Venice - Part 9 - Nocturne, China Cup, Caffe' at Ferrovia, Train Riders, Flight Home

One of the things I really wanted to do on this trip was a nocturne. Most days I was too tired to head out to sketch after dark. But one morning I woke up really early and couldn't fall back asleep. It was still dark so I went into the living room and pulled out my art supplies. I knew I didn't have long before the sky would really start to lighten, so it was now or never. This is part of the view out the side window in the living room. It is a really small painting but I'm so glad I did it. Yay!!

The kitchen cabinets in the apartment were filled with assorted china plates and cups, and then some full sets of dishes. There were a few of these cups and I used Procreate to create the design. I think I was fairly successful.

The end of our stay in Venice came too soon. We navigated with Jerry's walker, two backpacks, and a rolling suitcase to the train station for our train back to Milan. Luckily a lovely woman helped us over the bridge near the apartment and then it was pretty clear sailing to the station. It was a lot of walking for Jerry and we were early, so we stopped at one of the only sit-down cafes inside the station for a cappuccino before it was boarding time. I swear there was maybe two mouthfuls of coffee in the cup and the rest was foam! I did have time to do a sketch of two people at a nearby table. They had a duffle bag with them that was as big as they were. lol Finally it was time to board.

This train was not as roomy as the one coming to Venice, and it seemed like all the seats were filled. I sketched a few of the passengers across the aisle.

We arrived at Milano Centrale and had to walk all the way to the other end of the station to find the Malpensa Express to go to the airport, which was were our overnight accommodations were (the Sheraton Malpensa Milan Malpensa Hotel).  By the time we arrived we had been traveling about 6 1/2 hrs. The great thing about the hotel is that it is right at the airport. When you walk out the doors of the hotel you are in Terminal 1 of the Milan Airport.

It seemed to take forever (and 4,664 steps according to my step counter on my phone) before we arrived at the door of the plane. Jerry had it easy because he was in an electric wheelchair with his agent. I was walking.

I did get to sketch of the flight, because this nice model was sitting across from us.

The trip was really great, and I was happy with the amount of sketching I was able to do. Jerry also got a lot of work accomplished with the musicians he was in Venice to work with.

Bridge by Melville Mill Pond

I've painted the bridge by the Melville Mill Pond a few times. There is a peaceful pond and the bridge makes lovely reflections.  The park is really lovely all year long.

Swan River Bridge

The Patchogue Sketch Club went to the Swan River Preserve recently. When it first opened it had good views but over the last few years the foliage has gotten so tall that most of the water is blocked and all you see is green. I found a spot with a view of the bridge and that and the contrast in the foliage color gave me a focal point. The area to the back was lit by the sun so I painted that first because I knew as the sun moved down in the sky we would lose the light there. 

Swan River Preserve Bridge

 The previous post showed my friend, Rosanne sketching this foliage-covered bridge at Swan Lake Preserve in East Patchogue. The bridge gave us something to focus on amid all the green.

Clouds Over the Bay

 Sometimes the clouds are more of a star than the landscape like in this painting. I was sitting in the parking lot of a park in Islip looking at the bridge at the southern end of the Robert Moses Causeway.

Shropshire

I am enjoying all the virtual travels to locations picked by the organizers of #VirtualSketch. This is the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, UK. I did it directly in watercolors so it will also fit into the #30x30DirectWatercolor Challenge.

Avalon Preserve

Last Wednesday my plein air group met at Avalon Preserve in Stony Brook. We have painted many times at this location so I looked for something different to paint. The last few times we painted up the road at the flower field, but I checked there and the yellow flowers were quite a bit past their prime. I took the walkway that meanders around the back side of the lake and up to several ponds. There was a nice bridge that caught my eye as a subject.