Sketching in the City

My friend, Susan, and I joined the NYC Urban Sketchers again on Saturday. This time they were meeting in Manhattan. I drove us into midtown Manhattan, which was quite an adventure for me. We all met in front of the NY Public Library.Several sketchers were already there working when we arrived. There are two stone lions that flank the steps of the library and their names are Patience and Fortitude. I must say I'm not quite sure which one I sketched. lol As you can see, autumn is in full swing in the city.

 

After about 1 1/2 hrs of sketching we packed up and moved around the corner and down the street. People sketched where they liked, and some of us went into Bryant Park to scope things out. From now until Christmas there are market stalls filled with all kinds of things to buy, as well as a skating rink. I focused on one of the market stalls and some of the people enjoying the park.

 

Then we moved to 6th Avenue and 43rd Street. We were sketching from the inside of a building that had an open public space with tables...perfect for us to sit and sketch. I did some of the buildings across from us and had to include a few taxi cabs.

 

After these sketches we all got together (there were about 9 of us, including Jane who came up from Baltimore to meet us) and shared our sketches. Most of the group left at this point but Susan, Mia, and I went to grab lunch. After lunch the three of us decided to go back to Bryant Park and do another sketch before it got too dark. We found this wonderful caroussel to sketch. I am assuming it is something special that they added for this time of year since I never saw it there before.

 

It was a fun day of sketching, and Susan and I managed a little bit of shopping in the market stalls before we left.



Longwood Estate

On Tuesday my plein air group met at Longwood Estate in Ridge, NY. We've painted there a few times and it is especially lovely at this time of year. This is 8 x 10.



Oyster Pond View

While I was out near Greenport the other day painting the beach cottage I continued along the road to the Oyster Ponds. I sat in the beach parking lot opposite from this to paint. It was much too windy by the water to paint outside. My paper would have blown across the water before I knew it. This is about 4 x 10.



Beach Cottage

I took a ride out to Greenport on Monday specifically to go paint one of these cottages. I had been out there this summer and the cottages attracted my attention. Of course in the summer almost anywhere you really want to paint on the eastern end of Long Island has no parking except for residents. Once the season is over it is easier to park, but as it was there were signs everywhere telling me I was under "video surveillance" on Monday. I parked anyway figuring if an owner came over they should be flattered that I was painting their cottage. I sat in the car to paint so nobody got nervous. lol

This is 5 x 7

 

I really need to get out that way to paint more since I am joining a few artist friends in sharing wallspace in a gallery in Greenport starting in December. I planned to drop by the gallery and check out the space and the competition but by the time I finished 2 paintings the gallery was closed for the day. Looks like I will just have to go back out. lol

The Bridge

On Sunday I went to the WertheimNational Wildlife Refuge in Shirley. They redid the visitor's center and moved the entrance since I was there last. I was hoping I could find the trail that would take me to this view which you could see as you entered the refuge from the old entrance. It wasn't in a convenient spot where you could sit and paint it before, but now the road isn't used by the public so it was safe to sit on the little bridge and paint this view from it. This is 5 x 7.

 

On Saturday I went exploring and found the Saddle Rock Grist Mill which is located in Great Neck. It is a historical landmark and is possibly the oldest tidal gristmill in the country. It was built in 1792 from mill equipment brought over from England as well as local materials. It was in continuous operation until 1940. The mill sits alongside Udall's Pond where trading vessels would land from the Atlantic Ocean, arriving from either the East River, or Long Island Sound, and return loaded with corn flour from the mill.

 

Of course I timed my visit wrong and it was closed for the season. I was able to get a view of it from the park next to it, where my only company was about 100 Canadian geese. I will have to go back and sketch it again. It is in a really nice spot.



The South Bay Art Association has resumed their portrait painting sessions now that the summer is over. Usually they are on the same day that I go out with my plein air group so I don't get to go until December, but this year they are meeting on Thursdays for a while. We were luck enough to have Daiquan sit for us this week.



Bellport Scarecrow

Right now the town of Bellport is decorated with scarecrows. They were designed by students and they are on most of the available telephone/electric poles and trees in the downtown area. They really look so cute and festive. I sketched one and hope to go back and do another soon. This is Gabby the Witch.



Autumn on Long Island

At this time of year every where I turn looks like a painting opportunity.

I sat in my car to paint this...too many trucks and cars riding along the busy road to sit out there without worrying. This is the Little Red Farm Stand in Yaphank, NY. I forgot the stars on the flag. I'll have to fix that.



Sayville Modern Diner

Last night the Patchogue Sketch Club met at the Sayville Modern Diner to sketch. It is one of those retro places with the jukeboxes on the tables and the upholstered booths and lots of chrome.

Of course we had coffee and most of us had dessert, so the table ended up being quite crowded while we worked. I went for the jukebox and table setting up against the window.

The I sketched two of my friends on the opposite side of the table. The sketches sort of resemble them a bit...but not much. lol

Our thanks to the owner and our waitress for being so accommodating.

 



Pumpkin Patch

Last Thursday I took a ride to the Organics Today Farm in East Islip. The owner was so sweet and allowed me to paint out by the pumpkin patch. My plein air group was scheduled to paint there yesterday, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to go with them. I'm glad I got to go last week, from photos I saw today, the field had a lot fewer pumplins when they went.



World Wide Sketchcrawl #37 - Brooklyn, NY

Yesterday was the 37th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. My friend, Susan, volunteered to drive us into Brooklyn to meet the NYC Urban Sketchers who had organized a location to sketch. It was such fun to be a part of the group. There were about 14 sketchers from the group and also a whole group of students from Ohio who were in NY for a design contest. They only stayed to sketch for a short time, but it was fun to see so many people taking part.

Here are two photos of the group taken at different times by Richard who organized the group.

We met in downtown Brooklyn near the new Barclay Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Atlantic Terminal. That's me in the pink jacket.

 

 

My first sketch is of the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Boy did that have a lot of windows!

I finished before we were ready to move to the next location, so I sketched one of the sketchers, Suma.

We walked over to the Atlantic Terminal which includes the subway, LIRR, and many stores. Some of us decided to sit outside and sketch the food vendors.

 

I was sitting in the red chair above, but got up to take the pictures. This is my sketch of the Sabrette hotdog truck.

Then we moved over near the Brooklyn Academy of Music. There was a street fair going on so we got something to eat before continuing to sketch. I picked a restaurant for my last sketch of the day.

I think this is going to be the longest post I've ever done. lol

Around 3:30 we all met to share our sketches with each other. Here are photos of the other sketchers.

 

I'm not real good at remembering names, but here is Richard below.

 

This is Carol King (below), a blogger who I have been following for a few years. There is a link to her blog on the side of my blog. I had never met her before but she lives in Brooklyn and came to meet the group for the first time. She didn't know I would be there. She recognized me from photos I had posted here on my blog. It was such fun to meet her in person!

Below is Denise showing her work.

 

 

Below is Mark.

Below is Taek who was visiting from Germany.

 

 

Here is Susan, my sketching "parner in crime."

 

 

This was such a great group of talented artists!

 



The Bowling Alley

On Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club met at the bowling alley in Patchogue. There are always some interesting views there for us. I always forget how noisy bowling alleys can be.



I am continuing with my 75 day challenge sketching directly in ink and the end is in sight. The weather here has been quite wet lately so I've resorted to painting a few of these from photos. Lyn Frye (http://viewfromtheoak.blogspot.com)  recently posted a painting on her blog of a spot in Civita, Italy that she has redone several times. The spot seems to call out to her from all her reference photos. I have the same feeling about this little corner in Venice. I've painted and sketched it several times and when I look through my references for inspiration this one always pops out for some reason. Maybe it is those open windows calling me to look in.



Setauket Water View

Showers were forecast for yesterday but it was still fairly clear early in the day so I ventured up to Setauket by the water. I figured I could always sit in the car and paint if it was too nasty out. But I did get to sit out for a while...of course by the time I was almost finished I was freezing. Where did summer go? This is 5 x 7.



Pink and Orange

I braved the crazy Columbus Day weekend traffic yesterday and headed out to the north fork of Long Island. I've painted at this market many times...usually from the car because it gets so crowded. I've always wanted to paint their pink truck. This is 5 x 7. This was done at the Bay View Market and Farm in Aquebogue.



Lighthouse

It is so great to be near the Fire Island Lighthouse. I can get a different view from so many locations. I have painted here so many times and still love it.



More sketches for the 75 Day Challenge

Our weather has been drizzly and humid so I didn't go out plein air painting at all yesterday or today. I did do a few sketches from photos for the 75 Day Challenge directly in ink.

 

This one was done from a reference for the WDE on Wet Canvas. It is a section of Yosemite.

 

This was done from a photo I took in Capri, Italy.



Bellport Dock

Yesterday my plein air group met down at the dock in Bellport. I've painted there many times but wanted to do a view of the Bellport Yacht Club for a change. I liked the view from out on the dock.

This is 8 x 10.

 



Cabbage Field

I took a trip back to the field I painted last week to do another version of it. This one is larger than the first and is 8 x 10.



Yesterday was the reception for the Islip Arts Council's Members Show at the Arboretume in Oakdale. Here I am with one of my paintings. It was a really nice show.

On my way home I decided I had to paint something because the sky had these great clouds. So I went down to a marina in Sayville and did these two tiny sketches...directly in paint.