Portraits

 I joined the drawingisfree_org group for another week. Here are a few of my portraits from the session. Again all poses last the length of one song and then another person poses.

 

The Oculus

Last Saturday's NYC Urban Sketchers location was the Oculus, a wonderful architectural landmark and transportation hub in Lower Manhattan. Designed to look look like the wings of a dove from the outside, the interior features a large shopping mall with stores, restaurants, and public art. It was dedigned by Santiago Calatrava. I have never actually stopped in the building before. I was always walking thru on my way from the subway to another location. It was nice to stop and explore.

It was a cold morning, so we were hoping the temperature would warm up enough to sit outside in the afternoon. Instead we headed inside first for a sketch. I loved the view of the outside that I saw from one of the platforms near the street entrance. My friend, Susan, was sketching across from me. Including her gave a little bit of a hint of the scale of the windows upstairs.

 

Around 1:00 we bundled up and headed outside. The wind was the biggest problem but we scoped out the area and found a spot that was sheltered enough so we could sketch. The part of the building that is above ground stretches out like the wings of a bird...and it is a nightmare to sketch. The building continues below ground for several floors. The sketch above shows the interior of this part of the building.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Bayport/Blue Point held their parade last Sunday. I went over to capture some of the excitement. I positioned myself across from the Bayport Flower Shop which was toward the center of the parade route. The bagpipers and dancers were moving too fast to get them into the sketch, but I did get a few people. 

One Week 100 People 2026

I have participated several times in the One Week 100 People Challenge organized by Marc Holmes and Liz Steel. The purpose is to encourage artists to increase their sketching of people in a short amount of time. I try to sketch from life, although sketching from photos or videos is allowed. (There are no real rules.) If you need longer than 1 week that is fine too. This year it was set to start on March 9th, but I decided to sketch some people at Chelsea Market when I was there with the NYC Urban Sketchers. The hardest part of this challenge for me is finding locations where there are a lot of people.

Here are sketches #1-12. All the sketches are of other sketchers at Chelsea Market.

When I returned home to Long Island I looked for people down by the bay and in town. I did sneak in a few of the landscaping guys from our complex too.

The next day I headed to The Bean, a coffee shop in Sayville for these sketches. I snuck in a selfie too (#37).

Yesterday and today I decided to go to the newly opened Whole Foods Market here in Holbrook. I knew they had a spot with tables and a view of the checkout counters. That worked pretty well and I was able to

 finish my 100 people.

These guys were at the pizza place where I had lunch today.

These final four were also at Chelsea Market in the Pearl River Mart sketch.

Chelsea Market - Los Tacos #1 & Pearl River Mart

The NYC Urban Sketchers recently met at Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District in lower Manhattan. It is a fun location with lots of food vendora and a few unique shops inside what was once the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) factory where the Oreo cookie was invented. My friend, Susan and I arrived rather early (10:00) before the crowds of shoppers appeared. I wanted to sketch Los Tacos #1, an interesting taco stand, and I knew from previous visits that once it opened the lines are very long and they would block any view. I was able to sketch and paint about 95% of this before the long line formed in front of me. I kept peeking through the people to add the final details.

 

Next I headed downstairs to the Pearl River Mart which sells all kinds of Korean packaged foods and had stands where fresh food was being prepared too. I sat at a table outside looking into the market. A couple from Paris joined me sketching. They had seen our post on Facebook telling where we would be sketching. It is alwas fun to meet tourists who come to NYC and join us. After my sketch was finished I did go inside and ordered some dumplings for lunch. They were delicious.

I joined many of our sketchers upstairs after lunch where we sketched and socialized until it was time for show-and-tell with Roan as our host. I decided to start the One Week 100 People Challenge while I had so many willing subjects in one place. I will post that page of sketches with the rest of my 100 people tomorrow.

Office Supplies

 Our theme for the Patchogue Sketch Club recently was office supplies. For me these things are more like art supplies, but I guess that they fit either.

Islip Lake with Snow

The snow had collected over by the small lake in Islip. I like this spot that has the lake in the background and a small creek in front...sometimes even a small waterfall. The snow added some nice character to the landscapes.