Inktober 2020 Day 31 - Weeks Boat Yard & Faces

 My Day 31 sketch for Inktober was done at one of my favorite local places. It was drizzling so I sat in my mobile studio at Weeks Boat Yard in Patchogue. What I love about that place is there is so much to sketch or paint and it always looks a little different. I don't get bored there. 

Inktober is now officially over for 2020. For some reason it seemed to go quicker than it usually does. Anyway, I will be glad to get back to using my arsenal of colors again. lol

The other night one of my art groups had a Zoom meeting for the members. I am the secretary so I should have been taking notes and I did...for a while. lol Each member was asked to introduce themself and tell what they have been doing or creating this past month. There were 21 people so it took a while and I decided to sketch a bit. I didn't want to get up and miss anything so I just grabbed a piece of copy paper that had writing on one side and drew some of the faces of the members quickly with a brush pen. I should have planned this better and used better paper. I did get a few done...but not anywhere near the 21 that were sitting there. I should have started sooner. 

Inktober 2020 Day 30 - LuLu's

 There seem to be quite a few restaurants around that decorate the outside area so you feel like you are at the beach. LuLu's has a few chairs sitting outside in sand (that has no reason to be there), a surfboard, umbrellas, fake palm trees, and an outside bar. They used to also have a vintage car with a lobster sitting on the roof that was nearly as large as the car. This gave me some inspiration for my Day 30 Inktober sketch.

Inktober 2020 Day 29

 For my Day 29 sketch I headed down by the Great South Bay in East Patchogue. You can see Fire Island in the distance. 

Inktober 2010 Day 28 - Railroad Crossing & Lefty Lucy

 My Day 28 Inktober sketch was done at a railroad crossing locally at Railroad Ave and Coates Ave. It was hard to decide how much of the background to include and not lose the star of the show.

Lefty Lucy posed last night. Not as fancy as last week, but she was fun anyway.

This was a 5 minute pose done in pencil.

These were 10 minute poses.

The final pose was 20 minutes.

Inktober 2020 Day 27 - Olish's Pumpkins

I love farm stands at this time of year for their fun displays so I headed to Olish's Farm in Eastport and found this great trailer with pumpkins on it. This is my day 27 Inktober sketch. I used a combination of my platinum carbon ink, the brown Noodler's ink, and an orange micron pen to make the pumpkins more colorful. The brown ink just didn't do it for the color. 

Inktober 2020 Day 26 - Halloween Display

It was drizzling the other day so I really wasn't inspired to go far to find a subject for my Day 26 Inktober sketch. I backed my car out of the garage and remembered that I had wanted to sketch the Halloween display on my neighbor's patio. So I sat in my mobile studio in the parking space right in front of their patio and sketched from there.

Just an update...remember the paintings I did on the shingles for the fundraiser that the Long Island Maritime Museum was having? Well, so far 43 pieces have sold including this one of mine. They art will continue to be on display at the Maritime Museum until the middle of November, so I am sure that more pieces will sell. Of course these were donated, so the artist isn't getting anything from the sale, but it is nice to know that my piece has a new home.

Inktober 2020 Day 25 - Claws

 For my Day 25 sketch for Inktober I sat in my mobile studio near Claws on Main Street in Sayville. It is a very popular seafood market and eatery. There was a line out front of people patiently waiting to go inside and purchase their seafood. Off to the left is the tented outdoor seating area and pickup window for cooked food. Looks like they are doing a good job of social distancing. 

Inktober 2020 Day 24 - Outdoor Display & Lighthouse

 My Day 24 Inktober sketch was done of a display in front of a restaurant in Bayshore down by the water. It looked so nautical I had to sketch it.

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers had lighthouses as their theme. Of course, due to the pandemic most of the members used virtual images, although a few were able to do lighthouses that were local to their area. I picked the Old Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego. I was there IRL when my sister was still alive when I spent many vacations out in San Diego. I don't think I sketched it at the time.

Inktober 2020 Day 23 - Cycles and Still Life

 For my Day 23 Inktober sketch I found two motorcycles parked together. Both were Hondas and one was black and one was maroon. Looks like there is a couple in Sayville that rides!

Wednesday night the Patchogue Sketch Club met on Zoom for our sketch event. Our meetings are usually organized by Mark Propper. We give him suggestions but the final decision and posting of the events is in his hands. Due to darkness we are now forced to sketch indoors so Mark set up an interesting still-life for us to sketch. Some members did part of the setup, but I did the entire thing on a page in my Strathmore Grey Toned Sketchbook. I used watercolors, ink, white pencil, and a water-soluble pencil for this.

Inktober 2020 Days 21 & 22

Somehow I missed posting my Day 21 Inktober sketch yesterday, so here it is. This was sketched from my mobile studio parked in front of a local Tex-Mex restaurant called Salsa Salsa.

Today's Inktober Day 22 sketch was done at Sandspit Marina in Patchogue. This new 22 foot-tall lighthouse extends into Patchogue Bay. On this foggy day there wasn't much visibility so I'm sure this little lighthouse was a help to the boats coming into the dock area.

 

Inktober 2020 Day 20 - Tres Palms

 Recently I met two friends for a socially distant outdoor lunch at Tres Palms in Babylon. Tres Palms is right off the Great South Bay, and they have a mooring for boats to dock that was like a small canal.  I hadn't been there before but decided it would be a good place to come back to and sketch. So I returned!  There is a parking lot just across the little canal so I sat there in my mobile studio to sketch my Inktober Day 20 piece.

Inktober 2020 Day 19 - Dune View

 Today was a beautiful, mild day so I decided to head to the ocean. I never got there all summer due to my husband's health because it takes a bit longer than going to the bay beach nearby. So this was my first visit to Smith Point Beach in a long while. I sat in the sunshine overlooking the dunes. I think it helped restore a little of my soul. This was done with my Elegant Writer pen.

Inktober 2020 Day 18 - Patchogue Buildings

 Yesterday I stopped in Patchgue for a few errands. In one of the parking lots I saw this view with the sunlight highlighting the sides of the buildings and decided to sketch it for my Day 18 Inktober sketch. Sometimes a fence blocking the view of something can make it a bit more interesting. This was done with my Lamy pen filled with the Noodler's brown ink and a brush and some water. The water-soluble ink makes for some nice washes.

Inktober 2020 Day 17 - Maritime Sheds and NYC Open House

My Inktober 2020 sketch was done of some sheds on the grounds of the Maritime Museum in Sayville. It was too windy to sit outside so my mobile studio came in very handy. This is the first of the sketches for Inktober this year where I only used hatching for shading. 

The NYC Urban Sketchers used a weekend celebration of architecture with NYC Open House as a way to virtually visit some different buildings and areas of the city. There were a variety of locations that gave virtual tours of their properties. As with all things that the group does, you don't really have to stick to the references that are provided. You can pretty much sketch anything that fits the theme. I used a link to The JAX, a new office space in Long Island City. The buildings are modern and airy and the development has an elevated park-like area with native plants that create a meadow for the tenants and their workers to enjoy. I think it must have wonderful views looking out over to NYC from those huge windows.

Inktober 2020 Day 16 - Bayport Flower House Plant

On rainy, damp days it is hard to find something to sketch that you can see through a wet windshield. But I needed a subject for my Inktober Day 16 sketch. When I was at the Bayport Flower House recently I noticed they had a few huge, tropical potted plants near their fence. This one was tall (maybe 10 feet) so I parked my car a bit away from the fence so I could see the entire plant. But then I had trouble seeing where all the leaves were going. lol So for part of the time I sketched from a distance and then moved closer so I could see through the raindrops. This was done with my Sailor fude pen which can make thick or thin lines just by turning the pen a little.

Inktober Day 15 and Pat's Shed

 I had a busy day of sketching yesterday because I wanted to do my Inktober sketch but I knew my sketch group was sketching at someone's garden later in the day...and I wanted to use color there.

First I did my Inktober Day 15 sketch near the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank. This is one of the buildings on the property. I'm not sure what it is used for but I liked how it was nestled among the trees.

The Patchogue Sketch Club met at one of the member's homes to sketch in her garden in Patchogue. Pat has wonderful plants, cosy corners set up with all kinds of baskets and gourds, and a few sheds. This is her potting shed and is surrounded by wonderful plants and trinkets. Now you see why I had to use color. lol

Lefty Lucy Veiled & Inktober Day 14

 Last night was Lefty Lucy Costumed in Quarantine night. She posed again on Zoom, this time in a beautiful black dress and a veiled headpiece...and a few times with a revolver. As I've said before I never know what to expect.

These are 5 minute poses.

These are 10 minute poses.

This was the final sketch of the night for 20 minutes.

My Day 14 Inktober sketch was done down by Sayville Marina Park. I did this from my mobile studio while it was drizzling.

Inktober Day 13 - Sunflowers

I needed something to brighten things up a bit after 2 days of rain and drizzle. I found these sunflowers at the market and thought they would be good for my Inktober Day 13 sketch. Too bad I couldn't find a sunny yellow ink to use.

Inktober Day 12 - Bayport Beach

 There is a small beach on the Great South Bay in Bayport which is where I did my Inktober Day 12 sketch. It wasn't a day for sitting outside...too windy. My mobile studio came in handy.

Inktober Day 11 - South Bay String Band

 Yesterday the South Bay Art Association held an art event called "Discover the Arts." It was held on the grounds of the Bellport Historical Society and we had 21 vendors of assorted kinds of art. It was nice to be able to finally have an outdoor art event after having everything cancelled for months. Our association always has a 4th of July art event and couldn't have it this year. The property was big enough to have the vendor's tents spread out and social distancing and safety precautions were followed. Everyone entering had to wear masks. In addition to the visual artists the South Bay String Band came to perform. I always bring my sketching materials so I sat down to capture the band at play (pardon the pun).

Inktober Day 10 - Boat Repairs

 Down near the Sayville Dock there are a few places that repair and recondition boats...and some of them are large boats like this one which is a charter fishing boat. This was done from my mobile studio for my Inktober 2020 Day 10 sketch.

Inktober Day 9 - Chickens

 Sketching at the Suffolk County Farm is always fun. The chickens are always an active group but they were fun for my Inktober Day 9 sketch. They never stay still enough to get them in one shot, but they usually return to the same position so I moved back and forth from one chicken to another. I used a combination of different pens and inks for this. 

 

Inktober Day 8 - Tree by the Lake

My Inktober Day 8 sketch was done by Mill Pond in Yaphank. There are a few really interesting-looking trees by the water. This one had a picnic table under it. I used my Elegant Writer for most of the runny lines and touches of the brown (sepia) ink in my arsenal of ink pens.

Inktober Day 6 - Lakeview Cemetery

 Tonight the Patchogue Sketch Club met at the Lakeview Cemetery in Patchogue...a perfect place to do another Inktober 2020 sketch. We started early because it is getting dark so early and luckily I parked right near the scene I was planning to sketch. I was sketching with a combination of pens that I found in my purse which included an Elegant Writer as well as a black Pitt fine line pen, and a pen that looked brown when I drew with it but turned an interesting shade of deep pink when I wet the ink. (Somehow I had left my usual assortment of pens in their case on my couch.) 

Midway through the sketch it started to drizzle and the ink from the Elegant Writer started to activate. I hurried to gather up everything and went back to my car. I moved it up a few feet so that I could basically see the same view and sat in the passenger seat of my mobile studio to finish the sketch. I usually sit on the driver's side, so sitting on the right side of the car sort of threw me off a little and I kept dropping things since I had no seat on my right side to rest my materials. I was lucky I went back to the car because it really started to rain and I would have been soaked if I hadn't moved.

Inktober Day 5 - Sketchers

When I do challenges like Inktober 2020 I try to keep myself at least a day ahead sketching, so that if something happens and I really can't sketch something one day, I still have a backup. So on Saturday when I was at the park in Brookhaven I did two sketches. When I finished the stream below I turned around and the other sketchers were sitting spaced and socially isolated through the park. I started with the closest sketcher and slowly some of the other sketchers crept into the sketch too. 

The days are getting shorter and Daylight Savings will make that even worse soon. It will probably put an end to the Wednesday night group sketch meetings for the Patchogue Sketch Club. We were meeting originally at 6:30 and then at 6:00...now at 4:00. For the last few years we were able to meet at the local library through the fall and winter and we would have themed sketch nights. As of right now due to Covid groups are not allowed to meet and there is a time limit that you can stay in the library. So that isn't going to happen. We will have to figure out an alternative...maybe Zoom, who knows.

Inktober Day 4 - Brookhaven Park Stream

 For my Day 4 for Inktober 2020 I used a combination of my Platinum Carbon Black ink and the Noodler's Brown ink. Both are in Lamy pens which I love to use. There is a small park in Brookhaven that has a small stream, a Monet-style bridge, and a gazebo. It is difficult to draw the stream without color because there is just so much foliage in assorted greens and with just ink you can't add in touches of other colors like blue for the sky and some of the reflection in the water. It was fun to give it a try.

Inktober Day 4 - Lake Ronkonkoma View

 I am enjoying using the brown ink, which in my opinion looks like sepia. When I bought it and first tried it I was disappointed that it wasn't a true brown, but I like the look. 

My Day 4 Inktober was sketched from the parking lot at Lake Ronkonkoma County Park. I believe this is the same park my parents would take us to once or twice a summer. It was a good hour drive from our home and it seemed like we were going on a big trip when we went there.  It had this huge slide in the water. I was always afraid to climb to the top so I never got to experience that thrill. I think it is funny that now I live so close to it. The slide is no longer there so I don't have to worry about it.

Then there is the story about the bees. My mother would always pack lunch when we went out for the day. There were my two parents and 5 of us kids, so buying food at a snack bar was out of the question. So Mom brought a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly. As soon as the jelly jar was opened a swarm of bees headed into the jar and never left. lol We had dry peanut butter sandwiches for lunch that day!

Inktober - Day 1 & Day 2 in Sayville

Yes, Inktober 2020 has started. I will be doing my best to do a sketch just using ink for every day in October. I will vary the pens and once in a while the colors I use. 

If you read this blog on a regular basis you know my fondness for the houses in Sayville. My Day 1 sketch is of a house on Foster Avenue down near the beach. I wanted to sketch from my car since it was windy, so I had to find a spot through the hedges and trees where I could see across the street to this house. I used my new Lamy pen which is filled with Noodler's Brown Ink which is not waterproof.

My Day 2 sketch was done in the parking lot down near Sayville Marina Park. I liked the collection of trees leading down to the beach. This was done with Platinum Carbon Ink which is waterproof if you allow it to dry. In order to get the shading I touched the ink with water while it was still wet. For parts I wet the paper and drew right into the wet areas which gave an interesting irregular look.

Boats Allowed

To help catch up I am posting two unrelated sketches, other than they both deal with boats. This is the back of some buildings near a marina in Patchogue. 

On Wednesday night the Patchogue Sketch Club was invited to sketch on a strip of private property along a canal in Patchogue. The owner, Jo, told us we could sketch any of the buildings (including her house), any of the gardens, or any view from down along her dock and boathouse. I had sketched there once probably about 10 years ago but we focused on sketching her garden...in fact Jo bought my painting of her garden. The boathouse stuck in my mind since then so that's where I headed. I don't know if the boathouse is vacant at this time or if the boat that usually occupies it was out for a ride. I liked that I could see some of the equipment and materials in side.

My friend, Pat, took a few photos including these two of me sketching.