Yesterday my portrait group met. This is Kathy and the painting is about 5 x 7.

West Brook Pond

I did another "from the car" plein air. I sat on Montauk Highway in Oakdale near this pond which I think is part of West Brook Pond. I originally thought it was part of the Connectquot River, but not according to Googlemaps. The water along the banks was partly frozen and there was still a bit of snow on the ground. This is about 4 x 4.

Connectquot River Park View

Yesterday I thought it was finally warm enough to sit in the car and paint. Just to be on the safe side I brought along my hat, fingerless gloves, and a blanket to keep my legs warm. But with the sun shining on me through the window I was toasty warm.

This was painted from the parking area of the Connectquot River State Park in Oakdale. There was still a little bit of snow on the ground between the patches of grasses. This is about 4 x 6.

Pomegranate III

This is the final painting I did of the pomegranate...just a few seeds are left now.

This one was done with watercolors and ink and is about 4 x 6.

Pomegranate II

The pomegranate from yesterday kept well in the fridge so I cut it into a few smaller pieces today to paint it again. I love the way the seeds inside look.

I did sample it today and it was delicious, but a bit intense to eat too many of the seeds. I ate about half of it and saved the rest for one final painting if it keeps.

This is 5 x 7.

Pomegranate

I did finally cut open the pomegranate....carefully so I wouldn't make a mess, lol

I just love the color inside! It was like opening up a box of jewels.

When I finished I put both halves in a container and back in the fridge. I hope it will keep long enough for me to do another painting today.

This is 5 x 7.

Trio

The other day I bought a pomegranate. I have seen them in some wonderful paintings but it will be a new subject for me. Of course I wanted to paint it before I cut it, so that was yesterday's project. It looked too lonely by itself, so I gave it a few friends for company. This is 5 x 7.

Snowy Morning

Yesterday on Long Island we woke up to cold temperatures and a bit of snow on the ground. We had a light dusting before this winter, but this stuck!!! It was too cold to sit outside and paint, in fact it was even too cold to sit in the car and paint. So I did the view out my living room window.

Today is even colder than yesterday...about 13 degrees right now. 

Hawkins House

On Sunday I drove over to the Hawkins House in Yaphank. The house was built in 1850 by Robert Hewlett Hawkins, a 7th generation descendant of Robert and Mary Hawkins who came to Boston from   England in 1635. Robert Hawkins was a successful businessman and built this house for his family.
Today the house is part of the Yahpank Historical Society. Some day I'm going to see if they do tours and see what the inside is like.
The roof lines in this were a definite challenge. 

Inauguration Day

Today was the inauguration of President Barack Obama for his second term of office. I figured if I could sketch Times Square on New Year's Eve from the TV, I could probably do this too. However once he started his speech they only showed Barack, not the people sitting behind him, so I had to sort of do that by memory. lol

Hopefully this will be a productive term of office for all of us.

Congratulations, Mr. President!

Sketchcrawl #38 in NYC

Today was the World Wide Sketchcrawl #38. I went into Manhattan to meet up with the NYC Urban Sketchers. The plan was to sketch above and below the streets of NYC today.

I started the day with a sketch of my train ride from Long Island. It takes about 1hr 20 min to get from here to Penn Station, so I had plenty of time to sketch the people sitting across the aisle from me.

The group met at the corner of 42nd St. and Seventh Ave. across from the Port Authority Bus Station. That is what is directly ahead in my sketch but I got a bit of the view down Seventh Avenue too.

It was a bit cold out, so we headed inside the Port Authority Bus Station to sketch and warm up. Even though I've lived in NY for my whole life, this was the first time I was ever inside the building. I ended up sketching one of the escalators and some of the people standing around waiting

Next we headed back outside and walked up 42nd Street to the Times Square area. There are a lot of theaters, buildings, and assorted attractive billboards and things to sketch. Here were my choices.

Some of the sketchers had to leave at this point but the rest of us walked up to Grand Central Terminal to sketch. We sat at a table in the food court. I sketches a view through one of the arches and some of the people at the other tables.

At around 5 o'clock I left the group and headed back to Penn Station to catch a train back home. I had enough time before the train was leaving to do a sketch in the Long Island Railroad waiting area.

It was an exhausting but fun day!

Sayville House

Yesterday I was helping out doing some repair work at the BAFFA Gallery in Sayville. Volunteers came to repaint and recover the partitions where we hang the paintings. It was a lot of work but a big improvement. When I finished I headed down the street to find something to sketch. This is small...about 4 x 6.

Rachel

On Tuesday the SBAA Portrait Group met to paint Rachel, our model. I like the way the skin tones came out but I think I made her face a bit too long. 

South Ocean Avenue View

Today I drove down South Ocean Avenue in Blue Point. There were some beautiful old homes. This one was a little run-down, but that is what attracted me. This is about 5 x 7.



Sayville Waterfront

After all those portraits I needed to get back to my comfort zone. It was a foggy, nasty day so I sat in my car to paint down by the water in Sayville.

This is about 4 x 6.



Portraits

I am posting at the end of the day so I hope to do this quickly and then head to bed. I spent the day visiting my sister and her son and 5 of his kids came up to visit. I don't get to see them very often so it was a fun day.

I find doing portraits of children really hard. Usually they come out looking much older than they actually are, and these 4 are no exception. The kids were painting at the kitchen table and they wanted me to sketch them. First I sketched Lou while he was painting. He is only 4 and this came out looking a bit older...he is also much cuter!

Then I sketched Joe, who came out looking more like his older brother than himself.

Next Katerie wanted to be sketched. It looks a bit like her but older.

This attempt to paint Justin didn't go well. I don't think it looks anything like him and it makes him look about 17 and he is only 9.

The kids had fun posing and for the most part sat pretty still.

Goodnight! I'll be back tomorrow to view blogs.

 

 

 



Pine Neck Dock

Yesterday after visiting my friend I made a quick trip down to the Pine Neck Dock in Patchogue. A guy was just pulling up to the dock and by the time I got my supplies out he was off the boat. So I started sketching it while he was taking his dog for a walk. Before I knew it he had backed his truck down the ramp and was ready to take the boat out of the water. Some people are just too much in a hurry. lol I got enough sketched to complete this little painting.

I finally mailed out my journal for the Sketchbook Project. It was mighty thick...just a hair under the 1 inch thickness allowed (or I hope it was). If the Sketchbook Project tour comes your way look for my book.



Hoptron Brewtique

The Patchogue Sketch Club met at Hoptron Brewtique in Patchogue last night. This is a modern, sleek beer bar that is rather unusual...at least to me. There are a variety of beers on tap, mostly from small breweries. I don't know if they serve any beverages besides beer. They also sell all the supplies you would need to brew your own beer if so inclined. I'm not a real beer drinker but it was an interesting place to sketch. I liked the character with his cell phone at the bar. The management was very hospitable to us.



Chris

Yesterday was the first meeting of the year for our portrait group. One of the women brought the guy who has been doing some repair work on her house to model for us. He had an interesting face. This is Chris and the painting is about 5 x 7.



Riverhead Farm

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day so I headed out east near Riverhead. It was too windy to sit outside so I sat in the car to paint. This is about 5 x 7.



Stony Brook Harbor

I'm sorry I haven't posted or commented for a few days. Apparently BlogSpot has been having problems with the site and I couldn't get in.

On Sunday I went to Stony Brook Harbor and painted a double page spread for my journal for the Sketchbook Project. Now I only have the cover and title page left to do before I mail it out.

 



Arboretum at the Holidays

Today I went to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. They have a wonderful greenhouse where you can paint indoors. The arboretum was still decorated for the holidays so amid all the tropical plants were gorgeous poinsettias and red flowers. In the middle of the greenhouse was a lovely Christmas tree. I painted the view looking up the steps at the main entryway.

 



Panera Bread

Yesterday it was too cold to sit in the car and sketch and I really needed to get to work on my journal for the Sketchbook Project which is due Jan 15. So I went to Panera Bread in Bohemia to have a coffee and sketch. It worked out well. I'll have to go back another time to sketch the people at the tables. I found a tiny table in a corner and nobody even noticed what I was doing. Someone even came around with a tray of cupcake samples to try. lol A perfect sketching spot.

 

On another note, as of 3:00 today I officially have the internet at home!!! Yahoo!!! I am working off my new Samsung laptop that Jerry got me for Christmas. Working on the laptop will be a long learning curve for me.



Roast Coffee & Tea Company

The Patchogue Sketch Club met at the Roast Coffee & Tea Company on Main Street in Patchogue last night. It was much more crowded than it has been when we were there in the past. We lucked out getting seats on the couch but the view wasn't the best. I didn't like sketching the bookcase with all the boxes while I was doing it, but I sort of like the look of it now that it is done.



Out With the Old, In With the New

I decided to finish the year off right. First I headed down to the water to do the final sunset of 2012. The colors weren't anywhere as exciting as they were the other day. This was done by the water in Sayville.

 

On New Year's Eve after a big prime rib dinner cooked at home and a few martinis I was definitely relaxed and worried that I wouldn't last until the ball dropped. So I decided to sketch until it did. Sketching Times Square from the tv was a challenge in itself. Most of the time they focused on the crowd or the performers with a quick look at the buildings. I did a few of the signs from what I saw, a few people from what I saw (yes, that person on the left in the front is a giant...perspecive isn't easy after martinis. lol), the ball, and a few buildings mostly from memory. Anyway I think it captured the magic of the night.

 

Yesterday, New Year's Day, I spent most of the day taking down my Christmas tree. Usually I don't do that until the middle of January, but we bought a new HDTV and I got a laptop for Christmas, so the cable tech is coming this week to connect everything. Yes, I will finally have the internet at home. Yeah!!!

The result of all that exhausting work is that I didn't get out to sketch anything, so again I sketched inside. I painted this bottle of wine instead of drinking it. lol Come over and I'll share it.