Daffs from the Memorial Garden

 The forecast the other day was for temps near 70 degrees so I headed over to Smith Point Park to the ocean. There was a lot of construction going on around the pavilion area so I took a walk over to the Flight 800 Memorial Garden. Usually there are some flowers in bloom and I was hoping for tulips. I wasn't that lucky. There were a few daffodils still in bloom but they were outnumbered by blossoms that were past their prime. I sketched them anyway.

Jen's Specimens

On Wednesday night one of the members of the Patchogue Sketch Club hosted the even because Mark was away. The weather forecast was for wet weather so Jen got some of her specimens out and ready for us to sketch.

We started with a few shells including that of a horseshoe crab. 

Then we moved on to a replica of a human skull.

My final sketch was the shell of a turtle. I just loved the patterns in the scoots of the carapace if the shell which were very interesting.

Palms Past their Prime

Several of the restaurant/bars along the river in Patchogue use tropical palms to give their outside seating a tropical feel. The problem is when it gets cold there is no room inside the buildings to keep the trees trough the winter...and many of them look like this. These were in the parking lot by Harbor Crab.  I hope they find a way to dispose of them before the new ones are brought in. This was done with Noodler's Brown Ink which is water-soluble. I think it looks more sepia than brown, and I like the color.

 

Kitty from X-Men

This week's sketch theme for "Let's Art with Lefty Lucy" was inspired by Kitty from the X-Men. (I had no idea who she was and had to google her.) Apparently she is some kind of super-hero and has a dragon friend named Lockheed. Kitty was much easier to sketch than the dragon. I just couldn't see it well in any of the poses. Of course when we were all done I asked if we could see the dragon and we got to see it up close...but that didn't help in the sketches. lol

These are 2 minute, 5 minute, and 10 minute poses.

The next two sketches were 10 minutes.

This was the final 20 minute sketch.

 

Flowers and Stone

 I love going to nurseries and farm stands to see what they have on display outside. Olish Farms in Eastport always has interesting displays of flowers. I liked these spring flowers but really liked the stone rooster in front of it. I had to leave without checking it out closer because I was afraid I would end up bringing it home. I wonder if it had a space inside for a plant...

Richter's Orchard

 My friend, Susan wanted to go out and paint trees on Sunday so three of us headed over to Richter's Orchard in East Northport. The orchard has apple, cherry and pear trees. There were some trees still in bloom but they had passed their peak. It is a pretty place and with all the trees around in neat rows you feel like you are in another world. The orchard closes from May to I think September. I guess they don't want anyone coming in and messing with the produce while it is growing. Until then their barn is open to purchase some of the different varieties of fruit. The day we were there the barn was already closed. I'll have to stop by in the fall and check it out then.

I did a view of the orchard.

Then I did just one tree in ink with a bit of color.

Roots Parts 2 & 3

 Like I said, my mom's parents came from Goraj, Poland. My sister and a cousin were doing some research about the family history quite a few years back and she said she couldn't even find the town on a map. Well it is now on Google Maps and touring around in the town in today's times doesn't seem like what I envisioned when my grandmother spoke about it. She seemed to indicate that it was mostly farms, but maybe that's just what I though at the time. She's been gone a long time.

Anyway my grandmother's religion was very important to her. Since we were in a Polish neighborhood we attended the Polish church there (St. Joseph's). I used Google Maps to find Saint Bartholomew Church which was the oldest church in the town and dated back to the 18th century. I'm not sure if that was her parish but I'd like to think so. This is the bell tower from the church.

My family is the biggest part of my "roots." This was sketched from a photo that my dad took probably back in 1955 when my sister, Tina was a baby. Dad was the family photographer. I don't remember him taking landscape or flower photos, but after his sister gave him a camera he took all the photos of our extended family. If there was a wedding, a christening, a communion, a graduation, a party, a celebration, a vacation...he was there with his trusty Bolsey camera snapping away. Of course that meant lots of family photos of all of us, especially at holidays, and he would use the timer on the camera. Going left to right are my sister, Michelle (Mickey) who was the oldest. Then Dad holding Tina (aka Chris) who was the baby. Fran (who is no longer with us, was a year older than me. Mom is holding me on her lap and Joe (who we lovingly called "the king" is sitting on the floor.

I guess at some point there will have to be a Part 4 to honor the Szalay side of the family, but I know very little about them. My father's parents had both passed before he met my mother. Neither my dad or his two sisters really knew much about the family on that side.