of shade to keep us comfortable. This was another great location.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

South Country Stroll

Here is another of my Bellport Sketches. The main street there is South Country Road where the stores, restaurants and galleries are located. I did this the other night. I was hoping someone would come by walking a dog...but no luck. lol This is 5 x 7.


I can't figure how to upload a photo from my iPad to my blog. Here is a link to photos from here in CA from Facebook. I hope they open.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Tola

Tola is a store in Bellport which has mostly clothing. I like their window displays.
This is 5 x 7.


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Red Barn in Autum and Sunrise

We have arrived in LA. Hope to post some photos tomorrow.

Here are the last cups I designed.

For this one I used a painting I did in the fall as the inspiration.




Of course one had to be a sunrise.



I sprayed all of the cups with Krylon spray. I tested it on watercolors to make sure it didn't run.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Iris & Lighthouse Cups

Here are the next few cups I designed.

This one is the iris cup.



This one is based on photos from the Fire Island Lighthouse.




Tuesday morning I will be winging my way to California for a wedding. I should be posting from out in LA since I am taking along my new iPad and we are supposed to have internet service in the apartment we are renting for the 5 days we are there. It will be a bit of a mini reunion with my siblings, my west coast nephews and their ladies, and my brother-in-law and his wife. I'm getting excited!