75 Day Challenge Sketches

My 75 Day Challenge of sketching directly in ink (no pencil first) is still moving on. I am presently up to day 66. I haven't done it every day, so it is taking me longer than I thought. Here are a few of my recent sketches. All of them were done from life.

 

Downtown Patchogue

The Patchogue Sketch Club met on Wednesday in the downtown area. I was the first one to show up so I picked the location with the Brick House Brewing Co. on the corner and a bit of a view of Bobbique (two good restaurants there). We were lucky to just finish as it got dark and as it started to sprinkle.



Dering Harbor View

On Wednesday my PALS plein air group went to Shelter Island to paint. Most of us had never been there before so we spent a while checking out spots before deciding to paint at Dering Harbor. I couldn't decide between the houses or the sailboat, so I did both. This is 5 x 7.



Beached

I came across this trio of boats near a local marina. This is about 4 x 11.



Jamesport Field

This was done on Saturday out on the north fork of Long Island in Jamesport. I parked along the busy road with all the traffic and sat with my car blocking me from the traffic. Just as I was finishing two women came over to see what I was painting. They had seen me from the house they were staying in which was immediately to the right of this field. They were visiting for the weekend from Ohio.

 

We got to talking for a while and one of them wanted to know what drew me to paint this scene. I laughed and said that I had recently sold a painting of an east end farm and needed to replace it. That was one reason. But the other reason is I like scenes like this where the composition leads you into the painting and scenes that have a depth to them. I look for farm scenes whenever I am out that way, but often from one season to the next the same fields are often not planted. It is so disappointing to drive all the way to a spot you remember, only to find it has already been plowed under or it is just brown dirt. This spot worked out well...the even left me a tractor to include. This is 5 x 7.



Arboretum Buildings

When I was at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum last week painting the dahlias I decided I wanted to go back and paint the buildings on the grounds in that part of the park.

Yesterday I had to drop off 3 paintings that are going into a show there (The Islip Arts Council Members Show), so I figured it was the perfect time to do the buildings.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to focus on a small part or not...and as you can see I couldn't decide which part to do so I did it all. lol This is 8 x 10. I may go back and darken the shadows a bit yet.



Splash

We had some severe weather on Tuesday night, and it really made the ocean active. I went to the beach on Wednesday and painted this. This is a small one...4 x 6.



Dahlia Garden

Last Tuesday my plein air group went to the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale. It was overwhelming and hard to narrow down to focus on just a few flowers.

This is 8 x 10.

 



Fire Island Lighthouse

Last week I went to Robert Moses State Park to sit on the beach for a while. Of course I brought along my small set of paints...just in case. I did this one in ink first for my 75 day challenge...yes, I am still continuing with that and am up to day 59 now. This is about 3 x 5.

 



Kalers Pond

Today is the International Plein Air Painters "Paint Out"Day, so two firends and I went out this morning to paint at Kalers Pond in Mastic. It is fun to think that artists all over the world are painting at the same time. This is 5 x 7.



Carol's Patio

Wednesday evening the Patchogue Sketch Club sketched at Carol's house. I loved the patio which was really like an outdoor room.I had to finish this at home because even though I started it at about 6pm by 7:20 it was too dark to see anything in the yard or on my paper. So I did some of it from memory. Note to self: ALWAYS BRING THE CAMERA! lol I did this across a double page spread in my Sketchbook Project book.



Setauket Barn and Garden

Before leaving for California I painted this view of the red barn and garden at the Frank Melville Park in Setauket. This is 8 x 10



Traveling to San Diego Part 2

Harrah's Rincon Casino had a really nice pool area, so I did quite a few sketches there.

 

 

 

 

I couldn't resist trying one sketch in the casino itself.

 

And last is a sketch from the departure area before we left San Diego.

 

 



Traveling to San Diego

I just can't resist sketching when I travel. We had a bit of time before the flight took off at Kennedy Airport on Wednesday, so I sketched the view out the window in front of me. This was done directly in ink so I would have something done for my 75 day challenge.

 

 

On Thursday we went to Harrah's Rincon Casino in North San Diego. This was where our family members stayed and the wedding was about 20 minutes from there. We got there early enough to play the slot machines and then have something to eat. The wedding was on Friday afternoon and of course we spent a little time by the pool in the early part of the day. This was sketched directly in pen.

 

I didn't sketch at the wedding, although it would have been a great place to sketch. It was at a ranch with beautiful oak trees and rustic buildings. The wedding ceremony and reception were outdoors. Luckily it wasn't too warm. Here are a few photos of the bride and groom...my nephew,. Mike and his lovely bride, Rachel.

 

And a photo of me and my sister with the happy couple.

(Mike, me, Mickey, and Rachel)

 

I will post the other sketches tomorrow.

 



At the Herb Farm

This was done at the Peconic Herb Farm before I left for my quick trip to my nephew's wedding in California. I will post the sketches I did there shortly.



White Door

Last week I went out to East Hampton to paint. We went to Mulford Farm which is a historic farm with a few houses and barns. I didn't find the barns too interesting but I loved this door on one of the houses. This is 8 x 10.



Farmstand Flowers

Riding around to various farmstands lately gave me the urge to buy some of their fresh flowers. I cut them down and put them in an empty can instead of a vase. This is about 5 x 5.