Christmas on Main Street

Since I didn't get to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree in Sayville I headed over there the next day and sketched the tree and a bit of Main Street. 

St Ann's Christmas Tree Sale

 Apparently every year St Ann's Episcopal Church in Sayville has a two day Christmas tree sale. I always think about going to sketch but I forget when it is being held. Finally this year I remembered. I headed over there on Saturday since they were forecasting rain for Sunday. There were 750 trees that were brought in and they were selling quickly. I ended up standing for the duration of the sketch because there was a fence around the sale area and the slats of the fence would have blocked my view. Santa was there but wasn't in my line of vision.

The Boat Yard

If you follow me here you probably know that one of my "go to" places is Weeks Yacht Yard in Patchogue. It doesn't matter the season. There is always something going on. A lot of the boats have been shrink wrapped for the winter but a few of them, like this one are uncovered. An all around the boats there is "stuff" to draw...perfect for me.

Patchogue Village

I've been trying to sketch a few wider and deeper views of the local towns near here. I think I succeeded with the section to the right, but the left is lacking and so is the distant part of the village. It all looks too empty. Patchogue is usually very crowded. 

Near the Marina

 There are so many quirky houses down near the water like this one by the Sandspit Park Marina in Patchogue. It is right next to one of the inlets that lead out to the great South Bay. It is very common for people around here to have a boat on their property.

Brewport Coffee House

There is a fairly new coffee house in Bellport that I hadn't been in until last week when I went there for an art reception. I sketched it the next day from the outside and hope to sketch it from the inside soon.

 

Tea Time

The Patchogue Sketch Club meets at the Patchogue/Medford Library at this time of year and we have a theme. Can you guess our theme? Yes...tea time. Everything in this sketch is something I brought in except for the teacup on the top right. That is one of many teacups that belong to my friend, Pat, and she shared it with me. I love sketching her teacups and teapots.

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at the Petrie Court of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This section of the museum has som beautiful sculptures and looks out to Central Park.

I didn't remember to write down the title of this sculpture but it caught my eye with the dark sculpture behind it and the windows looking out at the park.

Later in the afternoon I sketched "Perseus with the Head of Medusa." I loved that there was someone taking a photo so there was the contrast of the old with the new.

Local Scene

 Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating today!

Here is a local scene from Sayville with a bit of the autumn color we still have on our trees.

Islip Town View

This  building was along Main Street in Islip. I think it is an insurance company. I liked the location for a quick watercolor.

Christmas in the Air

Tuesday was the last day for the year that my plein air group, PALS, met to paint. Our last location is always the Bayport Flower House. By this time of year it is usually too cold to be outside painting (unless you are in a mobile studio) so we happily paint the decorations inside. There is an entire large greenhouse filled with nothing but poinsettias in all different colors. There are so many choices for paintings. This year I selected this Christmas milk can filled with ferns, pinecones and big bells. Several of my paintings done here have been used for my annual Christmas card. Our last day there always fills us with the holiday spirit and spurs us on to get ready for our annual exhibit and sale.

 

Autumn View

 I'm still chasing the autumn leaves here on Long Island. I like when I can look down a street toward the bay and see different colors on each tree. This was painted on Academy Lane in Bellport.

Autumn Colors

The autumn colors here are slowly disappearing, so I'm trying to capture them when I see them. This was done locally. 

Cutchogue Library

Of course when I was out on the North Fork to do the farmhouse that I posted yesterday, I did more than one small painting in my concertina sketchbook. This is the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library. The original part of the library was actually a church at one time, but it was donated to the town for a library when the congregation returned to their original church. This section houses the children's section of the library. Attached is a beautiful more modern section. I'm attaching a photo of what it looks like together. It is beautiful inside and out. 

Farmhouse

 I did some work in my North Fork of Long Island concertina sketchbook last weekend. This was done out somewhere near Cutchogue. I liked the fenced area (to keep out the deer) near the house. I still have a few more pages to complete.

Street Construction

The other day I was riding around looking for some colorful trees in Bayport. Out of the corner of my eye I spied some activity going on...road work! Yay!! I went around the block so I could be facing what was going on and lucked out because it was a street that was really free of other cars parked, so I had a good view. Workers in yellow vests, a Komatsu digger, a truck with supplies, cones, a "road work ahead" sign and colorful autumn leaves...what a great cast of characters!

Buckley's

Buckley's is an Irish Pub along Main Street in Center Moriches. According to the window on the left it was the original home of the Long Island Hotel. I googled that but haven't come up with any information about it, so I don't know if it is true. It looks like a fun place and was colorful enough to capture my attention while I was driving by. Maybe I'll have to try it some time. I'm always looking for interesting looking places that are different. Too many places here in Suffolk County are in cookie-cutter mini malls and have no character on the outside. 

Lighthouse

Last week when it was warm I made several trips to Robert Moses State Park. 3 out of the 4 days I sketched or painted the Fire Island Lighthouse. I can't resist!!

 

Suffolk County Barns

Last Tuesday my plein air group, PALS, went to the Suffolk County Farm to paint. It was windy and cold so my goal was to find someplace to sit where the wind was blocked. I ended up sitting next to one of the small barns and I had this view in front of me. I wasn't crazy about it until the sun came out and it lit up the area and created great shadows. I was really happy with the way it came out.

 

Beach Grasses

When I go to Robert Moses State Park there are some wonderful beach grasses to paint when I am looking away from the ocean. These always fascinate me and the sky in that direction is usually interesting.

 

Beach Entry

 I guess you can tell how much I love the beach. There is always something to sketch or paint. This was done at Smith Point Beach.

Fire Island Lighthouse

During the nice, warm weather we had earlier in the week I made several trips down to the ocean. It is hard to resist painting the Fire Island Lighthouse when I go to Robert Moses State Park. I can't even imagine how many times I've painted it...and I can always paint it again.

 

Autumn at Cedarmere

 On Saturday my friend, Suzala and I decided to stay more local. I suggested going to a place I went to many years ago. The property was the estate of the poet, William Cullen Bryant in Roslyn and is called Cedarmere. I probably hadn't been there in 25 years. It borders on Roslyn Harbor and has a pond, boathouse, house, mill, and gardens. It is sort of hidden and you can easily pass the entrance without realizing it. It was wonderfully filled with autumn colors...in fact so many leaves were on the ground and the trees that you could hardly see the pond.

Looking toward the harbor gave another wonderful view.

Old Field Point Lighthouse

I was up on the north shore for an appointment the other day so I figured I would look for someplace up there to paint. I've been to so many locations many times, so I was looking for a place I hadn't been. Old Field Point Lighthouse kept popping up in my searches. It overlooks Long Island Sound in Old Field Village. I couldn't believe there was a lighthouse in this area that you could drive to but that I hadn't visited. It took quite a while to take the meandering road out there, but I thought it was worth the trip.

 

Quogue Wildlife Refuge

Last Tuesday my PALS plein air group met at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge. The forecast was for drizzle in the early morning but clearing by the time rush hour was over. We meet at 10:00 so that sounded like it would work out, but at 10 it was still misting. The refuge has an indoor nature center with huge, nearly floor to ceiling windows overlooking a former ice pond. They opened the building early for us so that we could stay dry. This was the lovely view.

Indoors we had the view as well as exhibits of animals and insects around the room. I did sketch a turtle in a tank next to me.

 

Here are Linda, Michele, and Dale enjoying the views.

 

Light Filled Path

 I love seeing walkways with shadows on them. Add some autumn colors and I'm a happy camper.

Bayport Autumn

The autumn colors by the Bayport Dock were very autumnal. 

Fruit, Cosmetics & a Show

The Patchogue Sketch Club has been meeting indoors since the days are shorter. One week we sketched fruit. Here is my assortment. 

One of the members of our group arranged for our members to have our artwork on exhibit for the month of October at the Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild in Cutchogue. Most of us had 4 pieces of work hanging. Last Sunday we had our closing reception.

This week we were back sketching indoors and our theme had to do with cosmetics.

 

Beach Dunes

 I hope I didn't post this before. It has been sitting on my desktop for a long time. I did it the same day as I did an Inktober sketch of the commercial fishing boats on Dune Road in Hampton Bays. I love the many, many different dune views I find.

Bellport Water View

 This house in Bellport must have a wonderful view of the Great South Bay expecially at sunrise. It is a few houses from the water along Bellport Lane but is set up on a fairly high incline with no other houses in the way of the view. It overlooks the Bellport Dock property. Wish I was nervy enough to contact some of the owners of the houses I'm always sketching. lol I need an agent!

Bodhi's Beach Shack

 With Inktober taking over the month of October I have some sketches that never got posted. This is a painting of Bodhi's Beach Shack. I did it as one of the postcards that I did for the troops. In the summer Bodhi's was very popular and crowded...sometimes with entertainment. On this day it was a windy, cool October day and I don't think Bodhi's was even open. I'm not sure why the one umbrella was open.

Inktober 2022 - Day 31 - Lakeview Cemetery

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Today is the final day of Inktober 2022. I went to do my Inktober sketch at the Lakeview Cemetery in Patchogue. It is an old, historic cemetery where I've sketched a few times. I walked over to the area that looked like it had some old headstones. I know a clean-up campaign has been going on there so some of the older headstones seem a lot cleaner than I remember them to be. I started out just sketching in my grey toned Strathmore sketchbook using Noodler's Lexington Grey ink with my Lamy pen. I used some white colored pencil to lighten the headstones in some areas. The scene still needed more to differentiate the items in the scene, so I pulled out my gouache since I know that should cover better than watercolors. That helped and I am pretty happy with the result.

Inktober 2022 - Day 30 - Along the Tracks & Times Square

 Today one of my art groups was having a closing reception for our show that has been in a gallery in Cutchogue. So since I was out on the North Fork I looked for an Inktober subject. This building was along the Mattituck train tracks. It was unusual. None of the doors or windows lined up. Each ended on a slightly different level.

Here is the updated version of my Times Square sketch. I added more color, more details, and did some shading with a grey Tombow ink marker as Ian Fennelly suggested.

Here is the version before the additional work if you want to compare them.

Inktober 2022 - Day 29 - Sketching Workshop

 Today I attended an excellent sketching workshop called "Shapes, Colours and Stories" given by Ian Fennerly from the UK. It was sponsored by the NYC Urban Sketchers. I love Ian Fennerly's work and when I was at the Porto Symposium I attended one of his demos. Thru Etcher I also did an online class with him during the pandemic. 

The class was in Times Square...right in the heart of it. Luckily he found a location for us to work from that was a bit away from the insanity of all the dressed up figures, tour hustlers and entertainers. 

The general idea of the workshop was to focus on the story of the area with the signs and activity around the water using the street lamp posts to block in the sketch. Slowly we added the details. We worked on our ink sketches with assorted thicknesses of pens in several stages (the first was with a light grey Tombow marker which we used instead of a pencil to place the largest items in our sketch. We redrew the items with a 0.2 permanent marker adjusting them as needed.  Then we transitioned to watercolor. The final steps will be to do tone work with grey Tombow ink markers. Ian did a demo of each step on his sketch and then allowed us to do the same while he came around commenting and giving advice as needed. It was only a 3 hr class so a lot was crammed into a small amount of time. He suggested waiting to finishing the last step with the ink markers until he sent us his finished sketch to see what he added and where. A lot of the tonal shading is done directly over the watercolor and the sketching we already did. 

Here is my unfinished sketch which I am using as my Inktober sketch for today. I will work on this more and promise to post it when I am done.

 

Here is a photo of Ian explaining what he added to his sketch.

Inktober 2022 - Day 27 - Unicorn Scarecrow & Autumn Colors

 One of the fun things about Bellport in October is that they decorate Main Street with all sorts of scarecrows for Halloween. Then the public votes on them. Somehow I haven't been in the town yet this year to see and sketch the scarecrows. Usually I sketch a few of them. So today since I was in the town anyway to go to the frame shop, I stopped to sketch the unicorn scarecrow for Inktober. This one is named Hairy Unicorn. I was going to take this photo of it in black and white and then add color (since she was so cute in pink) but it was so windy I couldn't sit there any longer.

When I finished I sat in my car looking out at autumn's colors and painted this.

Inktober 2022 - Day 26 - Boatyard

 For my Inktober sketch today I headed to one of my stand-by locations, Weeks Yacht Yard. There are so many little and big views that I never get tired of sketching there.

Inktober 2022 - Day 25 - Frank Meliville Park

 Today my plein air group met at Frank Melville Park in East Setauket. We were hoping for a lot of autumn colors but the colors weren't at peak yet. I did a view of the bridge with the foliage behind it. I was concerned that it would start raining, so I did a 5 x 7 sized painting.

There are/were a few wonderful old trees in the park. I was planning on sketching the biggest of them which had such wonderful branches and a lot of names carved into it, but was disappointed to see that it was gone. This one which is about half the size isn't quite so impressive. It looks like a section of it is now missing. I guess these trees were affected by the storms we've had the last few years. I hadn't looked for them the last time I was there. For Inktober I used my Elegant Writer pen, my Lamy with Noodler's brown ink, and a Lamy with permanent black ink.