Inktober 2018 - Day 16

I headed into Sayville to sketch another one of the decorative scarecrows that are hanging all over the town. This one is called "Henny Penny" and was decorated by the staff from the Rooster Cafe. The scarecrow is hanging right in front of the restaurant and looks like it is dressed like a waiter from the restaurant. It was raining while I was sketching and this was in a perfect spot for sketching from the car. 

#inktober #inktober2018

Inktober 2018 - Day 14 & 10 x 10 Workshop

For today's Inktober 2018's Day 14 sketch I went to Bellport. Like in the years past the town has decorated lamp posts and telephone poles with creative scarecrows with pumpkin heads. There is always a vote for your favorite scarecrow. The one I selected this time is Scarecrow #2 titled "Charlotte Mistress of the Night." I was attracted to her gown and the black long gloves...very high society. lol
#inktober #inktober2018

As I promised yesterday here is a bit about the NYC Urban Sketchers 10 x 10 workshop with Laura Rosen titled "Adding Atmosphere and Form with Color." It was a great workshop but the weather really didn't cooperate. Laura had us meet her at Riverside Park South at 68th Street and the Hudson River. The morning stared with rain so by the time everyone arrived they were wet and it was chilly and windy. Laura did a demo under the umbrellas at the outdoor cafe there but the rain was falling between the umbrellas and the wind was blowing it over to where we were working. We moved from there to a covered roadway that runs along the park. She showed us some prepared examples of how the colors in the sky transition from almost an ultramarine at the top slowly changing to cerulean as you go down and then to a light area with a tint of blue, yellow ochre, and a touch of alizarin. She also showed how warm and cool colors can help to give something form.

The rain finally stopped so we joined her out on the pier looking upriver toward the George Washington Bridge. She did a demo showing us how she layers cool and warm colors as she goes back into the scene to provide depth and atmospheric perspective. Laura uses an orange micron pen to sketch. She likes the warmth it adds to the sketches and it neutralizes with the cool colors. Here are a few photos from the demo.

Laura demonstrating her technique.

Laura adding color to the painting.

Laura's nearly finished painting.

It was hard to paint in the conditions we had because it was so damp that the paint wouldn't dry on the very damp paper. We moved back by the cafe for a wrap-up. It was a little warmer there because there was a lot less wind. Except for myself and one other sketcher everyone else opted to go leave and not paint because they were too uncomfortable. I knew I wasn't leaving without painting. So Ron and I went back on the dock. We went near some kind of storage shelter that blocked a little of the wind...enough that I was able to sketch without my fingerless gloves. lol Laura came out to check on us but she was shivering from being wet and cold. We told her she should go home and we would stay as long as we could. We were comfortable and the sun actually came out for about 2 minutes. Both of us were able to do two paintings each, one facing the bridge and one facing south. With the dampness it was hard to get dark colors without layers, but I was happy with my two paintings. I did end up adding a few darks at home to make the sailboats stand out a little more.

Around 2:00 Ron and I decided to call it a day and went to get some lunch. I think it was a productive day and a helpful workshop.

Inktober 2018 - Day 8

Today the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest Regatta took place. Down along the river behind the shopping area is the town dock and that is where all the pumpkin races are held. I don't know who hollows out the pumpkins...or how, but somehow they are turned into pumpkin boats that do actually float. Some are very tippy but that adds to the fun and the challenge of the race. There are solo paddle races, two-person relay paddle races, and motored pumpkin races. People get to the dock really early so they can get a good spot to view the race. My concern is always to find a new spot to sketch the event from. 

This year I was able to get pretty close to the dock so I started sketching as the contestants started arriving. There was a guy dressed as a Viking and one dressed as a Gnome who were there long before their races were starting...in other words perfect models who would be there for a while.

I used the original ink sketch for my Day 8 Inktober  sketch.

Here are a few photos from some of the races. There were several boats that capsized and had to be brought back to the dock to be bailed out for the next race. 

Once I took a photo of the sketch above I decided it needed some color, so I finished it with my watercolors.

Yesterday after I finished the Inktober sketch I posted, I headed over to the gift shop that is near the lighthouse. I sat near the edge of the cliff where it overlooks some of the rocks. In my younger days I would have climbed down on the rocks either by the gift shop or by the lighthouse itself, but I know nowadays I would have some difficulty getting down to the rocks and back up so I did it the easy way. Instead of using my watercolors I did what is probably about a 5 x 7 gouache painting.