Inktober Day 19

 Today's prompt for Inktober was "high contrast: black vs white. The shadows on Bellport Lane heading to the town dock looked perfect for this.

#inktober #inktober2026

Bellport Sails

During the summer when my plein air group paints by the Bellport Dock the sailboats are often out on the small beach as well as in the water. Today sailing lessons were being given but I focused on a few sailboats instead of the group getting ready to go out for their lesson. 

Shadows in Bellport

 This particular view in Bellport is a favorite spot of mine to sketch or paint. There are always strong shadows along Bellport Lane looking down to the Bellport Dock.

On the Hill

 There are some large white homes along Bellport Lane in Bellport. Some of the houses art up on a hill from the street, like this one. It is up high with I'm sure what is a great view of the Great South Bay and the Bellport Dock.

School Picnic

 I went down to the Bellport Dock and there was a 2nd grade school picnic going on. The kids were running around, but the parents were keeping things organzied. I liked the kids on the side playing Connect Four.

Bellport Dock

The spring greens have taken over the foliage. 

This was painted looking up Bellport Lane from the dock.  

At the very end of the dock are a few parking spaces with a railing. There are a few benches too. I had planned to sketch the person who owned this bike, who was sitting on the bench right in front of the railing, but he took off before I could sketch him. I'm lucky I got the bike done before he left. 

Down Bellport Avenue

One of my favorite streets in Bellport is Bellport Ave. It runs straight down from Main Street all the way to the Bellport Dock. There is a guard gate, a social club, a parking area for residents, a parking area for visitors (like me), a playground, a small beach, and assorted docks for private and town boats. 

Sailboat at Bellport Marina

 There is always something to sketch at the Bellport Dock & Marina. Plein air sketching with PALS.

View to the Bellport Dock

This was sketched looking at Bellport Dock down Bellport Lane.

 

Lifted

Down near the dock in Bellport I recently noticed that there is a house that has been completely lifted up off of its foundation. I'm not sure why but I expect it is due to the flooding that the area gets when there are storms. A few weeks ago when I was doing the 100 people challenge I sketched a few of the workmen that were on the street surveying the property. It was interesting to see what was now holding up the house...lots of steel girders.

 

One Week 100 People - Day 5

My sketching day started back at the eye doctor's office because Jerry needed to see a retina specialist. While he was out for some tests I started sketching some of the equipment in the room making sure to leave space to put him into the sketch. He is sketch #82.

After we got home I went over to the Sachem Library to do some sketching. I guess I wasn't there at a busy time because there weren't a lot of people there...but I found some. Somewhere there are an additional 2 sketches. I wonder where they are.

Next I drove into Sayville and parked on Main Street. I sketched a few subjects that were hanging out in front of the barber shop.

A woman with two dogs was heading toward me. I sketched her shape and the basic position of the dogs. Then I quickly grabbed my phone and snapped a photo to finish this one at home.

The Bellport Dock had people coming and going. There were a few me doing surveying the house across from the parking lot. There were even a few kids playing on a strange-looking swing and a girl on a scooter.

My last sketch to reach #100 was of a Swezey fuel oil truck parked with the driver inside. He must have been on a break and was there long enough for me to sketch him and most of the truck.

Now I will be returning to my regular sketching. It was great to stretch myself and do so many people. The practice is really good to do.

 

One Week 100 People - Day 5

We had a fairly warm day today and I had a few things to do in Bellport, so first I headed down to the water by the Bellport Dock for a while. There were a number of people walking or sitting around enjoying the warmth of the sun, many of them having shedded their winter coats for light jackets. I sketched these last four people from the comfort and safety of my mobile studio. Later I found an empty area and sat in the sun for a while.

 

Colored Ink Sketches

Yesterday I went down to the Bellport dock and did some small sketches in colored inks. I recently received some pen products from Zebra Pens to try out and give them some feedback. This was the first time I worked with these pre-filled fountain pens.  They are Zebra Zensations fountain pens, 7 different colors in a package. They are very vibrant colors. 

After working with them I found they are water-soluble to an extent. Once the ink is touched by water and it dries the ink is set and can no longer be activated. I had sketched in the sky in blue and wet it and it blended nicely. In spots that were still dry I added what is sort of a magenta color and let that blend too. When the sky was dry I added the other details like the thin branches. The tree trunks were touched with water so they are set but if I add any water to the thin branches at the top they will bleed. They were fun to work with, but I wish there was a yellow or brown earth toned ink included. I did cheat a little in the sketch of the building. I did the light poles with my Lamy pen with permanent ink so they wouldn't bleed into the sky. 

This is how I arranged the page in my sketchbook.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 2

My plan is to focus on skies in landscapes and waterscapes for Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days." You can see the work by the other artists on Leslie's page here: http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

I find the best skies are usual around the water where you have a more open view.

Day 2 was painted down by the Bellport Dock and I'm calling it "The Breach." When Hurricane Sandy came through Long Island in October of 2012 it created a breach in the barrier island of Fire Island that is about as big as two football fields. The debate is still going on as to if this is beneficial/harmful for the Great South Bay so the verdict is still out.

Yesterday I did two of my favorite things. I painted and I shopped...I had coupons that were going to expire lol, so I stopped at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Riverhead. The temps were just tolerable to walk around for a while and then I stopped for a coffee & sketch break at the Food Court.

Bellport Sailboat and Sunset

Last Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club met down by the dock in Bellport. There are always some sailboats pulled up on the beach like this one. The sun is starting to set so much earlier now. I tried to leave the sky until nearly last so I could put some color into it.

We were there long enough for me to do a small sketch of the Bellport Yacht Club and the sun setting behind it. The colors were soft in the sky in this direction which is southeast.

Kayaks

This was sketched near the Bellport dock. I love colorful kayaks.

This was done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

Dog Walking

On Sunday I was in Bellport and drove down by the dock. I had passed this lady further back in town a while before. I just loved the red coat on the dog. You notice this woman is bundled up in a winter jacket and hat...yes, spring temps seem to have disappeared again! I was back in Bellport today and passed the same woman and dog...the dog was easy to recognize. LOL I used a fairly new pen today called "Le Pen" which bleeds a little when you wet it. I like the effect.

Sunset ATCs

After painting the boats in Bellport last night, I did two ATCs of the sunset.

Bellport Boats

Yesterday my friend and I headed over to the Bellport dock about 6:00. We figured we would have time to sketch something and also paint a sunset. There were a lot of small sailboats along the side of the dock near the gazebo to sketch. This is about 5 x 6.

Yesterday I went down to check the dock in Bellport, and there was a lot more damage than there seemed to be in Sayville. I don't know how the dock furthest out is still standing when the inner sections are really in ruins. Some of the trees are uprooted, one gazebo was knocked down and the water line went really far past the first street. The Bellport Yacht Club is still standing, but I can't imagine what it is like inside. You can see Fire Island off in the distance. That area got really hit hard and there were two breeches where the ocean met the bay.

 

We are expecting strong winds and heavy rain today as the Nor'Easter heads our way. I hope it doesn't undo all the work the crews have done to the power and phone lines. Stay safe everyone!