Train Ride

On Saturday I decided I wanted to go into the city and join the NYC Urban Sketchers for the day. My friend whose husband usually drives us into the city couldn't go. It was a big decision to go it alone on the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and subway (the Q train). The train only leaves Ronkonkoma (my station) once an hour on the weekend. That meant I either had to take the 7:31 am train and get there at 9:10 before the location opened, or take the 8:31 am train and be a little late. I opted to be a little late. 

When I got on the train there was a family already seated in the middle section where the seats face each other...yay...that is the perfect spot to sketch people if I sit on the opposite side in the next row on the aisle. There weren't too many people on the train and a few of them were masked. The group I was facing included 2 grandparents and 3 kids. They were all busy eating breakfast when I got on so I sat down and had my bagel and coffee as we started to pull out of the station. They rode as far as Jamaica and then got off to switch trains to Brooklyn. It was just enough time (about an hour) to finish my sketch. I didn't sketch grandma because the seat blocked her.

 

#inktober, #inktober2015 - Day 24 & Riley

I was on my way into NYC on the subway today and did my Inktober Day 24 sketch of some of the commuters. Most of them are either on their phones or asleep, so they make good models.

This week I finally got back to the portrait sketching group. Riley was our model.

A Day in the City

Yesterday my husband and I had tickets for a Broadway show in Manhattan so we went in early so I could sketch a bit. We took the subway and I sketched on the E train from Kew Gardens. The time passed really quickly since it it only about a 30 minute ride so I sketched in pencil.

This week was NYC Restaurant Week so we went to lunch as soon as we got into the city. Then Jerry went off to do his thing and I went over near Bryant Park. There is a bank building across from the park that has a nice atrium with tables and chairs and you are comfortable indoors. Of course I couldn't find a spot with a chair and a good view when I got there. So I ended up standing in another part of the bank lobby to sketch this. That is the view toward Bryant Park.

I checked again for seats and found a chair that I positioned so I could sketch the Empire State Building above the entrance to the subway station.

 

My last sketch was done in the Broadway Theater where we saw "Cinderella."I had a little time to sketch before the show started and during intermission. The stage was decorated for a forest scene with a sunset background.

It was a long, exhausting day. I didn't get any sketching done on the ride back because the train was too crowded and we had to stand part of the way. lol