Irises

Last week I went out to paint irises at Gillette Park in Sayville. Like all the other flowers at this time of year they are relatively short lived. Best to get them while they are here.

Starbucks View

Last Wednesday they were forecasting showers so our sketch group met at Starbucks in Patchogue...of course the weather was fine. lol We sat inside and since we usually sketch there in the winter and it is dark outside, I was drawn to the view out the window of this man and his son.

Poppy Parade & Remembering Our Heroes

This is being shared in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. How appropriate that I had a poppy painting to share.  Happy Memorial Day!

This was done in my friend, Susan's garden recently.

Cherries

I love when the cherries are in season. They are so delicious and fun to sketch...if I can stop eating them. lol

Washington Square Park Continued

There was so much activity going on in Washington Square Park. Right in front of me there was a man doing tarot card reading (and he had quite a few customers).  NYU was having their graduation so all day long there were grads in caps and gowns posing in the park. Of course there were food carts and assorted people milling around. I only captured a few of them.

While I was doing my sketch this cute dog was sitting next to me. His owner said he was getting old and didn't move around much, so he would be a great subject. He only seemed to perk up when another dog came over to visit. His name is Marco Polo.

On the way home we had seats on the subway for part of the trip, so I had a few models across from me.

Washington Square Arch

Last weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers met in Washington Square Park to sketch. There was a lot of activity and scenes to sketch. I had to do the arch and the view in front of it and through it. Sadly it was a dreary day...with light showers once in a while.

Dock Jumpers

Somehow this sketch got lost in posting. Two weeks ago my Wed evening sketch group went to the Grange, a local park to sketch. To our surprise there were a lot of dogs and their owners. They were part of a group called the Long Island Dock Jumpers. The group was created to promote the sport of dog dock jumping here on Long Island. I didn't know there was such a thing. It was fun to watch the dogs practice their leaps. They were very good models when they sat too.

Beach Sketches

We had a few hot days so I went to the beach. It is a great place for models.

This very pregnant lady was so fun to sketch.

At the Dock

Last Wednesday my sketch group went to the Maritime Museum in West Sayville. There are some old and some new boats...but I find the old ones have more character. The temps that day had reached  90 degrees, but in the evening down by the water it was much cooler. I ended up with wearing a fleece hoodie and a heavy sweatshirt over that...and I was still cold. lol Most of the sketchers left before the sun set they were so cold.

Cold Spring Harbor

Last week I picked up a sketching friend who recently broke her ankle and foot. She's in a boot and can't put weight on her foot. She hasn't left the house much and was climbing the walls. I offered to pick her up and take her out sketching if she could think of a place near her that would be somewhat accessible for her. She can walk a short distance on crutches. So she suggested Cold Spring Harbor which has water, boats, cute buildings and parking. We parked on the main street and Suzala hobbled across to the other side where I had set up her chair. It worked out well except that it was one of the few hot days that we had, and we were mostly in the sun. She was so happy being outside again and sketching. The building I did that is near the water is the library with a bit of one of the buildings along the street.

Bob

This is Bob who was our portrait model last week. He has posed for us several times.

Dunes and Sky

On Monday I had to drop off something at the Fire Island Lighthouse at Robert Moses State Park. It was super windy so I couldn't sit out to paint. I parked facing the dunes and painted from there.

Setauket Mill

On Sunday I took a ride up to Frank Melville Park in Setauket. I love the mill there, but it isn't easy to sketch the wheel part of it without standing up. I sat to do the sketch but had to keep straining my neck to see over the fence that was smack in front of me. I used a little salt to get the texture on the bricks.

Planting Fields Arboretum

While things are still in bloom I decided to take a ride to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. The rhodies and the azaleas were in bloom and there were still a few pink trees.

This one below I did directly in ink.

Gabrielsen's Country Farm

It has warmed up so I am ready to get some plants and herbs for my patio. I headed to Gabrielson's Country Farm in Jamesport and bought some hanging rose begonias...of course I sketched first. 

Ferry Sketches

Coming back from Maine we were able to take the Cross Sound Ferry back from New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, Long Island. It doesn't really make the trip any shorter (unless it is rush hour and then it is a definite win), but for a span of time you're out of the car. I sketched the view in front of us as we waited for the crew to start loading the cars on the ferry.

Once we boarded my husband suggested sitting in the bar area where there are small tables, so I had some place for my materials while I was sketching...and lots of victims...I mean models to sketch.

More Maine Scenes

Last Monday morning in Maine it wasn't raining....yet. So I drove down to Round Pond, this sleepy little village that has a general store, a few houses and churches, and a lobster wharf. I sat in the car to sketch this since the sky looked like it might rain any minute...besides it was cold out. lol

In the afternoon I drove down the peninsula to Pemaquid Point, one of my favorite locations to visit when I go to my sister's house. I love the lighthouse there. I didn't want to be up close to the lighthouse so I didn't actually go to the lighthouse park. I went along the beach road and found a spot to sit where I could see a tiny bit of the lighthouse and the wonderful flat rocks that are always an adventure to climb down on. I stayed in the car to paint and it kept drizzling on and off.

Maine Dinner

It is hard for me to go to Maine and not have lobster. The prices up there have jumped a bit. Apparently lobsters are now popular in Japan, so the prices at the markets are the price they are charging the Japanese. Since we don't get up there that often, we did buy them. This one kindly posed for me. He was like a frisky kid and kept trying to get away. lol

#lobster

Damariscotta Sketches

Last weekend my husband and I went up to Maine to visit family for a few days. The weather was not cooperative so we ended up delaying the trip one day due to rain. Because of that we couldn't get a reservation on the ferry going over to Connecticut. So we ended up driving the whole way...so no ferry sketches from the trip up.

 Of course by the time we got up to Maine it was raining. So we just hung out for the rest of the day. Sunday morning it was foggy but not raining, so I headed down by the river to do some sketches. It was windy so I sat on my chair with my car right behind me so it would block the wind a bit. It worked long enough to get two sketches done.

Babylon's Main Street

A few weeks ago several artist friends decided to go to Babylon and sketch along Maine Street. I was a bit late so by the time I got there one of them was leaving and the other had a problem with her watercolor because it had started drizzling. It had totally ruined her sky, so she gave up and left too. After going all the way there I decided to at least sketch the scene, so I stood mostly under an overhang and sketched the view. By that time the weather had improved and it was no longer spritzing. I worked on it for about 1 1/2 hrs and it really needed a lot more. I ended up leaving with it unfinished. Last week (when it was raining again and I was indoors) I decided to work more on it. Now I consider it finished

Concert Sketch

Last week my husband and I had tickets to see Barbra Streisand at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. I brough along my sketchbook as usual figuring I would sketch before the concert started. I didn't realize how dim the lighting would be. Most of the lighting came from overhead behind where we were sitting, and every time someone walked up to take a seat the light was blocked. So most of this was sketched in near darkness. I didn't know what it actually looked like until I got home and had light. lol It reminded me of sketching at night in the pubs in Ireland while we were listening to music. I couldn't see anything I was sketching then either.

In the Pink

Yes, the pink blossoms are still blooming here. This was done last week at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale.

Sally

Sally was our model last week at our portrait group. I think it came out looking pretty much like her.

NY Botanical Gardens - Part 4

I tend to paint a lot faster (and smaller pieces) than my friend, Susan. So when we go out painting together I often am finished painting before she is. Since that was the case at the NY Botanical Gardens I walked up "daffodil hill." Looking down the hill toward the field with the blooming trees was another beautiful scene. This one was done directly in watercolor in my sketchbook.

NY Botanical Gardens - Parts 2 & 3

Although I went to the NY Botanical Gardens partly to see the Chihuly glass exhibit, I was there primarily to paint. We arrived at the gardens at 9:30 and were there until nearly 5:30 so that gave me the opportunity to do several paintings. 

After doing the painting with the rocks I went over to the area that had the crabapple trees which were in bloom. It was breathtaking between the pink trees and all the daffodils that were in bloom in the field. I did a small panoramic painting so I could include a sweeping scope of the vista.

Susan and I stopped for lunch and then returned to the same area. This was done from a pathway on the other side of the field I sat in front of for the previous painting. The gardens had a program where 1 million daffodils had been planted. I didn't count them but it seemed like at least that many. lol People were taking photos in the middle of the daffodils. At one point a guide came along with a group of kids celebrating someone's birthday. Most of the kids were under 5 and it was bedlam. When they finally moved away a woman came over to me and asked how I could sit there so calmly and keep painting surrounded by all the screaming kids. I just said to her, "I was a NYC school teacher. I can ignore anything." 

Here are the rest of the photos I took of the Chihuly glass exhibit. I will photograph the ones I missed the next time I go back.

NY Botanical Gardens - Part 1

Last week a friend and I went to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It is such a wonderful place with all kinds of little gardens in this vast enclosure. We discovered that the rhododendron garden was in bloom so we headed there. I stuck to the fringes of that garden. I liked the solid rocks as a contrast to the delicate flowers.

The garden itself is very impressive but until the end of October there is a special exhibit by the glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly from Seattle. His pieces are amazing! They were free standing in ponds, some towering 30 feet or more into the air, and some ticked into the indoor planting arrangements in the greenhouses. Here are photos of a few of them.

Magnolias

I kept looking until I found a magnolia tree with blossoms in West Sayville. Luckily I found this one last week before our rain and wind today. I think any blossoms that were left would have been forced off the tree.

Clark Botanic Garden & Sketch Night

You know I'm just loving the colors in the trees right now. I had been to Dick Blick in Carle Place to do some retail therapy. About 5 minutes away is Clark Botanic Gardens. It is a small garden but I was hoping that their magnolia trees would be in bloom...no luck. It seems I missed them...but...this beauty was sitting there crying out to be painted.

The South Bay Art Association held a sketch night last week with a model. Seamus models for us quite often on Tuesday mornings and he was our model for the evening. We were hoping to get more members interested in coming to the sketch group by letting them experience it in the evening. I just don't think most people are available from 10 - noon to sketch. There were about 15 people who showed up in the evening and they all seemed to have a good time. Rather than doing a watercolor portrait which I do on Tuesday mornings, first I did just an ink sketch...not my best.

This one was done with a bit of water-soluble pencil.

I had more fun sketching some of the other sketchers concentrating. This was done directly in ink. The woman on the left said she hadn't sketched from a model since the 1950s and she had a great time.