Rhodies at the Arboretum

Last Tuesday, PALS, my plein air group met at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. The rhododendrons are in bloom right now, so we headed over to the rhodie garden. This first one is 5 x 7.

I was finished before my friends, so I did a very loose 3 x 7 of the path through the garden where we were sitting.

Here are my final EDM sketches.

May 30 - a birdhouse

May  31 - an egg

This is a pysanky egg I decorated in a class I took.

Portrait

I'm sorry I don't have this young lady's name. She is the sister-in-law of one of my friend, Bill in our art group. I had a hard time getting her hair dark enough and resorted to watercolors and water-soluble graphite. 

EDM  - May 29 - a faucet

Wisteria II

I am being drawn to paint wisteria this spring. I had a group show this weekend at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, so before the reception on Sunday I went back to the manor house and did another painting of part of the porch and the wisteria. This is 5 x 7.

Here is the link to the other painting I did of the wisteria on the other side of the porch. The purples in this one are a bit stronger. Which way do you like better? I may try doing a larger one at home since the wisteria is on the way out.

http://watercolorsbyjoan2.blogspot.com/2015/05/wisteria.html

EDM - May 27 - something fuzzy

Remembering

This weekend we are celebrating Memorial Day, a time we honor the men and woman who have died in service to our country. One of my art associations, the Wet Paints Studio Group had our members show this weekend. Included in the show was a section devoted to paintings that honor those who served or paintings that show patriotism. I knew exactly what I wanted to paint.

My father-in-law served in Europe during World War II in the Air Force. He has a shadowbox containing a photo of himself being awarded a medal and two different medals as well as his battalion insignia. I borrowed them, took them out of the box and rearranged them to create a painting. The title of this is "Honored" and it is 8 x 10.

I am behind in posting my EDM sketches. Here they are.

May 21 - where I sit to read

May 22 - something attached to my wall

May 23 - interesting detail to a building

May 24 - some keys

Tulip Field

Somehow I missed posting this after I did it last week...maybe because I wanted to make some adjustments. I'm not sure but I'd better post it before it gets lost among my photos. This was done at the "Garden of Eve" out in Riverhead. They had a field of tulips that was a "u-pick" field and they were planning a tulip festival. Unfortunately due to our spring arriving so late and all the people who came out for Mother's Day the field was pretty well picked over. There was one section that they had roped off and people were not allowed to pick from. That is where we were painting...and I used a little artistic license to fill in the rest of the field. This is 8 x 10 and one of my friends from the group is in the middle of the field painting. 

EDM  - May 21 - where I sit to read

This is actually where I sit to do almost anything...read, sketch, watch TV, talk on the phone, etc. There is a coffee table in front of it for me to put my feet up and relax.

Tonight was the reception for the South Bay Art Association's Members Show.
Here are photos of me with my two paintings on exhibit.

Presby Iris Garden

Yesterday my sister and I went to the Presby Iris Garden in Montclair, NY.

There were so many varieties of irises!!!

I did small sketches that are about 3 1/2 x 7.

I painted my sister, Mickey who was also painting.

I tried getting a few of the different varieties.

Here are a few photos from our day.

EDM  - May 20 - my wallet

Tulips

My plein air group painted at a u-pick tulip field last week. I bought a few tulips to bring home. Of course by the time I sat down to paint them some of them were long past their prime...which gave them a bit of character.

EDM - May 19 - a cupcake

I don't buy cupcakes and didn't have time to stop and sketch one somewhere that has them. This is a composite of several cupcakes I saw on the internet...with chocolate frosting of course!

Lighthouse Paint Out - Part II

My second sketch for the paintout at the Fire Island Lighthouse was on a smaller scale...only 5 x7. This one was done on the opposite side of the lighthouse.

My last painting was from the bay side with a close look at the lighthouse. I was attracted to the white flowers to the right of the path. I very rarely see flowers there. This is 5 x 7.

EDM - May 18 - lipstick

I don't wear lipstick very often, and when I do it isn't very bright or dark. This is what I wear.

Paintout at the Lighthouse - Part 1

The Wet Paints Studio Group did their annual paintout at the Fire Island Lighthouse at Robert Moses State Park on Friday and Saturday. I didn't think I would be able to paint there on Saturday so I made sure I was free the whole day on Friday. This is one of my favorite views of the FIL and it is from the bird viewing platform. I like that you can see the Atlantic Ocean on the right and the Great South Bay on the left. Aside from being at the top of the lighthouse, I don't think you get that view from anywhere else.

We started out with an overcast day and it was windy and cold. I bundled up and just hoped my painting wouldn't blow away. I did tape it to my support on my easel just in case.

Here is the painting that I did. This is about 6 x 15.

Here is the view that I saw.

And here I am all bundled up...ready for anything.

In the above photo you can see my friend, Gina, standing and painting on the ground off over my left shoulder.

EDM - May 17 - something used to measure

Weeping Cherry Tree

The other day I went to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale to see if anything was blooming. I think this weeping cherry tree was the last of the trees in bloom there.

This is 5 x 7.

EDM - May 10 - something you can turn on and off

Patchogue Park's Train Tressle

On Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club went to a new park that opened in Patchogue on the site of what was once a car dealership parking lot. It was nice. I sketched the train trestle.

Every Day in May - May 8 - something with a handle

EDM  - May 9 - something with an interesting label

Pasha and Darryl

On Tuesday we had two models for our portrait group. Darryl was scheduled to be our model and his girlfriend was with him because they were going into the city after he posed. She wanted to pose with him. They were such a sweet, fun couple. 

EDM - May 7 - envelopes

It seemed like such a boring subject...an envelope. I was looking through my collection of birthday cards for all the birthdays coming up. These are for my niece and nephew.

Smith Point

I really can't stay away from the beach for long. I get too antsy. Monday I took a ride down to Smith Point which is part of Fire Island. It was a warm, sunny day...perfect for sitting up by the memorial and painting this view. Then I went down on the beach and had to sit with a coat on because of the wind. I guess it is official that spring has arrived because I walked down and put my feet in the water...yes, it was very cold.

Here is my sketch for EDM - May 6 - something with bristles

(How could I not do a paintbrush?)

Short Beach Revisited

I went back to Short Beach in Smithtown last week. Instead of focusing on the marsh grasses I did part of the beach itself. This is 8 x 10.

EDM May 4 - bottles of herbs or spices

Portraits

Last Tuesday my friend, Laurie posed for our portrait group...and this looks nothing like her except for her hair. lol Well, maybe the chin and neck too. 

When I finished the portrait above I did a quick sketch of two of the other artists...Kathy is on the left and Anne is on the right.

Every Day in May - May 3rd - curtains

(These are in my living room.)

Quick Cow

I took a trip over to the Suffolk County Farm to check on the animals and see if any babies were born recently. I got sidetracked watching the cows coming in to be fed. I plopped my chair down and sketched one, but by the time I finished it was very cloudy and windy so I never really got to check on the babies.

Here is my sketch for Every Day in May

a nearby tree...