Magnolias

After painting the small square magnolia the other day I wanted to go back and paint a larger version. This was done at Clark Botanic Gardens in Albertson. It is about 5 1/2 x 15.

Since today is the last day of the month my fake journal, "Floral Fantasy" has come to an end. You can check out the last sketches and post here.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Briermere Farm

The farm stands are slowly opening up on the east end of Long Island. Briermere Farm stays open until Thanksgiving and then shuts for a few months. I was out east and was glad to see it had reopened for the season.

"Floral Fantasy," my fake blog is continuing for a few more days. Please check it out.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Magnolias

This week I went to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale. The magnolias looked so good I had to sketch them. This is about 5 x 5.

Check out today's post at "Floral Fantasy" my fake blog.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Roosevelt Island

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers went to Roosevelt Island which is a narrow island in New York City's East River. It is accessible from Manhattan by a tram. I got there before the other sketchers so I used that opportunity to go up near the boarding landing and sketch the tram from above ground. It was a quick sketch.

Once we got to the island we walked towards the Roosevelt Memorial. On the way we passed interesting ruins from some of the buildings that had been on the island when this was used mostly for hospital buildings. This particular one was the smallpox hospital. It is in ruins and they have a lot of scaffolding around it. Money is being raised to restore the building.

While I was sketching the above sketch I sat in the Franklin D.Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. The steps lead up to a great view of Manhattan.

Lunch was followed by a very long hike to the northern end of the island where there is a lighthouse. All of us sketched it...you can see a few sketchers in mine. We opted to take the free bus back to the tram station.

It was a full day of sketching.

"Floral Fantasy" has been updated for today.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Short Beach

The other day it was nice and I knew I had to go out and paint. I drove up to Short Beach which is in the Town of Smithtown and will soon be off limits for me to visit without someone along who is a resident.  I called my friend who lives up there to come and meet me, and she did. Luckily I did most of the painting before she arrived. We spent the whole time she was there talking. I don't think we've seen each other since the fall, so we had a lot of catching up to do. 

The color of the beach grasses was great with the bits of water between them. Within an hour all the blue of the water was gone and there were just small puddles and mostly mud. The tide changes quickly. I was happy with the way this came out. This is 5 x 7.

While we were there we noticed a huge new osprey nest up on one of the poles in the parking lot. If you look carefully you can see one of the birds at the top edge of the nest. I'm always amazed by the size of their nests, and a lot of the parks here put up nesting poles for the osprey.

"Floral Fantasy" has another post...visit if you can.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Julia & Svetlana

Last Tuesday I was able to get two portraits done because both of my groups met. The South Bay Art Association group meets every Tuesday morning, but the Wet Paints Studio Group meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. This month was an overlap.

Here is Julia.

Here is Svetlana.

"Floral Fantasy" has been updated for today.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Indian Island Cove

This was painted at Indian Island on the north fork of Long Island. It was a warm day and I did get to sit on the beach for a while to paint this. Yay!!! This is about 3 x 7.

If you remember back to my April 7th post about the Bellport Acoustic Jam session, I told you that the publisher/editor of Bellport.com asked for copies of the sketches to put on their website. Here is a link to the article. You can see my friend, Gina's sketches too.

http://bellport.com/vnews/vn_seen.htm#sketches

Day 16 of my fake blog is posted on "Floral Fantasy." Come and see my floral page for today.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Sketching at Sotheby's

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers went to Sotheby's Auction House on 71 St & York Ave. It sounded like an odd place to sketch and some of us were a bit concerned that we would be out of place there, but they could not have been more welcoming! There was such a variety of items to sketch.

I started with the building itself...with all those flags it looks very impressive. I sat across the street to do the entry.

Then I moved up to a floor that had among it's contents a Monet, a Renoir and other lovely pieces of art, including this sculpture. I did this one and the one above in my Strathmore Toned Sketchbook.

There was a designer showhouse going on another floor. Designers and design firms each decorated a room. It doesn't show well in this photo but the walls of this room that I sketched were bright pink. The bed was adorned with different strips of brightly colored silks that stretched from overhead and down the bed posts. Then there was a fur throw and decorative pillows. In front to the left was a beautiful table with assorted pieces. The colors called to me so I sat and sketched from across the room. The designers (mostly young) kept walking around. I met the young man, Robert Dean Harris, who had designed this room. I spoke to him and told him how the color really attracted me, and he thanked me and told me he liked my sketch. When he left an older gent who was sitting in the corner asked me if I sell my work and was this piece available. Hell yes! I told him my price and he bought it. He was either the father or grandfather of the designer and bought it for Robert as a remembrance of his first display at Sotheby's. Now I can say that one of my sketches sold at Sotheby's! LOL

I'm sorry this isn't a better photo but I snapped it quickly before giving it to the client. The lighting wasn't great for the photo and I also have a big shadow on the right side.

After lunch I sketched part of another of the designer rooms, this one by Ashley Darryl.

The only bedroom I saw in the designer showhouse had some wonderful still life setups near the bed and by the couches in the room. This was on the cocktail table by the couches.

My last sketch was of Janet who was off on the other side of the room sketching next to the bed.

I must say it was a productive and exciting day.

"Floral Fantasy," my fake blog has been updated.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Near Smith Point

On my visit down to Smith Point, which is part of Fire Island, I stopped at the Smith Point Marina. This is the view from there across to Smith Point Beach.

I sketched these rocks in the parking lot at the beach. It is on the bay side of the island. While I was sketching this 7 deer and a red fox came strolling along. They often feed on the grasses, especially now when there is so little traffic in the parking lot.

Day 14 of Floral Fantasy is posted. I included a few friends who are also doing fake journals in my sketches there yesterday and today.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Beach Landscapes

I was down by Smith Point Beach and did a few sketches. These are about 3 x 6.

Today is day 13 in "Floral Fantsy" my fake blog. Please join me there.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Tyler

This was done when my portrait group met on Tuesday morning. There are parts I'm happy with but I  think I made his nose and face too long.

My fake blog "Floral Fantasy" has been updated here.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Starbucks

The Patchogue Sketch Club was scheduled to go to Flo's on Wednesday, only to find that it was closed. We quickly changed gears and headed over to Starbucks. There is always something/someone to sketch there.

The new post for "Floral Fantasy" is posted.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

View from Crab Meadow

A little ways around the corner from yesterday's sketch is this view. Depending on the tide the view is always different, but I always love it. I have painted this view several times before. This is 5 x 7.

"Floral Fantasy" my fake journal has been updated for today.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Crab Meadow Dunes

I went up to Northport the other day which is on the northern side of Long Island. There are some nice spots by the water to sketch and paint, but once the "season" arrives you can't park there unless you are a resident. Crab Meadow is partly on the water and partly on an inlet and has several nice spots to sit and sketch. You just have to watch out for high tide, ticks, and poison ivy. I was sitting low down to sketch this...watching the water level carefully. lol

My newest installment to my fake blog "Floral Fantasy" can be found here.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Old Barn

The other day I took a ride up to Longwood Estate in Ridge. I dressed for fairly cold temperatures and as long as I was sitting in the sun somewhat sheltered from the wind, I was able to sit for quite a while. There are several old barns on the property and this one looks a little worn especially from this side. That roof looks like it needs a bit of work. This is 5 x 7.

I have posted day 6 of my "Floral Fantasy" fake journal. Come and look.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Barry X 2

On Tuesday I joined up with my portrait group in the morning. Barry made a return visit (the other time was in January) to pose for us. He looked like such a gentleman with his checked shirt and red tie. I started with this small (4 x6) painting of him. 

While the colors on the face were drying I started another one a bit bigger (6 x 8). Then I worked back and forth on each.

Critiquing them both I think the first one looks more like him. In the second one his eyes are different sizes. I was happy with the way the skin tones came out.

Today is day two of my IFJ. Hope over to the "Floral Fantasy" blog for a look.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Planting Fields Arboretum Return - Part II & IFJM Begins!

In addition to the scenes that I did at the arboretum of all the tropical foliage clustered together, I also did two individual flowers. This first one caught my eye because of the long curvy stem and the bright flower on the end. I didn't know what kind it was and ended up almost crawling underneath the  plants to find the stick in the pot that identified it. It is a costus zingiberacea and is also known as the "French Kiss."

While I was painting it two young girls about 7 and 9 years old came over and asked if they could watch. They were so polite and sweet. We talked about all the flowers and which ones were their favorites. They wanted to know if I painted all of my favorites and I laughted and told them I would have to be there painting for a long time. They didn't know about the stamps so when I told them, grandpa went and got them a booklet to fill. I love when little kids are so interested to see people painting. They will usually come right over but the adults worry about disturbing you while you're working. I don't mind, and I tell the adults that.

I also painted one of the cymbidium orchids. I loved the color of this one.

And now...ta dah...drum roll please. Here is the link to my IFJ blog called "Floral Fantasy." Please visit and leave a comment if you have the time.

www.floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

IFJM Is Coming and a Home Depot Sketch

IFJM (International Fake Journal Month) is coming, and starts April 1! For those of you who have no idea what IFJM is, here is a link to some information on Roz Stendahl's blog. Roz started the idea of the fake journal month in April.

http://officialinternationalfakejournalblog.blogspot.com/p/what-is-ifjm.html

If you are interested in participating it isn't too late...just contact Roz at the link above or sign up of International Fake Journals on Facebook.

I have participated a few times doing fake or imaginary journals. I started with "Angelina's Life in Venice in 2011, continued with "The Magic Feather" in 2012, and did "Chevy Road Trip" in 2013. I didn't participate last year (and felt like I missed something). My ideas have been churning and I am organized and ready to start. I will provide a link to this year's IFJ on April 1st!!!

Now back to my sketches...

Below is a sign that this winter has been too long. lol Saturday we had light snow all day again and I wanted to sketch some Spring flowers but the only way to do that was to do it indoors. I thought about going to a local nursery but figured it would be too crowded the weekend before Easter. So I headed over to Home Depot. That place is so big it couldn't be too crowded. I looked for Spring flowers which they had in assorted places but most of the spots didn't have a place where I could stand and sketch comfortably. Then I noticed that if I went to the patio furniture section there was a nice display of flowers in view that I could put into the sketch with a few chairs and an umbrella stretching into the scene too. I perched myself on some stacked lawn chairs that were just a little lower than standing and had a covered bbq with a flat top next to me to use to rest my materials. Lots of Home Depot workers came past, two even asked me to move for a minute so they could get a box down that was on the shelf behind me, but nobody said a word about me sketching. I probably could have set myself down on one of the cushioned comfy patio seats and nobody would have cared. lol