Dedication Ceremony & 100 People Challenge

Somehow I missed posting yesterday...sorry!

This was sketched last Wednesday at the Sailor's Memorial Dedication Ceremony at Lakeview Cemetery in Patchogue. Apparently this cemetery has the bodies of sailors from 2 ships that sank off the east coast back in the 1800s. The cemetery has a lot of old graves and a group has been working to restore and spruce things up. There was a color guard at the ceremony, but like most things I try to sketch, midway through the sketch one of the adults turned over his flag to a young man from the boy scouts and I had to adapt. Luckily the dedication ceremony finished before the rain started...because it poured about 1/2 hour later.

As a warmup to the Urban Sketching Symposium that takes place in Chicago next week which I am attending, some of the urban sketchers suggested that we do a summer challenge to sketch 100 people. For me it is easier at this time of year because I go to the beach or pool and there are people there...unlike in the winter when I actively had to search for them. lol Here are my sketches #1-21.

#oneweek100peoplesymposium

Sailboat

This was painted at a private dock in East Moriches. Lucky for me that the boat stayed put.

Update on the Bellport Gazebo and the Lifeguard

Back on the 4th of July I painted at my art group's outdoor event, "Artists on the Lane." Someone I know who is part of the Bellport Chamber of Commerce told me I should submit my painting of the Bellport Gazebo for their annual poster contest for Bellport Day. I wasn't going to do it, but she convinced me to enter. I deepened the shadows on the grass and the gazebo and entered it. Guess what...it was selected to be this year's poster! Bellport Day is July 29 and I will be out of town at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Chicago, so I will have to make sure to sign a stack of posters before I leave and they go on sale. Woo-hoo!!! I do get some kind of prize and am invited to a chamber lobster dinner. Too bad I don't get a cut of the poster sales. Here is the updated look.

This was painted on the beach at Robert Moses the other day.

Port Jeff Garden Tour

On Saturday a few friends and I participated in the Port Jefferson Garden Tour.  I believe there were around 6 gardens that were on the tour and each garden had 1 or 2 artists painting. I was randomly assigned a garden and had no idea what I would find. Although the garden wasn't super inspiring I found a view that I liked that contained a lot of hydrangeas. Saturday was a very hot, sunny, humid day, but I was able to see this view from the homeowner's patio above the pool. From there I was able to paint from under a big market umbrella. The homeowners were very nice and had lemon infused ice water, lemonade, and cookies and cake for the visitors and me. So it was a bit uncomfortable but bearable. This painting is 8 x 10.

Here is the painting as well as the view I was working from.

I was at the garden from 11 until about 3:30. When I finished the first painting I had enough time to start another one. This view was looking toward the harbor which you could barely see through the foliage past the birdhouse. This painting was 5 x 7.

Lucky for me the owners loved both and bought both paintings. Yay!!!

Just a side story...one of my friends was painting at a different garden and the homeowner came over and asked her if she was going to give the painting to her. I don't understand how someone can watch as you spend hours painting something, as Susan said "out in the blazing sun" and expect to get it for free. Why would someone even think that? 

Bellport House

One rainy day last week I was in Bellport to order some frames. I hadn't yet done anything for World Watercolor Month so I drove around in the rain to find a spot to paint. Hydrangeas keep calling me.

Alive After Five - July 6

The town of Patchogue had an even the other night called "Alive After Five." The main streets are shut down and there is food, drinks and entertainment everywhere. It gets super crowded and as the night progresses...too crowded. The Patchogue Sketch Club used this even for our sketch location on Thursday. I met up with a friend and we found out that another sketcher and her husband were at a table in one of the restaurants that open onto Main Street. So we met them and the 3 of us started the night sketching from there. The view was a bit blocked but you could see enough to sketch even if you had to combine body parts to make one person. Of course I did just a few of the hundreds of people that were standing in front of Gallo, the restaurant we were in. It was nice to sip on a beer and sketch out of the crowd for a while.

When we were all done with one sketch we vacated our table to give other patrons a chance to sit and eat. Gina, Cindy and I wandered down South Ocean Ave where we saw a few food trucks. It wasn't quite as crowded here and we found a place to sit where our backs were to a storefront and we were out of the way of the people walking by. I sketched Flo's food truck. I've sketched their outdoor stand in Bluepoint many times, but this was the first time I sketched the truck. Again I did only a few of the many people standing and waiting.

Beach Nap

I took along watercolor paper to the beach the other day hoping to do a small painting. I hadn't sketched or painted a portrait in a while so I tried to find someone who looked like they would stay put for a while. I am not used to sketching people in a reclined position. I found that a little difficult. lol