Small Sketches

I signed up to participate in the 75 Day Challenge on Flickr where you sketch something directly in ink for 75 days. Here are a few sketches that I did that way.

This was done at the Planting Fields Arboretum in one of the gardens.

A still life I set up at home.

A day at the beach.

A Tuscan stairway from a photo.

A drive thru convenience store.

I will be back with more of these.



Rose Arbor

Last weekend I took a ride over to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. I lucked out because the rose arbors were still in bloom. This really reminded me of Monet's Garden...but not quite the abundance of other flowers with the arbor. This is 5 x 7.

Painting at Lavender by the Bay

Yesterday my plein air group met at Lavender By the Bay in East Marion on the north fork of Long Island. Several of the artists had painted there before and I got mixed stories about how they liked it. I arrived at 9:30 am and fell in love with the views.

I usually paint sitting down, but a friend told me that it is hard to sit down and paint the lavender because you miss all the contours of the bushes and the shading of the rows because all you will see is the one big plant in front of you. So I took my easel which has been sitting unused lately. I set it up so it was flat and about waist high. I put a large piece of gaterboard on the easel and used that as my work surface. I was able to put my paper on the left, and my palette and brushes on the side. Here is the first view I painted across the field. This is 8 x 10.

Directly next to the view I was painting was a fenced area containing bee hives. I think they added a bit of interest for this painting. This is 5 x 7.

I forget that standing in one place is exhausing. lol So for the next painting I joined some of the other artists who were stitting under some trees to the right of the field. I sat on top of the picnic table and painted this view looking to the store. This is 5 x 7.

It was still early enough to get one more done. This was done standing by the fence see in the painting above. This is 5 x 7.

By this time it was 3:00 and I had been painting for 5 1/2 hours. lol So I quit painting and did some shopping. The store was wonderful with dried lavender sachets, soaps, fresh lavender, etc. And when the young man at the register wrapped my sachet purchases they were done so pretty that now I don't want to unwrap them. He used bright yellow tissue paper that he stapled at the bottom and then tied at the top with a yellow bow and a tiny sprig of lavender.

Can you tell that I just loved this place?

I forget that standing



Sketching at Corey Beach

On Wednesday in the middle of our heat wave the Patchogue Sketch Club met down by Corey Beach at about 6 pm. It was still close to 90 degrees, but we sat under the pavillion and there was a bit of a breeze. There were so many people on the beach and in the water.

One of my current challenges that I'm taking part in is the 75 Days Challenge on Flickr. For each of the 75 days you have to do one sketch directly in pen. Sketching directly in pen is a big challenge for me, but I do find that when I do it I end up being much more observant of the subject. First I did the beach building scene. I eliminate a number of umbrellas and such, and I used a Micron pen for the inkwork.

I was finished long before the other artists, so I did a sketch (directly in pen) of Tom working on his drawing of the beach.

As of yesterday I have finished Day 6...only 69 more sketches to go. lol



Debby's Garden

On Tuesday my PALS plein air group met at a local garden. I could have painted there all day if they let me. This is 8 x 10.



Ice Palace

Every time I pass this place in the summer, it screams, "Paint me!' so I finally did.

This is 5 x 7



Hydrangeas by the Shed

On Sunday I headed over to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale to see a friend's artshow at a gallery there and then paint. These hydrangeas were calling to me. They always remind me of my grandmother who had them growing in our yard when I grew up. This is 5 x 7.



Connectquot Park View

I rode over to Connectquot Park one day last week. I keep hoping that I'll be surprised and the reconstruction on the mill will be finished. I think I have a long wait for that. So I took a walk up the paths. I liked this view of the buildings. This is about 5.5 x 6.



Sayville Garden Tour

Saturday was the Sayville Garden Tour. 5 gardens were featured in the tour and at each garden there were local artists painting and local musicians performing. I was invited to participate.

My first garden was on Tyler Ave. and I thank the homeowners for their hospitality. This is a photo of the front of the house and following it is my painting of part of the porch. The woman who owns the house bought the painting for her husband for Father's Day.

Sorry the photo of the painting isn't better, but I only had a few minutes to take the photo before I gave it away and ran off to the next garden I was scheduled to paint in.

Then I moved on to a beautiful garden on Lincoln Avenue. There were several spots I wanted to paint, but had to settle for only one. Here is a photo of the spot I selected.

Here I am painting.

Here is the painting I did there. I have to bring it over to the owners to see it finished. I ran out of time painting there and finished it at home.

It was a lot of fun to do. My thanks to Carole Shepherd from the Garden Club for organizing everything and assigning me to such nice gardens.



Dock at the Harbor

The PALS Plein Air group went to Stonybrook Harbor this week to paint. I have painted there several times but it always looks different because of the tides. It looked like it was going to rain so I painted small. This is 5 x 7. Luckily the rain waited until we were finished.



Fire Island Lighthouse Revisited

I never tire of painting this lighthouse at Robert Moses State Park. I sat up on the bird viewing platform to get this view. Since I painted from up there last year, they added a new building which houses the original lens from the light.



Swans at the Lake

This was painted last week when I met with my Tuedsay PALS Plein Air Group. We painted at a location called Flowerfields in St. James. It is a wedding venue and on the property is a lake, a gazebo, and a lot of nice landscape. Once in a while the swans cooperate and pose too.

View of the Lighthouse

I went back to the Fire Island Lighthouse the other day. I sat up on the bird viewing platform so I could see the water as well as the lighthouse. This is 5 x 7.



Clouds Across the Bay

Last week we had a few days with wonderful clouds in the sky. I did this sitting in the dunes at Smith Point Park facing the mainland. For those of you who are not from this area, Smith Point Park is a Suffolk County Park located on the very eastern end of Fire Island. It is one of the few areas of Fire Island that you can drive to. I go there a lot to the beach. There is also a camping area. This is 5 x 7.

Maritime Museum View

This is a double page spread that I did at the Maritime Museum in Sayville the other night. This poor boat needs some TLC and I do think they will eventually work on it.



Windy Hill Farm Stand

I am always attracted to colorful farmstands filled with displays of veggies or flowers. This one was on Route 25 near Riverhead.



Bellport Church

Last Sunday I was picking up paintings in Bellport and was early, so I found a spot to sit in the car and paint. This is the Christ Church Episcopal on South Country Road.



Garden at the Farm

This was painted at one of the gardens at the Suffolk County Farm. It is about 4 x 6.



Along the Wall

This was also done last week at the herb farm. I love their collection of pots and plants and buildings. This is the first sketch that I did for the new Sketchbook Project. I glued in watercolor paper to the pages in the book I received, so I can work on both sides. I will try to do more double page spreads like this one.

Sage

I went back to the Peconic River Herb Farm to paint again. I decided I should do at least a pair of herb paintings, if not an actual series. This is the second one I did of their herb display....maybe I'll get a chance to do more.



Napping

I did this from a photo of a friend's grandaughter. It will be a "new grandma" gift for her.

It is 5 x 7.



Smith Point View

This was done the other day at Smith Point Park. They have a beautiful garden area there that is part of the TWA Flight 200 memorial. I did some of the flowering shrubs with the dunes in the background. This was a double page in my small moleskin.



Rocky Point Water Views

On Wednesday my sketching group met down at the pier at the end of Rocky Point Avenue in Rocky Point. We met at 6 pm and stayed until the sunset was over. That gave me about 2 hours to paint. I did the beach view first. Then I turned around to face the fishing pier on the other side. These two men took a long time to settle down but I finally was able to capture them.



Fire Island Walkway

This Tuesday the PALS plein air group met at Robert Moses State Park to paint the Fire Island Lighthouse or the surrounding area. I can always find a new spot to sit and paint. This is 8 x 10.