Still Life

Our art group met the other night and did a still life sketch from objects we brought in.

Beach Read

I'm having fun capturing some of the figures on the beach and the poses they are in. This was done at Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island.

Beach Walk

This was done from a photo I took of people walking on Fire Island. The background came from my imagination.

Onion

Sometimes just a simple subject is fun to do.

Blue Poppy

This blue poppy was painted from part of a photo taken by my friend, Louise in her garden. Eventually I hope to do a painting of the entire photo.

Dogs Night Out

Bellport had their second annual "Dogs Night Out" last Friday. Many of the businesses in town had raffles and all kinds of things going on to raise money for the Brookhaven Animal Shelter. A parade was held with the dogs from the shelter being driven down the street for the public to meet them. The hope is to empty the shelters. I didn't get a chance to sketch at the actual event but I did sketch this from one of the photos I took during the parade.

Zoe and Fantasia

Last Thursday I went to an outdoor event called "Alive After Five" in Patchogue. It is held twice a month in the summer and there are all kinds of vendors, food, drink, music, and art. This past week it was estimated that there were about 25,000 people in attendance. The Patchogue Sketch Club participates and we come out and sketch the event. In the past we sketched the people attending in the crowds and the musicians. But we had a treat on Thursday. This year the people who have been running  the Sideshow Sketch Night with the burlesque models decided to take part too. They invited Zoe and her pet boa, Fantasia to pose for us. They were both so great! We weren't rushed sketching and most of the poses lasted long enough to get a good sketch done. Here are a few of the sketches I did.

As you can see Zoe was dressed in a jungle outfit. The kids coming by loved seeing Fantasia, and she was friendly. Zoe doesn't let anyone hold her by themselves, but lets them hold her tail or her head. I didn't hold her, but did pet Fantasia who was surprisingly soft. It was a great night and we all learned a bit about boas from Zoe.

Here is a photo of some of the sketchers working. We sketched for about 3 hrs finally stopping when it started to get dark.

Sunflower Field

For the last few years my art group has been going to a sunflower field in East Moriches. The owner plants an entire field of flowers for people to come and see. There is a great old rusty truck in the middle. We were there this time on a hot day so I looked for a viewing spot that also had some shade.

More Beach Sketches

With the heat wave we are having I'm spending quite a bit of time at the beach. I sit under my umbrella and sketch other people under their umbrellas. lol

Here are a few ink sketches of beach poses. 

Water Scenes

We have been having hot days here in NY, so I've been spending lots of time at the beach which gives me the opportunity to sketch or pain there a lot. 

Sketching at the pool isn't as easy, but I was able to capture this lady who is always at the pool with her grandson. Of course I sketched her just before the Dept of Health came to the pool and told us we can't use toys or flotation devices in the pool. :( I am not happy!

Ice House

While we were in the Geenport area the other day we stopped at Old Field Vineyard to sketch. I did a view of the ice house near the rows of vines.

Greenport Boatyard

Before I left for my trip to Maine I went out to Greenport with two friends to paint. There is a great boatyard out there filled with boats that need TLC and assorted rusty objects...perfect for sketching. Security came along and told us that we couldn't be in the boatyard, but my friend, Susan, convinced him that we were three harmless old ladies who wanted to sketch, so he told us just to keep off the docks which are rather rickety. An old crusty boatman came along and regaled us with stories of some of the boats that were there.

Sayville Farmers Market - Part II

While I was at the Sayville Farmers Market last Saturday I did a second sketch of Stan and Pat's booth. I've sketched their booth before. Usually when I'm there it is so hot and there isn't much shade. That day it was a bit overcast and cooler so I could stay a little longer.

Sayville Farmer's Market I

This was done last week at the Sayville Farmer's Market. I think it is funny that when I go there to sketch I usually sketch the same two vendors. This is Melissa's booth of yummy vegetables. I came home with a delicious head of broccoli that she gave me in return for letting her take a photo of the sketch. She has the sketch from last year too.

I missed posting yesterday. It is rare for me to not post, but we were on the road from Maine back to Long Island yesterday with Kathleen & Fionn. We got back late and were up at 4:15 this morning to get ready to take them to the airport. Here is one last photo of their last stop in Maine for lobster rolls and fried clams. They are back in Dublin with Fionn's family now and they are heading home to Australia soon.

Damariscotta and Popham Beach

This morning after breakfast I sat out on my sister's deck here in Damariscotta to sketch. She has this wonderful white birch tree and I just love the bark. She planted it years ago in my dad's memory and it is now huge. This was sketched directly in ink first and the watercolors added later.

Our plan for the day was to head down to Popham Beach which is on a peninsula east of Bath. It had changed a lot since I was there last, but the views of the rocks in the water are still super, and we were there at low tide so people were able to walk out to the largest section. Of course I stayed put and sketched instead. This one below was done in my moleskin sketchbook across a double page. I could have used a triple page (LOL) except that with the sun and the wind it would never have worked.

This next one was done of the rock directly in front of me. Even with the tide out you can't walk to this part. We had a nice time there. It was another of the spots Kathleen wanted to revisit before they leave on Sunday for Australia.

The Drone and Pine Tree Yarns

Kathleen (my niece) and Fionn (her boyfriend) are collaborating on a dance piece of hers that he is filming with a drone camera. They have spent a lot of time filming out in one of the meadows along the Damariscotta River. They were out there early this morning so when I took my walk I headed through town and up over there to see what was going on. When I got there Kathleen and the drone were just finishing up a taping session, so I didn't get a photo of the drone in action. I did get a photo of them viewing the filmed section on the computer in the woods. lol You can see his drone off to the side.

Here is part of the meadow that Kathleen was dancing in.

Our day continued with a visit to the gallery of her high school art teacher. He had some amazing huge woodcuts and linoprints as well as some graphitints and oil paintings. Much of his work was either marine themed or birds. We all wanted one of his huge turtle prints.

After lunch I walked into town (again) in order to do a painting for #WorldWatercolorMonth...you know I would have sketched/painted something anyway. lol This is Pine Tree Yarns which always has such colorful flowers in front of it.

Traveling on the Ferry

I'm jumping over a few sketches/paintings that I haven't posted yet, because I'm traveling and would rather blog about it while it is happening. I left home this morning to head up to Maine to visit family for a few days. My niece who lives in Australia had been home for a few weeks and it leaving to go back to Australia on Sunday. She is flying out of NY so the plan is to bring her and her boyfriend home with me and then deliver them to Kennedy Airport for their flight Sunday morning. 

I was on the 8am ferry from Orient Point, Long Island to New London, CT. It is about a 1 1/2 hr trip so I had time to have breakfast on board and then sit on the top deck and sketch. This will have to qualify for my #WorldWatercolorMonth painting today. This was done in a moleskin type sketchbook.

Reds in Reds

This was painted for #WorldWatercolorMonth from a photo I took at the Peconic Herb Farm.

 

Beach Ladies

I can't resist sketching people on the beach and with the #WorldWatercolorMonth challenge going on I used watercolors too.

Cherries

I am participating in #WorldWatercolorMonth and I'm trying to complete a watercolor painting or sketch every day. On days when I haven't been able to do a painting outdoors I have to improvise with a still life indoors. These were gone as soon as the painting was done. :)

Artists on the Lane Sketch

On the 4th of July one of my art groups always sponsors an art show in Bellport called Artists on the Lane. I was there on Monday to help sell raffle tickets. Our group also had a booth of our own where several of us had work displayed. I sat there for a while and sketched some ladies checking out the work.

Freeport Sketches Part II

After the sketches done on the dock in the sun, it was time for a break. We headed over to a place called Hurricane Harry's where we sat in the shade of an umbrella and had a cold beer and some fried calamari while we looked for models to sketch.

This guy was in my direct line of sight at the outdoor bar.

I did some small sketches of some of the other patrons and the singer that was offering some Jimmy Buffet-style entertainment.

We headed a little further down the Nautical Mile looking for a place for lunch. Our next stop was Jeremy's Ale House which had a counter where you walked up to order your food and then an indoor bar, seating area, and outdoor deck. We opted for the outdoor deck and  a little more sketching.

After lunch we were down to 3 sketchers and Susan, Melanie and I found a shady spot outside an ice cream shop. I was able to sketch a bit of the view down the rest of the Nautical Mile.

Freeport Sketches Part I

Last Sunday several NYC Urban Sketching ladies met in Freeport, LI for a day of sketching on Long Island.

Melanie was coming out from the city so we met her at the Freeport Train Station. We were a little early so we sat in Susan's car and sketched until Melanie's train pulled in.

We drove down to our destination, the Nautical Mile, actually Woodcleft Avenue which is filled with an odd combination of bars, restaurants, fish markets, live music and lots of people. 

Denise,and Suzala met us at the Nautical Mile.  We sat out on a dock to sketch the fishing boats with some of the buildings along the canal.

(Photos below by Denise Markbreit.)

Here I am sitting on the dock painting.

Suzala at work.

Denise doing her watercolors.

Susan painting the view.

Melanie painting.

For my next sketch I turned around in the same location to paint one of the swan boats by another dock.

To be continued...

Freeport Sketches Part I

Last Sunday several NYC Urban Sketching ladies met in Freeport, LI for a day of sketching on Long Island.

Melanie was coming out from the city so we met her at the Freeport Train Station. We were a little early so we sat in Susan's car and sketched until Melanie's train pulled in.

We drove down to our destination, the Nautical Mile, actually Woodcraft Avenue which is filled with an odd combination of bars, restaurants, fish markets, live music and lots of people. 

Denise,and Suzala met us at the Nautical Mile.  We sat out on a dock to sketch the fishing boats with some of the buildings along the canal.

(Photos below by Denise Markbreit.)

Here I am sitting on the dock painting.

Suzala at work.

Denise doing her watercolors.

Susan painting the view.

Melanie painting.

For my next sketch I turned around in the same location to paint one of the swan boats by another dock.

To be continued...