Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Blue Point Diner

 I am always looking for someplace different to sketch. I've passed the Blue Point Diner many times but couldn't find a good spot to sit in my car. I saw it the other day and made several u-turns to find a spot where I could see. Where the plants and steps are on the left a car was parked. Of course as soon as I started sketching the car, which belongs to the owner/manager, it backed out of the space and was gone. So I erased the car and continued sketching. I was happy with the way it came out.



Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Holi Celebration

 The NYC Urban Sketchers had a different kind of event this week. Rather than a location the day focused on two holidays. The morning's focus was the Hindu celebration which is the "Festival of Color." It is also known as the "Festival of Spring" and the "Festival of Love." Some families hold religious ceremonies but for many people Holi is a time for fun. It is a colorful festival with dancing, singing, and throwing of powder paint and colored water. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil. In all the reference photos I found people were covered with bright pigments. It must be fun if you don't mind the mess. I had a hard time getting my watercolors to be bright enough so I ended up adding some oil pastel to this.


The afternoon session focused on the Dia de los Muertos. I haven't done a piece for that yet....but who knows.


Monday, September 28, 2020

House at the Grange

There is a park called The Grange that is down the road from me in Sayville. I've sketched there many, many times and have probably sketched just about every view there. On Saturday the Patchogue Sketch Club decided to meet in the afternoon around 2:00 while the weather was nice (since we are quickly losing our evening light on Wednesday nights). I debated whether I wanted to go and finally went a little early because the Sayville Farmers' Market is held there until 2:00 and I was hoping to get some farm fresh veggies. I was able to do that and wandered over near the caretaker's house. I walked all the way around looking for something different and saw this area with the missing picket from the fence and a bit of color. I had my spot!


 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Canalside in Sayville

There are so many boats along the canal in Sayville where the ferry boats depart for Fire Island. Some of the boats are commercial but most of them, aside from the ferries, are private. As I turned into the parking area there was a separation in the grasses and reeds where a sailboat could be seen on the other side. I had been on the other side first but couldn't find a good view of this. I did like it with the grasses though.



Saturday, September 26, 2020

Beach Sketch

 The other day the weather was so perfect I had to head over to the beach for a while. Corey Beach in Blue Point is only about a 15 minute drive and now that it is off season I can park there easily. Quite a few other people seemed to have the same idea. There were people sitting on the beach in beachchairs, little kids playing in the playground and on the swings, and a number of people sitting at picnic tables having lunch. I brought my chair down on the beach and pulled out my sketchbook. It was the perfect way to pass some time in the sun.



Friday, September 25, 2020

Showgirl/Angel Lefty Lucy

 This Tuesday Lefty Lucy was dressed as a showgirl/angel for Costumed in Quarantine. This was the first time I remember seeing her as a redhead and not in a blonde wig. I don't know if this is her natural hair but she rocked it. As usual she did some one and two minute poses and for most of those I was only able to capture part of her body. Finally for one of the five minute poses I grabbed a pencil and sketched her quickly. This was one of my favorite sketches of the night.


I think these were 10 minute sketches.




This was the final pose which was 20 minutes.




Thursday, September 24, 2020

Corey Beach View

 It was so sunny and nice the other day so I decided I wanted to sketch down by the beach. I headed to Corey Beach in Blue Point. It turned out that it was much too windy to sit on the beach and sketch so I ended up sitting in the passenger side of my mobile studio to get a view of something more than the big SUV that was parked in front of me. I am assuming that this little building is for the life guards and storage of their gear.



Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Terry Street Garden

I have sketched inside the Terry Street Garden in Patchogue quite a few times. This time I sketched the view from outside looking in through the covered arch. In the background are some buildings that are part of artist residences called Art Space. They were designed specifically for artists to live in as they redeveloped Patchogue to be an art destination. I sat in my car to sketch this.



Tuesday, September 22, 2020

At the Dock

I am so lucky to have so many places her on Long Island where I can get to the water. Although I don't sail I enjoy looking at sailboats. In my opinion they are much more elegant than motor boats...and a lot quieter. This was done en plein air along one of the canals in Patchogue. I was facing a housing complex so they must have their own dock.


 

Monday, September 21, 2020

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers had "The Other 71%" as their sketching theme. In the morning we sketched creatures that would be found underwater, and in the afternoon we sketched the coral, seaweed, etc. I didn't have time to join them on Zoom and ended up doing just one sketch on Sunday morning. It is nice that we are all so flexible. lol This was done with mostly watercolors but I added some oil pastels to the coral for texture.



 

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Sunset in Sayville

 Friday night I went to a fundraiser in Sayville for a little while. Since I was already out and it was so close to sunset I decided to ride down by the water and watch and sketch. There is a parking lot by a restaurant called Lands End, that extends out into the bay. It faces the water at an angle and looks a bit back toward the mainland. It was filled with cars, so I had to sit back a bit and didn't have a front row seat. I sketched the building in but when I was leaving I noticed it didn't really look that long. The right side was actually another building, but it was getting dark in the car and I couldn't really see well. I was happy with the way the sky and the reflection came out. Of course I used artistic license and left out the row of cars parked in front of me.



Saturday, September 19, 2020

Local Eatery

 The other day I went out and was hoping to find something locally to sketch. This restaurant, called Hummus is in my town, Holbrook, (which I don't find too scenic). My actual town center has mostly strip malls with cookie-cutter buildings and parking lots in front. Hummus is a bit different because it is on a triangular corner and the parking is in the back. It is there by itself next to what I think is an insurance company. The colorful exterior and umbrellas make it a bit different, and now it has a little car parked out in the outdoor seating area. They have Mediterranean fast food and is quite good.



Docked

On Tuesday morning I finally met up with my plein air group at the Maritime Museum in Sayville. Most of the locations they've met at this year have been too far for me to join them and be able to get back to take care of Jerry. This was perfect! It was good to see them and converse at a social distance with our masks. This time I focused on the sailboat that was at the dock. Most of the boats there are motor boats so I was glad to see this one. There were artists standing on the dock but I used artistic license and left them out. One of them was trying to retrieve a $40 brush that she had dropped into the water. (A hazard of plein air painting by the water.) She was successful.



Thursday, September 17, 2020

Produce

I have been having problems with Blogger's new way of doing things. This will be a test to see if it works using Chrome as suggested by my friend, Tina Koyama. Anyway, yesterday morning I had time for this quick sketch of some produce that was in my fridge. Looks like this will publish with an image. Hopefully I will be able to do it again later today.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Lefty Lucy Poses

Last night Lefty Lucy posed in quarantine in what she called a "brothelesque" costume...a bra, lacy pants, thigh-high stockings, gloves, and her curly blonde wig. I never know quite what to expect when she comes on Zoom. lol After the warmup 1, and 2 minute poses I sort of got into the groove and liked the way most of the sketches came out. I think once I started adding color they just sort of popped.

I think this was a 5 minute pose.


10 minute poses.



This was a 20 minute pose.




Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Bohdi's

Yesterday afternoon was beautiful and warm. I had a little free time and decided to head down to Corey Beach which is on the Great South Bay in Bayport. I was planning to actually sit on the beach when I noticed the colorful umbrellas at the refreshment stand which happened to be open. How could I resist this colorful scene. I hadn't been down there all summer long so I hadn't seen Bohdi's before. As I was sketching several people working at the stand came over to look and compliment me on the job I was doing.



Monday, September 14, 2020

View to the Bay

The other day I had to drop off my shingle paintings at the Maritime Museum in Sayville, so when I was done I figured I would stay for a while and do a sketch. This is the view from the end of the dock looking out to the Great South Bay. In the distance you can see the bridge going to Fire Island.


Sunday, September 13, 2020

Prague Sketch #2

For the afternoon session of the NYC Urban Sketchers virtual event on Saturday our aim was to do a night sketch of Prague. There were a lot of images if you Googled "Prague at night," which was what I did to find a reference. I haven't done too many nocturnal scenes so it was fun to try to get the feel of the evening atmosphere. I think I went a little too dark with the night sky and then had a hard time getting the trees to show, even doing them with a Sharpie marker.


Saturday, September 12, 2020

Prague Sketch 1

The NYC Urban Sketchers had a virtual sketch event today going to Prague. I probably picked one of the most iconic spots in Prague...the Astronomic Clock in the old town. The clock is beautiful but has numerous statues and a lot of decorative gold in the face of the clock surrounding the colorful areas. I hope I did it justice.


Friday, September 11, 2020

Nectarines in a Bowl

I never got to sketch anything yesterday until the evening, so I thought a still life was in order. I played around with an arrangement of the nectarines I had bought and the bowl which was a gift from my sister.

I still haven't figured out how to post on the new format for Blogger. I can get as far as the title of the post and then there is no way to post the text for the body of the post or include an image. Are any of you having the same problem? Eventually they won't let me revert to the original format. Then what happens?


Thursday, September 10, 2020

Shorefront Park

Last night the Patchogue Sketch Club met at Shorefront Park in Patchogue. It isn't the most scenic spot but I found a view to sketch of the dock and the seawall. I tried to capture the man who had passed by walking his dogs, but he is a bit too tiny to really see.


Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Beach Lady

Yesterday I went down to the small beach on the bay in Sayville. I think this is the first time all summer that I have been able to get to the beach and sit in a chair and relax for a little while. Like this lady, I enjoyed it.




Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Still Life with Tomato

This was done for the Wet Canvas Scavenger Hunt taking place right now. The hunt included something in a primary color (tomato), something in a secondary color (stem of the tomato), something in a tertiary color (table), something white (cup) and something black (Sharpie pen). 


Monday, September 7, 2020

Bannerman's Castle - Sketch 2

I liked the NYC Urban Sketchers virtual location on Saturday so much that I had to do another sketch. This location still had ruins but with the added color of a garden which I liked.


Sunday, September 6, 2020

Bannerman's Castle - sketch 1

This Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers had an event led by one of our members, Maricel  Evasco, who created a wonderful blog about our destination of Bannerman's Castle to provide us with links and information. The ruins of the castle, a medieval-like fortress is located on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River 50 miles from NYC. It was built at the turn of the century by a rich industrialist. It is in a beautiful setting surrounded by flowers and other natural scenery that gives it a very romantic feel.

It took me a long while to narrow down the reference photos I found to select a photo to use. I love crumbling, old buildings so this was a treat for me. Here is the first sketch I did using watercolors, ink, a water-soluble graphite pencil, and a white colored pencil in my Strathmore Toned Tan Sketchbook.


Saturday, September 5, 2020

Flowers by the Fence

Yesterday I had a bit of time to go out and sketch so I headed into Sayville. I found this wonderful collection of plants and flowers against a fence by one of the homes. This sketch was done directly in watercolors.


Friday, September 4, 2020

Along the Canal

This view is across the canal from the ferry terminals in Sayville. There was this boat and a sailboat next to it. I left that out of the sketch...artistic license. lol I've sketched this location quite a few times.


Thursday, September 3, 2020

Tuesday Night with Lefty Lucy

Tuesday night was another free drawing session with Lefty Lucy "Costumed in Quarantine." This week she was in costume with a firefly's wings. The dramatic red was a lot of fun to draw and then make it come alive with red watercolors. Many thanks to Lefty Lucy for modeling again!

These were 10 minute sketches.



This was her final pose which was 20 minutes.


Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Fundraiser Painting #2

I worked on another painting for the fundraiser for the Long Island Maritime Museum in Sayville. The second piece of shingle is a very odd-shaped piece. It is 18 inches by 1 1/2 inches at its widest. I thought for a long time about what the painting should be. At first I was going to do a wave but instead decided to do a view across the marsh right at the grounds of the Maritime Museum. I've done many paintings and sketches of that view but never in such a panoramic size. The center part is mostly the actual view but since I had to extend it because of the length of the shingle piece, I had to use artistic license to add to the scene on the right and the left. This was done in acrylic over gesso.

The shingles will be part of an auction/sale as a fundraiser for the Maritime Museum this year.


Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Fundraiser Painting #1

The Long Island Maritime Museum contacted local artists to take part in an auction/sale fundraiser to be held in October. Due to Covid 19 all their prior annual fundraising events for the year were cancelled. During the recent storm, Isaisa, some of the shingles blew off the historic 1900 Frank F. Penny Boat Shop. The shingle pieces will be what the artists do their designs on. I decided that since I've painted and sketched on their grounds so many times it is the least I can do to support them. I have two shingle pieces to paint. This one is 9 1/2 inches by 1 3/4 inches...yes, quite small...even for me. lol This was done with acrylic paint on gesso.