On sunny days I'm always tempted to head to one of the local beaches. This is the lifeguard's shed at Corey Beach in Blue Point. I've sketched it in the past. I think I dropped the sketchbook in the sand three times while I was sketching that day. I guess it could only add a little texture. lol
This is a dock by the marina at Land's End, a catering and motel in Sayville. Most people come to park and watch the view in the other direction over the Great South Bay, but I find this view more interesting to sketch.
Spring has finally hit here on Long Island. My friend, Susan, invited me over to sketch in her garden. I focused on her purple crocuses. I love how they stick their heads out through whatever is there in the garden.
Let's Art with Lefty Lucy had a session this week. I definitely missed having her pose last week. It felt like something was missing from my day. I loved the glamour of her gown on Tuesday but she wore these big, clunky black boots (which don't show in any of these sketches). Lucy said she was Persephone returning from the underworld.
The 20 minute pose.
The first two sketches here were done for a recent Wet Canvas Scavenger Hunt. The bottom page of people was done while enjoying the sun down at Sayville Beach over the weekend.
I hadn't been to the Smithtown Historical Society in over a year, so I took a drive up there the other day. Done from my "mobile studio."
Saturday was one of those beautiful days that you just have to get outside for a while. I took a ride over to Captree State Park thinking I would sit out by the dunes and sketch the lighthouse across the bay. Imagine my surprise to see motorcycles and bikers in the parking area near the fishing charter boats. There were probably about 8-10 of them just hanging around talking. I've seen some groups of bikers that make me a bit nervous, like the Pagans, but a few of these bikers were wearing Harley Davidson logos on their clothes so I was thinking these were more recreational bikers. I loved the guy on the right wearing chaps. His girlfriend was also there wearing chaps too. I didn't get too close because I didn't want them to realize I was sketching them from my "mobile studio."
This weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers did a virtual visit to Burma, guided by one of our members, Win Naing who was born there. He gave us some suggestions of areas to focus on and in addition to focusing on the beauty of the area he discussed the present unrest and turmoil there right now. Since this was done from a photo reference (and not from life) it is not an urban sketch.
U Bein Bridge is a considered the longest and oldest pedestrian bridge made of teakwood. It is found in Mandalay, Burma. It looks so exotic in the photos I've seen but it is definitely NOT something I can see myself walking across. How about you?
I am once again participating in Karen Abend's "Sketchbook Revival." Each day there are two lessons to participate/or not participate in. I know I won't have time to do all of them now but some of them I'm sure will catch my eye and I'll give them a go. Danny Gregory hosted the first lesson which was called "Art Supply Relay." We were told to get a supply of 15 different materials to draw with. They could be different media, colors, inks, etc. We were all sketching our shoe. Every minute the timer would go off and we would have to change our media. Here is my shoe after 15 changes. I used a variety of colors of Caran d'Arch pencils, markers, watercolors, oil pastels and inks, It was definitely a way to get us to try different media, see how they worked together, and basically go with the flow.
You know how I love to sketch down by the water. This was done down by Hecksher State Park in West Islip.
Here on Long Island we are lucky to have great views almost anywhere by the water like this one in Oakdale.
Yesterday I received my second vaccine for Covid 19 at Walgreens pharmacy in Patchogue. I had a little pad with me so I did a sketch of the man across from me who lucked out when they called him and told him they had an extra dose of the vaccine and to come into the pharmacy.
Down along the water in Sayville there are a few marinas. A friend of mine had her boat docked here behind these buildings for a few years.
We were having some great clouds in the sky so I heeded down by the beach so I would have a wide open view. This was done from the parking lot at Hecksher State Park in East Islip.
For some reason no matter where I go I seem to find the marinas. I drove up to Port Jefferson the other day. It was bustling with people and parking wasn't easy. I ended up in a far parking lot near the harbor that had a marina at one end with lots of wrapped boats and many, many masts. I found a spot to sketch from and nobody seemed to care that I was there so I just kept on working.
On Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club met and did a different kind of activity. Since we are still zooming, Mark came up with a new activity. He shared 3 pieces of art (one at a time) but showed them upside-down for us to sketch that way. It was a different way of looking at something...more as lines and shapes than as objects or in this case people.
We started with a piece by Picasso. Here is my sketch done upside-down.
We had a fairly warm day today and I had a few things to do in Bellport, so first I headed down to the water by the Bellport Dock for a while. There were a number of people walking or sitting around enjoying the warmth of the sun, many of them having shedded their winter coats for light jackets. I sketched these last four people from the comfort and safety of my mobile studio. Later I found an empty area and sat in the sun for a while.
The forecast was for temperatures around 70 degrees, but here on Long Island it was cooler due to the southwest wind from the ocean. I headed over to Robert Moses State Park and sat in my car while I sketched the people walking on the boardwalk or heading down to the sand. I did sit out for a little bit but I didn't take a scarf with me and after about an hour my neck was cold and I headed back into the car.
Here are sketches #83-96. I will have to finish the last few tomorrow.
I figured the library would be a good place to find people to sketch for the "One Week 100 Days" challenge, but I didn't go inside. Instead I parked my car facing the entrance to the library and sketched the people going in and coming out.
Today was a busy day of sketching people for the "One Week 100 People" challenge. It was a warm day so I decided to go down to Smith Point Beach. Of course I got there and it wasn't quite as warm as I was hoping due to the ocean breeze. But I was able to park fairly close to the walking path so I could see the people who were taking walks or standing around looking at the water. Then this evening, I joined "Let's Art with Lefty Lucy" for her Tuesday evening figure session. We do a lot of 1, 2, and 5 minute sketches that I don't normally share, but they qualify as sketches of people so you are getting to see all of them. I have now completed 54 of the 100 sketches. Now where can I go to sketch tomorrow???
Today begins the "One Week 100 People" Challenge. I debated if I was going to participate this year due to the Covid restrictions. I don't want to be indoors with people and it is iffy looking for people outdoors. But I decided to give it a try. If I can't find enough people IRL, I will resort to photos or to videos online. I headed into Sayville and first stopped in the parking lot by the beach. From there I was able to see people walking back and forth to the park. Then I moved to the parking lot by the marina carefully watching for people from my parked car. As I was leaving I noticed some workmen working on a roof...and there were a few of them. Yay!! Then by the boatyard I found a few more. Total for today...23 people!
On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers and Urban Sketchers Paris held a joint sketching event on Zoom. It was hosted by a member from each country. Each member sketched the other country's Statue of Liberty. When we split up into smaller groups each had a member or two from the Paris sketchers. Our group had one member and then the organizer from Paris joined us. There was a lot of great conversation and sharing. The NYC members were lucky because Paris actually has six versions of the Statue of Liberty. I decided to sketch the one that is at the Musee' d'Orsay in Paris. I liked being able to see the wonderful windows behind the statue. The Musee' d'Orsay has wonderful architectural designs that just set off the statue so well!
There are many roads here that lead down to the bay with a view toward Fire Island across the water. This was sketched in Bayport.
I hadn't been to the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank to visit the animals in a long time. It seemed warm enough the other day to actually sit outside so I walked through the farm and found some of the cows inside the pen, near enough to see them and sketch.
On Wednesday night the Patchogue Sketch Club theme was Expressions. We were given around 20 minutes to sketch each of these faces when they were posted. I got there a bit late so I ended up taking a screen shot of that happy baby so I could finish the sketch. We all groaned when Mark put the last one on Zoom for us to draw...not one face but two!!
I went out to sketch the other day only to have it start raining. I ended up in the parking area for one of the Fire Island ferries in Patchogue. The beer & cocktail shed was closed for the season but I though it was cute anyway. Once it opens up for the season I don't think I'm allowed to park in the lot since I'm not a resident and I'm not taking the ferry.
