The NYC Urban Sketchers met in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn. DUMBO stand for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. The meeting spot was Jane's Carousel but my friend, Suzala and I decided we wanted city sketches. We found a spot with a view of the Manhattan Bridge where there was a cluster of rocks and some stone steps...and many, many people. I used artistic license and left out most of the people leaving in enough to get the idea of people sitting and standing to enjoy the spot.
I had an errand up near Lake Grove and was hungry. I headed over to Iron Ramen in nearby Stony Brook. The ramen was Ok, but nowhere near as good the great places I've been to in the city and Brooklyn. But the sketching opportunity was good so I can't complain. I did enjoy my time there.
It was hard to resist the crocuses at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. There was an entire patch of them just smiling up from the earth. I was a happy woman. :)
It was a long winter and the other day we had enough sunshine and a mild day so I headed over to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. I wasn't sure if there would be anything in bloom, but I found the daffodil patch near the parking lot. Although much of it was still just leaves, there were a few clusters of blooms. I actually sat on my stool and not in my mobile studio to sketch.
I've been keeping up with the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts as much as possible.
Here are a few recent sketches for the hunts.
I joined in with Chloe's group on Drawing Is Free_org again this week. Here are some of the portraits I did. The models seem to like posing with their hands near their faces. Most were done with a mix of watercolor, watercolor pencils, and Neocolors. All were sketched in the space of one song.
I've passed the Presbyterian Church of the Moriches many times and always decided before that it was too big to sketch. But this time I decided I would see how much of it I could get onto my page. I started at the top of the steeple and kept going until I ran out of room. The church has a lovely bottom too, but there was no way it would all fit on the page. Maybe some day I'll go back with a long sketchbook where I can work across a double page.
This large, bumpy tree in Sayville caught my attention the other day. The trunk had such great texture...a good excuse to add a bit of Neocolors to it.
Our spring flowers have barely started appearing from the ground, so I headed over to the Bayport Flower House and did a direct watercolor of one of the flower pots that were outside. It had a little bit of a few different flowers. I will go back and make sure to get some Easter flowers to bring home.
It seemed a little early to see this along the street in West Sayville parked near a small area park. This floating Tiki Bar was on a trailer with a small orange vehicle in front of it. The vehicle pulled away and left the Tiki Bar float sitting there. As far as I know there isn't a waterfront bar in that area that uses one of these, so I am thinking that is probably belongs at one of the waterfront bars/restaurants in Patchogue or Fire Island itself. Since it is only March it seems a bit early to use it. Maybe it was brought to have repairs done at one of the local marinas.
Here are a few more small sketches for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt.
A bell found at the Long Island Maritime Museum.
It felt like I hadn't done a digital sketch with Procreate for a while. I played around with the colors which seemed to work well for the red pepper. I was happy with the result. This was one of the items in the latest Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt.
It was warm enough to attempt a visit to Corey Beach in Blue Point. I even sat out in my chair to do this sketch and didn't have to wear a hat or fingerless gloves. It is a nice spot to sit by the gazebo and watch the water...which is what I did when the sketch was finished.
I made sure to be home for the 1:00 session of DrawingIsFree_org. I know they will probably change the time in Paris soon and the time will be adjusted here and back to noon. I'll have to check it out next week. I'm still trying to find a method of sketching that allows me to do a colorful sketch and finish before the song ends. This week I started the sketch with graphite or watercolor pencils and mostly used watercolor pencils for the rest of the sketch. For the white/gray beard I used my Sketch and Wash pencil. Here are a few of the sketches that I was happy with this week.
I would love to sketch the St. Patrick's Day Parade itself, but the barricades along Main Street in Patchogue made it impossible to see what was coming next long enough to sketch it. Instead I foucused on the crowd across the street from where I was sitting on my stool. There were some mighty big hats that were calling to be sketched. I was hoping some bagpipers would be around after the parade ended, but that didn't happen.
I patiently and slowly sketched this car for Creative Spark's Scavenger Hunt.
Along one of the channels in Patchogue there are a number of marinas and one of the Fire Island Ferry Terminals where the ferry to Watch Hill comes in and out. This view is right across from there.
The sky has been somewhat overcast lately. I sat in my mobile studio all the way at the end of the West Sayville dock looking back toward the land. This view is of the grounds of the Maritime Museum. I've painted it many times before from the other side.
This last scavenger hunt from Creative Spark included
a garage...
I joined the drawingisfree_org group for another week. Here are a few of my portraits from the session. Again all poses last the length of one song and then another person poses.
Last Saturday's NYC Urban Sketchers location was the Oculus, a wonderful architectural landmark and transportation hub in Lower Manhattan. Designed to look look like the wings of a dove from the outside, the interior features a large shopping mall with stores, restaurants, and public art. It was dedigned by Santiago Calatrava. I have never actually stopped in the building before. I was always walking thru on my way from the subway to another location. It was nice to stop and explore.
It was a cold morning, so we were hoping the temperature would warm up enough to sit outside in the afternoon. Instead we headed inside first for a sketch. I loved the view of the outside that I saw from one of the platforms near the street entrance. My friend, Susan, was sketching across from me. Including her gave a little bit of a hint of the scale of the windows upstairs.
Around 1:00 we bundled up and headed outside. The wind was the biggest problem but we scoped out the area and found a spot that was sheltered enough so we could sketch. The part of the building that is above ground stretches out like the wings of a bird...and it is a nightmare to sketch. The building continues below ground for several floors. The sketch above shows the interior of this part of the building.
