Unsuspecting Subjects

When I was in the city on Saturday the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade was also going on. I didn't see too many people dressed in green on the trip in but there were some on the way home. These ladies were sitting diagonally across from me on the train and I had lots of time to do the sketch. They obviously had gone in for the parade and looked exhausted.

These people were on the train in the morning but I didn't bother using color since they were sketched on flimsy paper, not watercolor paper.

Downstairs in the newer section of the Morgan Library and Museum I sat for a while on the couch. Another sketcher was sketching across from me so I did a quick ink sketch of her before we left to go have a drink and share our sketches.

All of these people sketches are a good warm-up to the "1 Week 100 People" Challenge which I will be participating in again.

Information about the challenge can be found HERE.

Maybe you would like to participate too.

Morgan Library

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at the Morgan Library and Museum on Madison Ave and 36th Street. It was founded to house the private library of J. P. Morgan in 1906. It includes manuscripts, books, 3 Gutenberg bibles, prints, drawings, etc. In accordance with his will, J.P. Morgan's son made the library a public institution.

The original library still stands but a more modern part was added to house the museum which has changing exhibits. I wasn't sure there would be much there that was sketchible, but I was suprised. The library itself is overwhelming, basically from the sheer number of books. I did a narrow, vertical sketch so that I could include some of the ornate ceiling, the books and display case, as well as some people. The room is kept rather dim (to protect the books I would assume) so I was never quite sure what colors I was using. Supposedly there are restrictions on what art materials you can use. I worked with watercolor pencils and when I wanted to add water I went out into the lobby to do so. I added the ink there too. 

At lunch other people said they had used wet media and the guards were fine with it. So when I did this second sketch in J.P. Morgan's study I used the watercolor pencils but did add water with my water brush and added ink with my pen. This room was even darker than the library so when I finally went out into the lobby I darkened some of the colors because everything looked too pale.

If I had more time I would have done a sketch in the modern addition to the museum. It had some really interesting views of the different levels and the neighboring buildings.

In the morning before the library itself opened I sketched this panel with two cherubs that was over the door of the Polish General Consulate. It was around the corner from the Morgan Library.