Small Business Sketch

Here in the USA the Saturday after Thanksgiving is celebrated as "Small Business Saturday." People are encouraged to go out and support the local businesses, and many of them have special sales and offers for customers. I headed over to Sayville where they had a trolley running, musicians performing, and quite a bit of people shopping. Somehow I lucked out and got a parking spot right by this woman's clothing store, Debra Canavan Classics, that had tables of merchandise set up out on the sidewalk. I didn't have to leave the car. It is hard to resist a bargain, so throughout the time I was sketching there was almost always a customer or two browsing. Often their significant other would be standing blocking my view. lol Typical! I am still super cautious about going into stores but did pop into a few that didn't have big crowds. 

The Shed

 I think I am slowly sketching all the businesses near me. This is a restaurant in Sayville called The Shed. I ate there once before Covid and sat inside. Now when I pass there are usually people seated at the picnic tables outside. The day I sketched this it seemed funny to see these ladies all bundled up in winter jackets and hats, sitting next to an outdoor heater, but under an umbrella. I hope they were warm enough. I don't think I would be comfortable sitting outside like that. I like to be comfortable.

Brussel Sprouts

 Somehow the stalk of Brussel sprouts I bought before Thanksgiving was forgotten and I didn't post it. Sketching this wasn't easy because it is so long. I really needed a panoramic sketchbook to fit this without resorting to using two pages in one of my sketchbooks. Instead I did it in an 11 x 14 sketchbook where I do several sketches on one page. I just marked out an area that looked like it was big enough to fit this. 

Dead End

 Living on Long Island provides some nice streets that look down to the water and dead end there, like this one in Sayville.  We have a lot of spots that are small rivers that provide routes in from the bay and lots of marinas and docking for boats.

Table Setting

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those who are celebrating today!!! 

The Patchogue Sketch Club met on Zoom last night. Our subject was a still life of a place setting which was set up by our organizer. The bad part of Zoom is you really can't get a good view of what you're sketching because you can't get closer...and enlarging the image doesn't really help.

Ferrara's Bakery

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers virtually sketched some of the different areas in Manhattan. Although I wasn't able to meet up with them on Zoom, I worked on this sketch from Little Italy later in the day. Ferrara's is one of the best known bakeries in Little Italy. I love stopping there for a pastry and a capuccino. I am not a cannoli person, but everyone seems to love them. 

Holtsville Ecology Center

Before my husband got sick I used to walk early every morning at the Holtsville Ecology Center with two friends. That has been put on pause since my busiest times with him are in the morning when I help him get ready for the day and do his walking exercise. Instead I took a ride over there in the afternoon the other day. There were a lot of people walking but I used artistic license and left them out. Instead I focused on the trees and shrubs on the hillside.

 

Biddle Fountain

I was up in Port Jefferson the other day and luckily found parking right across from this fountain. The fountain is in front of the town's Baptist Church. The Biddle Fountain was donated in 1898 by John Biddle, a wealthy piano manufacturer and summer resident of the village.  

Meadow Croft

 I haven't been over to Meadowcroft in Sayville to sketch in a while, so it was fun to find a view to sketch. I've always liked the barn there.

At the Grange

I've sketched at The Grange in Sayville so many times you would think it would get boring. However, with a little bit of a lighting change or a slightly different perspective there is often a new scene. The shadow on the barn was what I noticed. I sat in my mobile studio to do this. Most of the painting was done on site, but it got too dark to see the farm machine so I had to stop. Luckily I had taken a photo of it and finished that part at home.

 

Sketches

 The Patchogue Sketch Club meets on Wednesday nights. Since it gets dark early and this year we can't meet at the library, the group has been getting together on Zoom. Mark, who organizes the group us usually picks the theme and sets up a still life for us. This week we sketched chairs, a simple subject but not so easy. Add to it that the lighting isn't optimum so it is hard to see things clearly. 

First I sketched the chairs in pencil.

Then I sketched it in watercolors.

I also participate in the Scavenger Hunts on Wet Canvas. This was a still life I set up to include a few of the items in the hunt. That wine glass looks a little wonky.

Lefty Lucy on Tuesday

 Tuesday nights mean Lefty Lucy Costumed in Quarantine. She has been posing now for months and unless you want to tip her (which I always do through PayPal) the sessions are free. I love to see what she will be wearing each week. This week she said she was a Space Queen...okay...

The top row were 5 minute sketches. The one with added color was a 10 minute sketch.

The top two sketches were 10 minute sketches and the last one was 20 minutes.

Colorful Corner

  I wonder how many miles I put on my car each fall looking for autumn colors. Although most of the leaves have fallen off the trees every once in a while I find a spot with some color. This was on a corner in Blue Point. I edited out the street signs.

House with Stonework

Some days I can't find a good area with fall color for my sketch. I ended up sketching this building which is on the property of Spring Lake Golf Club in Middle Island. I've sketched there before but not for quite a while.

Field in Autumn

 I've been continuing my search for autumn color before the leaves are all off the trees. This was done in East Patchogue.

Fall Color

The other afternoon I had to go food shopping. It was a dreary day and we were expecting rain. After shopping I decided I would look to see if I could find a tree with color and do a sketch before I went home. I saw this tree which was in a parking lot in Patchogue. Nobody was parked at that end of the lot so I parked so I had a good view out my front window. About halfway through the sketch it started raining, so I put on the windshield wipers a few times to clear the view, and kept working. When I finished I put all my materials back in my bag and the car wouldn't start! I tried several times but no luck. I called AAA and waited for a service truck. Even though they came pretty promptly by that time it it was dark out. Thankfully the car started up with a quick jump of the battery and I was on my way. I'm usually very good at remembering to turn the car off when I'm sketching...but I guess I didn't the last time.

Cousins Maine Lobster Truck

I got out of the house late today because I stayed home to watch a live streamed program about Claude Monet's paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. It was on from 2:00-3:40. Today was Monet's 180th birthday. The program was well-worth watching and another part will be shown later tonight about his time at Giverny, France. When I got out I knew I didn't have a lot of time before it got dark. I had seen posts on FB about Cousins Maine Lobster trucks coming to locations on Long Island. The destination for this weekend was Ronkonkoma which is about 10 minutes from me. So I drove to where the truck was parked and sketched until it was too dark to see anymore. Then I joined the socially distanced people on line and brought home lobster rolls to have for tonight. 

Field in Autumn

I found a little bit of autumn color the other day in Patchogue.

 

Twins in Autumn

 Finally we have a bit of color around here on the south shore of Long Island.  I had a busy day on Sunday, but I rushed out around 3:30 knowing that there was only about an hour of light left. If I was lucky the "golden hour" could be great. I knew I needed to sit facing east so the sun would be shining on the side of the trees that were facing me. I ended up down at The Grange, a park nearby that has a lot of open area. I didn't want to be anywhere that would be shading the trees.

Lefty Lucy Returns

 Last night was a fun night with Lefty Lucy Costumed in Quarantine. I'm not sure if she was dressed as a "pirate" which is what I thought she said, but her costume was great anyway. She is always fun to sketch and she does this for free. Last week some students from an art class joined in.

5 and 10 minute sketches

10 and 20 minute sketches

Brattleboro Red Barn

 For the afternoon with the NYC Urban Sketchers we did covered bridges in New England. There are a lot of them. Some of them are no longer used for traffic because of their age, but I'm glad they saved them for us to see. This was done from a photo reference of the Creamery Covered Bridge in Brattleboro, Vermont. Of course the bright red color called to me immediately.

Sturbridge Landscape

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers virtually visited small New England Towns. Our guide, Andrew Borloz, gave us an introduction to the many kinds of New England Towns and what they have in common. There were so many to pick from and Andrew offered links to some of his favorites. In the morning I picked Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I've been to the town but never sketched it. The view that spoke to me was this red house surrounded by autumn colors.

 

Dock View

The other day was sunny and seemed to be warm, so I headed over to Corey Beach. There was a breeze so it was a bit chilly...but I had my fleece jacket just in case. This is the view of the Blue Point Dock from the beach there.

Just an update. I found out that the other shingle painting I did for the fundraiser at the Long Island Maritime Museum sold. I am glad that both of my paintings sold and the funds are going to such a great local place.

Still Life Trio

 Sometimes I just don't get out to do a sketch...yes, that happens. I had a bit of car trouble so I decided to stay home until I was able to have my car looked at. Of course I had to paint something...so I looked around and found the last of my juicy tomatoes from the farmstand. The onion and garlic jumped in and I had what I was looking for. Please enjoy!

Nissan Service

 Yesterday I didn't get a chance to sketch outside. I needed to bring my car in to be serviced and inspected. So I sat in a very boring Nissan Service Center for a few hours while they did a 60,000 mile service, checked my brakes, checked for a rattling sound, and installed new tires so it would pass inspection. I did a quick sketch from where I was sitting looking into the showroom. I've sketched that view before. There were people in the waiting area but I didn't think I could sketch them without being obvious. I think I'm losing my mojo for stealth sketching after not doing it for so long.

Lefty Lucy Quick Sketches

Last night Lefty Lucy posed in costume like Captain America. She starts posing at 7:00. Unfortunately I had another meeting to attend at 8:00. I figured that I'd rater sketch of of the poses than not do any of them at all, so I did the 1, 2, and 5 minute poses and missed out on the longer poses. As you can see I don't always get to finish the sketches on the short poses...especially when I'm trying

I received some sad news today. One of my favorite watercolor artists, Jerry (Gerald) Brommer passed away. I took 3 different week-long workshops with Jerry when I used to go to the Springmaid Watermedia Workshops in Myrtle Beach. He was a talented artist, instructor, author of books on different kinds of art techniques (many of which were staples in art classes), and just a wonderful sweet man with a great sense of humor. He was an excellent teacher and during the time I took the classes I really enjoyed talking to him and learning from him. I am so glad that I purchased one of his paintings at one of the workshops. He and his wife, Georgia (who always came to the resort with him and supplied chocolates for the students) both had been hospitalized with Covid 19 recently. Here is a photo from one of the workshops I took with him. RIP, Jerry and keep your brushes wet!

Fink's Country Farm

I took a ride on Sunday even though it was raining. I ended up at Fink's Farm in Wading River. I jockeyed for a parking spot with a view because it was definitely raining too hard to be outside of my mobile studio. There were assorted veggies on display, a chicken sculpture on a barrel, and some masked people shopping under the covered stand.

Brookhaven Colors

 While doing all the Inktober sketches I couldn't wait to be able to use bright colors again. However our colors here on Long Island are pretty dull. I don't know if they have already peaked or if they just haven't turned yet. Most of them are a faded brown with a bit of bright yellow or orange in a few spots. Part of the problem is that we don't have too many maple trees and those are usually the ones that have a lot of color. We have a lot of oaks which really aren't too colorful. I drove around a bit looking and this spot in Brookhaven had more color than most places. This was done directly in watercolors.

Sketch the Spooky Stuff!

 Due to the Covid restrictions the NYC Urban Sketchers have been having our weekly meetings on Zoom. Each week we have a location or a theme, and often one of the members hosts the event. This week since it was actually Halloween yesterday, our theme was "sketch the spooky stuff." For the morning we traveled virtually to a location that was spooky and Salem, Massachusetts and Amityville, NY were suggested and some links were given. I couldn't really get into the idea of the witches in Salem, but I did find some nice architecture on Derby Street and sketched a house there.

For the afternoon the suggested theme was "abandoned places." I focused on scary-looking cemeteries and looked for references for those. I combined the images from a few photos to create this monochromatic look.