Camellia House

 On one of the bitterly cold days recently my friend and I met at the Planting Fields Arboretum and headed over to their camellia house. I hold what I believe is one of the largest collections of camellias in the world. It is beautiful to see them when they are in bloom. They will only be in bloom for a few more weeks, so I'm glad we got over there when we did.

Planting Fields Arboretum - Part 2

 The weather was so beautiful the day Suzala and I went to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay that we decided to stay and do a second painting. I ended up staying longer because she had to leave by 2:00 to be home in time for one of her art students. This time we painted along the side of the manor house where the columns were around the portico.

30x30 Direct Watercolor #21 At the Arboretum

Recently I took a trip over to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. I wanted to paint the roses on the trellises and wasn't sure if they were blooming yet. According to one of the horticultural specialists the aren't at their peak yet, but as you can see they are blooming. Hopefully I will get back there and do another painting. I love this spot because it reminds me of Monet's Garden when I painted there. 

When I finished the roses on the trellises I went into the walled garden. These flowers are Canterbury Bells. I used a bit of oil pastel on this in addition to the watercolors.

Planting Fields Arboretum #1

A few weeks back we had great weather and I visited the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay a few times. The azaleas were starting to bloom. 

Planting Fields Arboretum - Day 2

When I woke up on Tuesday and saw that we had another beautiful day, I called Suzala and told her I would meet her at the Arboretum. I knew I couldn't go on Wednesday, so it was best to get there while I could. This time I painted the view into the walled garden. Again the cherry trees were just amazing!

For my second painting I did a smaller one (5x7) up near the manor house. There is a small pond down some big stone steps, and the falling blossoms from the tree collected in there.

I left the gardens about 3:30 but Suzala kept on painting. She also went back on Wednesday, but the cold and the dampness cut the day short for her.

Planting Fields Arboretum - Day 1

My friend, Suzala wanted to go painting last Monday because it was supposed to be such a wonderful day weather-wise. She suggested going back to Camusett Park, but I thought that was too far. I get caught in too much traffic heading east after 3:00 so I prefer to be closer. I suggested going to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. I told her there should be cherry trees in bloom and buildings too. It was spectacular! I painted this cherry tree with the greenhouse behind it. In addition to my regular watercolors I used watercolor crayons to give this a little more texture.

I moved on to another part of the park after finishing the first painting. This section is a huge open field with several cherry trees at the top. There were so many people who came just to take photos with the cherry trees. There was a bride and groom, several ladies in gowns, and other people dressed nicely and wearing big hats like the woman in this painting.

I finished painting around 3:15 and by the time I left the park I got stuck in traffic heading east. That is a problem I encounter a lot. I didn't get home until nearly 5:30. That's rush hour on Long Island.

Suzala said she was free the next day until about 5 when her first art student arrives and was planning on going back to paint again. I told her I didn't think I was planning to go back to the Arboretum but if I changed my mind I would let her know.

 

Planting Fields Arboretum Sketching

Today I met a few friends in the greenhouse at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. We each set up in a spot to paint and were well under way when someone from the arboretum came over and started giving us a hard time. We were told tripods weren't allowed and we pointed out that we had no tripods. Then the woman told us we couldn't use chairs, we should sit on the benches. I told her if we did that it wouldn't leave any place for the public to sit. She left only to have a guy come over next and give us the same story. He said that on weekends when it gets crowded they don't want people taking up extra space. At no point were there more than 4/5 people walking around. So I calmly explained how we sketch and paint in gardens all over, usually by invitation, and that we are very good at tucking ourselves in to a corner or off to the side so that we don't bother people. My friend told him that we draw people into the greenhouse. People always come over and comment and see what we are doing...and the visitors around us told him that they loved seeing artists working there. We asked if he wanted us to leave and he said no. After a bit of back and forth he finally let us be and we continued painting. It isn't as if we've never been there before. We go there fairly often. It was very odd. I guess he was just following rules.

Here are the paintings and sketches that I did today.

Here is a group photo from yesterday's Portrait Party.

30 Day Challenge - Day 15

For Day 15 of the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta, I did another painting at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. The arboretum has this wonderful greenhouse filled with camellias...just one prettier than the next. Now is peak season for them to bloom. This is looking toward one of the greenhouse exits. Check the link to see the work done by the other participating artists in the challenge.

30 Day Challenge - Day 14 - Cacti

Today is Day 14 of Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge. This was done at the Plantings Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. They have lots of cacti, orchids, and tropical flowers. It was nice to be indoors and warm while I sketched since the temperature was about freezing outside.

Planting Fields Arboretum

While things are still in bloom I decided to take a ride to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. The rhodies and the azaleas were in bloom and there were still a few pink trees.

This one below I did directly in ink.

Tree Line

My last sketch at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay was done of a line of trees going off into the distance. I liked the shadows they were making. This was done with a brush pen that if I touched the ink quickly it would shade a little.

Please hop over to "Alicia's Aquarium Journal" my journal for International Fake Journal Month.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-20.html

The Greenhouse

Part of our sketching day at the Planting Fields Arboretum was spent inside the greenhouse. It is a great place to sketch!

Meanwhile over at my "fake" journal about the aquarium you can see what I've been up to.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-19.html

Cherry Tree

I visited the Planting Fields Arboretum with a few artist friends last weekend and we were able to sit outside for a while to do the trees like this one that was in bloom. Between the blossoms and the texture of the trunk I was a happy sketcher.

Here is the link to my next page in the "fake" journal about the aquarium.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-18.html

"30 Paintings in 30 Days" - Day 29 - White Orchid

Today's painting for the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge is a white orchid from a photo reference I took at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. I can't believe this challenge is nearly over...although I am running out of flowers in my photo collection and am glad I don't have to search for more. This is 5 x 5.

#30paintingsin30days

This is another digital sketch I did at a local Starbucks using ArtRage.

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

Planting Fields Arboretum Return - Part I

On Sunday my friend, Susan and I returned to the Planting Fields Arboretum for another day of sketching. It had snowed lightly (again) on Long Island so we needed an indoor location. And the warmth of the greenhouse there was too good to pass up.

The arboretum has a main room to the greenhouse and then several smaller rooms that branch out off the main area. This room was filled with lots of bromeliads and tropical plants. I am not knowledgeable about the names of the plants. They are clustered so close together it is difficult to sketch them and differentiate the leaves of one from another. You may notice a stamp in the lower right corner...more on that in a minute.

I then headed into the main building. In honor of Spring the room was decorated with many different  flowers like daffodils, tulips, and hydrangeas. They were odd colors to find among the other tropical plants and the arrangements were a little contrived, but I didn't mind. They looked pretty along the steps coming down from the entrance.

While I was painting a woman was there with a young boy. They were looking for a stamp location in the room. Apparently there is a stamping section in each room of this greenhouse for kids. The kids receive a pamphlet about the plants in the different rooms and then get to hunt for the stamp for that room and use it in their booklet. I've been there many times and never knew about the stamps. I did go back and find a bromeliad stamp to go with the first painting. There was a hibiscus stamp for the main room, but I wasn't impressed with that one and didn't have any room for it on my sketch anyway. lol

After lunch we headed over to the camellia house across the arboretum. They have a wonderful collection of camellias that grow in the greenhouse and bloom starting in February. They were well past their peak, but I found a spot to sketch a few with the stone fountain behind them.

Don't forget...tomorrow IFJM starts. I will make sure to provide a link so you can visit there after you visit here tomorrow.

More From the Arboretum

When I was at the Planitng Fields Arboretum the other day I also did a few small sketches in the walled garden. There was so much in bloom. I sketched towards the Tea House first. 

Then I did a collection of some of the flowers directly in front of me.

Rose Arbor

The Planting Fields Arboretum has an arbor of beautiful roses. I don't often get there when they are in full bloom, but I lucked out the other day when I was there. This reminded me so much of Monet's Garden. This is 8 x 10. While I was painting it a young man stood next to me and watched me for at least 10 minutes. My friend wanted to know if I had charged him for the lesson. lol

Shaded Archway

On Saturday I went to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. One of the spots I decided to sketch was the arches in front of the mansion. The shadows really caught my attention.

This is 5 x 7.

Orchid Show & Walled Garden

Last Friday I joined a group of artist friends at the Planting Fields Arboretum State Park in Oyster Bay. It is a former Gold Coast estate which belonged to the family of William Robertson Coe since 1913. The grounds and mansion are really lovely.

There was an orchid show going on and we roamed around that taking lots of photos, and some of my friends bought orchid plants. I resisted because I don't have the light to grow anything indoors, so it would be a waste for me. Here are a few of the gorgeous orchids we saw.

Next we headed over to the walled garden behind the Tea House. I have been to this arboretum several times and this was the first time the tea house was open to the public. It was designed by Elsie de Wolfe and there are murals and art decorating the walls, the furniture and the lights.

Finally we did get to paint in the garden. Right now the trees inside the garden and outside were in glorious bloom, so I tried to include some of that with a view toward one of the side gates.