Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Alcohol Inks - Part III

I have still been working on a few alcohol ink tiles. They are different from doing watercolors and I'm enjoying seeing the results. These have been dropped off at a local store, and I'm hoping to get a few more done to have at my plein air group's show on Dec. 10 & 11.





Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Ink Sketch

The other day I didn't have much time to sketch but I wanted to get something done. I sat in a parking lot to sketch the church across the street. This was done directly in ink.


Monday, November 28, 2016

Alcohol Inks - Part II

Since I love doing landscapes I thought I would try them in alcohol inks. The blending is so unpredictable that I'm never sure what it will look like. I liked the results I got in this one...there will be more. This was done on a small 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 tile.


Sunday, November 27, 2016

Alcohol Inks - Part I

  For a while I've admired alcohol ink paintings that I've seen other artists like Julie Ford Oliver (http://juliefordoliver.blogspot.com), Sandy Sandy (http://www.sandysandyart.com), and Kellie Chasse (http://kelliesartblog.blogspot.com) paint. I've studied their paintings closely, especially Julie's and have wanted to try it. I've been gathering the necessary supplies lately and then binge watched youtube videos to try to learn the process. The videos helped a little, but playing around with the inks and seeing what they do and how they react seems the best way to learn. Here are my first few attempts.

I picked a few colors and did the backgrounds for the flowers first. If you've never used alcohol inks they don't blend easily and repel each other making different patterns. One of the videos I watched suggested you blow on the areas of ink to make them spread...but they dry very quickly so you need to use a blending solution to keep them active a little longer. When these dried I used a little ink on each of them to outline some of the petals.







Alcohol Inks - Part I

  For a while I've admired alcohol ink paintings that I've seen other artists like Julie Ford Oliver (http://juliefordoliver.blogspot.com), Sandy Sandy (http://www.sandysandyart.com), and Kellie Chasse (http://kelliesartblog.blogspot.com) paint. I've studied their paintings closely, especially Julie's and have wanted to try it. I've been gathering the necessary supplies lately and then binge watched youtube videos to try to learn the process. The videos helped a little, but playing around with the inks and seeing what they do and how they react seems the best way to learn. Here are my first few attempts.

I picked a few colors and did the backgrounds for the flowers first. If you've never used alcohol inks they don't blend easily and repel each other making different patterns. One of the videos I watched suggested you blow on the areas of ink to make them spread...but they dry very quickly so you need to use a blending solution to keep them active a little longer. When these dried I used a little ink on each of them to outline some of the petals.



Then I saw a few videos that did landscapes so I tried one of those. The process was a little different with more pouring or squirting of the inks, but I was very happy with the result.




Saturday, November 26, 2016

Cloudscapes

Sometimes the sky looks so great that that is what I want to paint!


Friday, November 25, 2016

City Views Part II

When I finished the previous sketch of St. Paul's Chapel I headed to the cemetery in back of the chapel. That's where I found many of the other sketchers. I had a very short time before we were heading off for lunch so I did a quick sketch with my brush pen.


We headed over to Brookfield Place to meet our other sketchers who were taking part in a collage workshop. Lunch was next and it was fun catching up with some people I hadn't seen in a while and new people too. After lunch we went outside and sketched the views. I focused on the glass building we had been in earlier. All those panes of glass were a challenge. lol



Thursday, November 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving and City Views Part I

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. There are many things I am thankful for in my life.  To those of you who visit here, leave comments, and offer encouragement I want to say that I am very thankful for your friendship.  It means a lot!

I was planning on meeting the NYC Urban Sketchers last Saturday, but they weren't meeting until 11. If I go into the city I try to get in early so that I have a full day, especially since it takes so long from out here. I was in the city by 9:15 and went to Union Square first. They have a Saturday market there that has wonderful stalls, like this one with all the colorful veggies.


Next I headed further downtown to the area around where the World Trade Center had been. The sketchers were meeting at St. Paul's Chapel with was right in the shadow of the falling towers but somehow survived. I couldn't fit the whole chapel in the sketch but managed to focus a bit on the top.


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Train Ladies

I went into Manhattan to join the NYC Urban Sketchers this past Saturday. I took the Long Island Railroad and I try to position myself so that I have someone to sketch while I ride. I started with the woman on the right and was ready to do the woman in the middle, but she spent about 10 minutes putting on makeup, so I had to do the woman on the left until she was ready. lol


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Roast Revisited

Our Wednesday night sketch group hadn't been to Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company in Patchogue for quite a while because we were sketching outside. Now that it gets dark early we are back indoors. Here we can sip on a hot coffee or tea while we sketch the other patrons.


Monday, November 21, 2016

Arboretum View

One day last week I headed over to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River to see if there was any exciting views of the foliage. I found this curving branch with all the color around it.



Sunday, November 20, 2016

Joselyn

My portrait sketching group met on Tuesday and Joselyn was our model. I spent so much time focusing on her skin tones and hair that I didn't pay attention to her shoulders which should be wider.


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Hampton's Boat and Fishermen

Down by the Shinnecock Canal there was this great fishing boat. Once again all the rigging made me crazy. It was next to another boat and I couldn't tell what belonged to what.


Also along the canal there were a number of people fishing. I didn't see anyone catch anything.


Friday, November 18, 2016

Dune Road

I went out to Hampton Bays on Sunday to see an exhibit of my friend's art group. So of course I figured I would go early and paint. I went down to Dune Road which is on a barrier island with dunes and the Shinnecock Canal at one end. I sat right next to one of the bridges and painted the view looking toward the canal. When I finished this I went over to view the the exhibit which was very nice. Stay tuned because I went back after viewing the exhibit.


Thursday, November 17, 2016

Working on the Wires


Our neighborhood has been having a lot of updates lately. The street right outside our development has had crews working for the last few weeks replacing the electric poles (or that's what I think they are doing). I've been stopped in each work area for days. When I went out on Saturday there were four trucks on the street working. By the time I sketched the first one, the others had packed up and left. It must have been lunch time...but I didn't think they would have to take the trucks. lol


Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Barn in Autumn

This was painted near the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank the other day. I'm trying to capture all those leaves before they are gone.


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Church in Autumn

This was painted in Wading River.  I liked the white of the church steeple against the autumn colors.


Monday, November 14, 2016

Porch Plants

Somehow I missed posting this sketch of the plants on the porch at the ranch we stayed at in Texas. I think Sandy was honored that I sketched all three porches on their log house.


Sunday, November 13, 2016

Starbucks


Now that it gets dark so early my Wednesday evening sketch group has had to move indoors for our gatherings. I'm sure Starbucks will be on our list of destinations many times in the next few months.


Saturday, November 12, 2016

Fall at the Pond

This week my plein air group went to a private pond in Brookhaven to paint. The trees were in glorious color. This is 8 x 10.


Friday, November 11, 2016

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day! My thanks to all who have served and given so much for our freedom and liberty.

Last year I did this painting based on a photo of my father-in-law and his medals from WWII. I think it is appropriate for today.


Today I wanted to do something to honor Veterans Day so I headed to Cedar Grove Cemetery in Patchogue. I was hoping to find some American flags on the graves there, but there were only a few. I did find this one for Capt. Austin Roe who fought in the Revolutionary War. 

Here is a little more info about him: 
Austin was a secret agent (Spy) in the service of General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War (1776 - 1781) on Long Island he was known as the Messenger of the Culper Spy Ring. He and his band were instrumental on the capture of British Major John Andre and the down fall of Benedict Arnold in 1780.
He was liked so much by George Washington that apparently Washington visited him at his home in Setauket.



Thursday, November 10, 2016

Maritime House

I had gone to the Maritime Museum grounds in Sayville to meet my plein air group back I think in July. It was an overcast, damp, lousy morning and only two of us showed up to paint. This building is used as some kind of museum...I've never been inside. I stood under a pavilion just in case it started to rain. I did the pencils sketch for this and of course it started raining. So my friend, Liz and I left. I kept meaning to go back and paint it, but things like a trip to Venice got in the way. I finally went back after we returned home from Venice and I finished the piece. This is 8 x 10.


Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Beets X 2

Back during Inktober I did an ink sketch of beets and wanted to do a watercolor of them too.
Here is the 8 x 10 watercolor I did.



Just in case you also wanted to see the ink sketch here it is.



Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Andrews Farm


With all my Inktober sketches and travel sketches I have quite a few things I did a while ago that weren't posted yet (or I don't think they were) like this painting done at Andrews Farm. The Andrews family has such a wonderful place and they are always willing to let us come and paint or sketch there. I usually paint the views outside, but Debby had this inside section set up so nicely I just had to paint it. Doesn't all that fresh produce look tempting? I never leave without buying some of her veggies and fruit. This is 8 x 10.


Monday, November 7, 2016

Downtown Nashville 2

The signs along Broadway in Nashville are so great! I enjoyed sketching them.


Sunday, November 6, 2016

More Nashville Musicians

The best part about Nashville is the music and the musicians. We went to the Commodore Lounge which is outside of town a bit. They have a songwriters night every night except Tuesday. Groups of musicians come up on stage and perform their own music. The night started with the more unknown artists and this was a group of 5 some of whom  knew each other already. The two women in the bottom sketch were performing with the two guys on each end of the first sketch. It was impossible to fit all of them on the same page and as you can see I didn't quite have enough time to include as much detail in the second sketch. One musician begins with their own piece, followed by the next person and so on. Each performer gets to do 3 songs and then the next group comes on stage. It is fun to hear the variety of songs and voices. Some of the musicians through the night were good, some so-so and and a few not too good. Some of them even have CDs for sale.

The woman on the left passed by our table after they performed and my husband and I told her how much we enjoyed their music and asked if they had a CD (which they didn't) but she said we could find them on Facebook and youTube. I showed her the sketches and she loved them. She asked if she could take photos of them. Of course I let her.



Saturday, November 5, 2016

Inside Legends Corner

One of our favorite music places in Nashville is Legends Corner. You can see it on the corner of the sketch I posted of downtown Nashville yesterday. This guy was really very good.


Friday, November 4, 2016

Downtown Nashville

I wanted to capture a little of the excitement of Broadway in downtown Nashville. This is a little larger than most of my sketches. It is in a 9 x 12 sketchbook. I included a few of the hotspots.


Thursday, November 3, 2016

At The Stage

Another one of the music venues we checked out in Nashville was The Stage. Instead of sketching the band I sketched some of the people enjoying the band. We've been there before and the music is always great.


Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Layla's Nashville

Today we hit downtown Nashville. We didn't plan on being here during the Country Music Awards but somehow managed to be in the midst of it. Nashville gets crazy enough, but with all the people in town for the awards it is so crowded. Luckily our hotel provides a shuttle to the downtown area, so rather than driving down that's what we did. I did quite a bit of sketching. This was done of the band playing at Layla's Nashville. The band never gave their name but they were really good. When we got there and I started the sketch there was another woman with them, but she disappeared off the stage. You can see I left a spot for her, but she didn't come back on before we left.


Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Sunken Meadow View

Now that Inktober is finally over I can get caught up with other art I created during that time. Before we started our trip I met up with 3 friends up at Sunken Meadow State Park on the north shore. We had to paint quickly because the tide there changes rather quickly. By the time we were done the small islands were all covered up and all you could see was the tips of the grasses.


Am I glad that Inktober is over...yes and no. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure a new sketch is done daily, even though I know I don't have to do one every day. I usually sketch anyway, but this makes me more structured so that is something I will miss. It was fun to use different kinds of inks for the sketches. Too bad I didn't bring them along on the trip to continue experimenting, but I'm lucky I got the sketches done. lol I know me and I will join the group again next year.