2018 in Review

2018 has been a great year for special events involving family and friends as well as a year of new locations and lots of inspiration. My thanks to all of you who have followed along here and on Facebook. I appreciate your visits and your comments. Here are some of the highlights of my year.

In January I participated in the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge focusing on painting in gouache. I enjoyed the experience and need to force myself to do it more. Here is one of my favorite paintings from that challenge.

Gouache painting of one of our snowstorms.

January also marked the second Women's March and I was there in the crowd. Like the first one it was a very moving experience. It can't be described.

Women's March, January 2018.

In February things were quiet. I did a few still life paintings and this one of the avocado was one of my favorites.

I was caught up by some of the events at the Olympics and tried to capture a few of the events as they were happening like this skater's performance.

I sketched at a new location for me, the Roerich Museum with the NYC Urban Sketchers in March. It was an interesting brownstone filled with art.

I've sketched at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had always wanted to do a sketch of the Great Hall and took on the challenge this year. It's quite a view!

Great Hall at the Met.

April was a busy month with a 100 people challenge and making lots of alcohol ink tiles for The Catbird Seat, a shop/art gallery in Sayville that has been selling some of my artwork.

Seahorse alcohol ink tile.

At the end of April into part of May my husband and I traveled to Australia. My niece was getting married and that was the original reason for the trip, but we visited several cities and spent a month traveling around. I was able to meet up with the Sydney Urban Sketchers, the Manly Sketchers, and the Perth Urban Sketchers. Our "tribe" of sketchers is always so welcoming. Here is a bit of what I created while I was gone and a few photos of the experience.

Our first stop was Sydney and among the many locations I sketched at was the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Opera House

From Sydney we flew to Perth and stayed in the cute town of Fremantle. I loved the town and the houses.

Fremantle house.

We visited a Wild Animal Park where I made a few new friends.

Making a new friend at the zoo.

The best creature by far!!!

The wedding itself was in Pemberton at Pump Hill Farm which was about 3 hrs from Perth. Here is the beautiful, happy couple.

Kathleen and Fionn

I did a painting for them while we were there. I sketched the wedding location early that morning and then the following morning painted Kathleen and Fionn into the setting using one of the photos I took.

A few day after the wedding my husband and I returned to Perth which was a wonderful city...just the right size to explore and have fun. We spent an additional week there on our own before heading home.

Perth Bell Tower

When we returned home in May it was nearly Memorial Day. While doing a show with the South Bay Art Association I met a couple of women who bought one of my paintings and then asked me to do a painting of their house. We've become friends and they have been very supportive of my work.

Cheryl and Lorraine's house.

I also participated in two garden tours in May, one in Bellport and one in Sayville. This was the garden surrounding the pool at one of the homes.

Garden with a pool.

I also was able to sketch two of the musicians involved in one of the garden tours. They were thrilled that I sketched them quickly while they were playing.

Entertainment at the garden tour.

June was quiet and I had a bit of time to relax at the beach before flying off for my next trip. 

Pathway Through the Dunes

In July I was able to take another wonderful trip. I started with 10 days in Porto, Portugal for the 9th Urban Sketching Symposium. It was wonderful! I got to meet people from all over the world, some of whom I have been friends with on the internet but hadn't met before like my friend, Kitty van den Heuvel from the Netherlands.

Kitty van den Heuvel and me.

All around us was so much inspiration. I could have stayed there a month with no problem.

Sao Bento Train Station, Porto, Portugal.

Restaurant along the Douro River in Porto.

 My next stop was Riga, Latvia for another wedding. My nephew, Joe married Angela in a ceremony on the beach. It was beautiful. 

Angela and Joe

Latvia was really interesting. I didn't get to do much sketching since most of my short stay was spent visiting with family. I did a few sketches like this one of the Buddy Bears in Dome Square in Riga.

Buddy Bears in Dome Square.

When I returned home Paint the Great South Bay took place in August. It was a week of painting in various locations along the south shore. It is a fun event to be part of. Here are a few of my paintings done for the event. I was also interviewed for a newspaper article about Paint the Great South Bay.

Terry Street Garden (Sold)

Waiting for the Ferry

In September things were less hectic and I was able to get into NYC with the Urban Sketchers to sketch at the Conservancy Garden which is part of Central Park.

Statue at the Conservancy Garden

I was able to get some beach sketching done too.

Girls just want to have fun.

The NYC Urban Sketchers visited the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn. This is one of my sketches from that day.

Canoeing Along the Gowanus

September also brought some family excitement. Charlie Finn was born to my nephew, Jeff and his wife, Kelly. They live in California and I can't wait to get out there and meet this little angel. Apparently he is a good napper just like his daddy.

Sleeping Charlie.

October started with a visit to Patchogue by the Clydesdales. It was a fun event to sketch but very crowded. The horses and wagon stopped at several restaurants to make a "delivery."

Clydesdales in Patchogue.

Inktober was also taking place and I successfully did an ink sketch very day, even capturing the sewer workmen in my neighborhood. They were so excited that I sketched them. lol

Working on the Line

My husband and I went to Maine in October and were there for Pumpkinfest. I did sketch the creative pumpkins again this year but also went out to Pemaquid Point where I did a gouache painting.

Pemaquid Point, Maine

October brought another great-nephew to my family. Asher Finn is now the little brother of Emersyn Grace Finn. They are the children of my nephew, Mike and his wife, Rachel. They also live in California, so when I get out there I will have several new family members to meet.

Emersyn and Asher

November brought a visit to the Brooklyn Museum with the NYC Urban Sketchers. The mummy stayed quite still for this sketch. lol

Brooklyn Museum Mummy

I also attended the Draw-A-Thon sponsored by the High School of Art and Design. I did some nude sketches but was more interested in the costumed models.

Models in costume.

In December I was involved in several arts and craft shows as well as the annual show my plein air group has. All this involved 3 weekends in a row which was a bit much for me, but the sales were good so I can't really complain. I did sketch at the craft shows and tried to get in as much sketching as I could. One day I sketched inside a cathedral with a friend.

One of my paintings has a new home in Korea. A customer purchased it to give as a gift to the new in-laws of his son. The in-laws had been here in the summer for the wedding and had visited the Fire Island Lighthouse and loved it.  The parents from Long Island were going to Korea for the traditional wedding and wanted it as a gift for the parents of their new daughter-in-law. How fun is that!

Vendor table at the Holiday Art Fair.

Cathedral of the Incarnation

This morning I went out and did my last plein air sketch for the year. It was sketched of a church in Patchogue.

St. Paul's Church

Again, my thanks to you for visiting by blog and sharing your thoughts and comments with me.

Wishing you a happy 2019 filled with family, friends, love, health and inspiration!