View from Smith Point Marina

 It was a drizzly day but I wanted to get another sketch done for the sketchbook project. I sat in my mobile studio at the Smith Point Marina and painted the view looking toward the Smith Point Bridge.

The Shed

 I've been working on a lot of pages for the sketchbook project. This is a sketch of the outside of The Shed, a restaurant in West Sayville. It is a hilly place for table service but it seems to work. I always feel sorry for the wait staff that has to carry food outdoors.

The Islip Grange

 This is another sketch for the sketchbook project. It is one of the buildings down at The Islip Grange in Sayville. Apparently the buildings show what the area would have looked like in the 19th century. The buildings there include a carriage shed, a Bicentennial cottage, a Dutch Reformed Church (which still holds weddings), a manager's cottage, Ockers Barn and The Mill.

Produce for Sale

This is a piece I did on location with my plein air group at Andrews Family Farm in Wading River. I completed most of it the first time we were there but I decided that the foreground needed something. We went back for a return visit and I added some of the flower bouquets that they had for sale as well as the hanging Indian corn. 

Bellport House

I always enjoy painting the houses I find in Bellport. This sketch is in the Arteza sketchbook and I'm almost done filling the pages. It will be hard to give it away to the library.

 

Cremosa Market

 Our day of sketching in Westbury (see yesterday's post) had me cross the street and sit in front of Friar's Tavern for a view of Cremosa Market. Suzala was standing there at her easel painting the building on the opposite corner so of course I included her. It worked well together as a subject.

Friar’s Tavern (SOLD)

Last week my friend and I went to sketch buildings in Westbury. We found Friar’s Tavern which has been in existence for 80 years and run by the same family. It had a lot of character. Later in the day the owner’s son came out and bought the painting for his father.

Lighthouse and Gull

 This was sketched down at the Sandspit Marina in Patchogue. Wasn't it nice of the gull to pose with the lighthouse nearby? This is another sketch in the Arteza sketchbook for the SBAA project.

Back to Silly Lily

 I always enjoy painting and sketching at Silly Lily's Fishing Station in East Moriches. I think the bright yellow building just makes me smile. This is another sketch done in the book of sketches for the art project I'm doing. I just have a few more left to do.

Commission

A client had contacted me in the winter and told me she had seen a painting I had done of Weeks Yacht Yard for someone. She was interested in having me do one for her to be given to someone as a Christmas gift. Since I enjoy sketching and painting there I readily agreed but told her I couldn't do it at that time because all the boats there were still shrink wrapped. Spring came and went and summer arrived. It took me a while to get around to doing it because I was waiting for nice weather and tolerable temperatures. I ended up doing it over 3 or 4 days because I wanted to work on it at the same time of day so the lighting would be similar. Today I finally delivered it to the client and she was thrilled and is certain that the intended recipient will love it too.

Portraits for Arts on Terry

 Last Sunday I participated in Arts on Terry with the Patchogue Sketch Club. Terry Street in Patchogue is closed for this event. This year our group project was called "We By Us." We were partnered with another member of the group and we did portraits of each other from a photo. 

My friend, Pat Sweeney and I were paired. We were given a 14 x 16 canvas to paint on. Since I do watercolors my canvas was covered with watercolor paper. This was difficult because I don't do too many portraits and I don't work that large! My piece came out OK. I couldn't get Pat to look old enough to match her photo...but I guess younger is better than making her look older. 

Pat wanted the portrait to reflect her life in 2023 so she wanted the portrait to include one of her many hats that she has been wearing since finding a spot of cancer near her left eye. So I did the portrait with a hat. Right before Arts on Terry, Pat had her Mohs surgery and the entire left side of her face was coved in bandages, so she didn't make an appearance at the event. But she was there in spirit and I sent her lots of photos of what was going on. She had some difficulty doing my portrait because her vision was obscured by the bandages. I think she did a pretty good job!

My portrait of Pat.

Pat is on top and the portrait of me is on the bottom.

Here are all the portrait pairs.

All the artists except Pat.

It was fun to see all the different styles and that everyone did something so unique.

Captree State Park View

 I am still doing sketches in the Arteza sketchbook for the SBAA Sketchbook Project. This is the Robert Moses Bridge as seen from Captree State Park. This bridge links the Robert Moses Causeway to Robert Moses State Park.

Waves

 With the hurricane building off the coast recently we got some interesting waves at the beach here. This was sketched at Smith Point Park.

Sayville Beach

 Last week we had a day that was warm enough to sit down by the beach in the afternoon and sketch. I went to the beach by the Sayville Marina. The beach itself was closed for the season...no lifeguards, but there were a few other people sitting in beach chairs on the sand.

Assorted Sketches

The Patchogue Sketch Club met by the MoCA gallery again for people to work on their portraits for Arts on Terry that is taking place tomorrow. My portrait of Pat was finished so I spent my time sketching what was around me...

a parked car...

Mark working in his sketchbook...

Mike working on his portrait of Maryann...

and Jenn sketching from her iPad.

This sketch below was done at the Nissan dealership while I waited for my car inspection and brake work.

Storm Clouds Over Short Beach

Last week I had planned to go to a carnival to sketch on Sunday. I had almost reached the location when it started to drizzle. I knew the forecast was for rain at some point, heavy at times, so I changed my plan and headed over to Short Beach in Smithtown. The clouds were really dark at that point and at times I had to turn on the windshield wipers to see what was in front of me. I really poured! I was just hoping that it would subside by the time I was leaving and that the roads near the water wouldn't be flooded. 

I lucked out!

Bayman's Cottage

Here is another sketch done in the sketchbook that will be submitted to the Brookhaven Library. This was done of the Bayman's Cottage on the grounds of the Sayville Maritime Museum.

Sayville Walkway

I've been doing quite a lot of my sketches lately in an Arteza 5.5 in square sketchbook. The South Bay Art Association is  doing a sketchbook project and the sketchbooks will eventually be catalogued and housed in the Brookhaven Free Library. I have until the beginning of November to fill the book. Since a lot of my sketches are small I've started doing them in this book. All of my sketches are Long Island scenes. This one is part of the walkway at Sayville Marina Park.

Red Umbrellas with Sunflowers

 I find red umbrellas very hard to resist and these had buckets of sunflowers below them. How could I resist this display at Bayview Market & Farm in Riverhead?

Beach Shade

 Last week we had quite a few really hot days...and of course the pool was closed. I went to the beach where there was a nice breeze and stayed in the shade of my own umbrella while I sketched a few that were on the beach. This was at Smith Point Beach.

People Sketches

Somehow I forgot to include this sketch of the people at the outdoor bar at Robert Moses Beach. The bar was right near where I was sitting to sketch the people in the showers, so I turned around a bit to see the bar better. 

I also joined the Patchogue Sketch Club on Wednesday. Some of us are involved in a project for Arts on Terry (which is next Saturday) where we were partnered with someone from the group. Each pair is doing a portrait of the other person from a photo. I haven't done portraits in a while and am working on one of my friend, Pat, for the exhibition. When we met on Wednesday some people brought along their pieces to work on them. We set up outdoors between the PAC gallery and the movie theater. I didn't want to drag my canvas with me so I decided to just do portraits of some of the other sketchers. First I sketched Linda who was sketching Mariann and Mike. 

Next I sketched Mirielle who was also sketching the other sketchers. My sketch looks a lot like her.

I was only able to do Rob in pencil. All those weird folds on his hat took a long time to sketch. I think he has some kind of condition where he makes sure to be covered up. I've alway seen him dressed in a similar way. There was no time to add color to his portrait.

I will post the portrait of Pat when it is finished. I still have a little work to do on it.

 

Robert Moses Beach Sketches

 We had a heat wave that continued after Labor Day. The day after Labor Day was hot but the pool in my development had already closed for the season. I decided to go to the Robert Moses Beach hoping that there was a breeze. Rather than going down by the water (since I knew there was no chance that I was going in) I stayed up near the concession stand that now has an outdoor bar. There was beach music playing and I attached my umbrella to my chair. As long as I was in the shade I was comfortable. I had a nice view of this lady and the beach landscape behind her.

The thought crossed my mind that to cool off a bit I could go under the outside showers, but instead since I had such a good view of them, I sketched a number of people showering off.

Oyster Bay Views

On Sunday the NYC Urban Sketchers ventured out of "the city" and came to the burbs. My friend, Suzala organized a day in Oyster Bay on the north shore of Nassau County. Unfortunately the trains to and from Oyster Bay only run each way every two hours so the sketchers had to time their visit with the train schedule...or be stuck for another 2 hours. Most of them wanted to head over to the beach since they don't get that in the city. It was a hot day so I had no desire to walk to the beach in the heat nor to sit on the beach without any shade. I opted to stay right in town where I could find shade.

Luckily there was a lot of shade across from the restaurant, "2 Spring." Not only did I have shade but there was a bit of a breeze. While I was sketching the staff was setting up for lunch outside. They noticed I was painting and kept coming over to see my progress. Suzala was on the other side of the restaurant painting the view down the street and they kept chatting with her as they passed. They also offered us water and told us we could come in and use the rest room if we needed too. It was very nice inside and the food smelled great! 

Next I headed down the main street to the next corner, found some shade, and sketched this view. The building was once the summer office of Teddy Roosevelt when he was in office. Now there are some kind of offices upstairs and a restaurant, Wild Honey, downstairs.

We took a break around 2:00 to chat and have show and tell. The first train back to the city was leaving in about 40 minutes and most of the sketchers had planned to be on it. We did our show and tell and then most of us headed over to the Bonanza hot dog and Italian ice stand that the town is known for...the chocolate ice is delicious.

A few sketchers stayed longer but it was hot so we sat in the shade by the gazebo and mostly talked and only Suzala was sketching. It was a nice relaxing way to end the day. Even though we get together each week, everyone is busy sketching and we really don't get a lot of time to talk. It was nice to find out a little more about some of the people.

Swan River Bridge

The Patchogue Sketch Club went to the Swan River Preserve recently. When it first opened it had good views but over the last few years the foliage has gotten so tall that most of the water is blocked and all you see is green. I found a spot with a view of the bridge and that and the contrast in the foliage color gave me a focal point. The area to the back was lit by the sun so I painted that first because I knew as the sun moved down in the sky we would lose the light there. 

DUMBO

I recently went with my friend, Suzala and Robin, a visiting sketcher from LA on a sketch trip to DUMBO in Brooklyn. For those who don't know it stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Robin had sketched in the city before but hadn't been to DUMBO for the iconic view of the Brooklyn Bridge. (It was much more crowded than my sketch...maybe X50. It was a long ride in but Suzala's husband, Rick played chauffeur, tour guide and photographer for us. He gave us a tour from Long Island through the city describing and telling about each area.

This part of Washington Street is closed to traffic and there are tables set out which made sketching very convenient.

We even did a little throw down of our sketches. Left to right...Suzala, Robin, Joan.

Then we moved on to another area of DUMBO. Robin selected a different spot to sketch than Suzala and I did. We both sketched the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Again I didn't include the massive line of people waiting. I was so tempted...but resisted.

Top to bottom: My sketch, Robin's sketch of the Manhattan Bridge, and Suzala's sketch.

It is always fun to share sketching time with people from other locations.

Swan River Preserve Bridge

 The previous post showed my friend, Rosanne sketching this foliage-covered bridge at Swan Lake Preserve in East Patchogue. The bridge gave us something to focus on amid all the green.

Rosanne Sketching

The other night the Patchogue Sketch Club met at Swan River Preserve in East Patchogue to sketch. I don't find the location very inspiring...too green. I did one sketch and then sketched my friend, Rosanne who was working at the picnic table in front of me.

Lobster Traps

The other day I drove over to White Cap Fish Market in Islip to see if there was something there to sketch. Right across the water there were some colorful lobster traps...or I think that's what they were. Most of them were a reddish-orange but there were a few yellow ones and green ones that snuck in. I wonder if the place sells lobster to the public. Hmmm......

Assorted Sketches

I do a lot of sketching for creativespark.art, especially the Scavenger Hunts. Sometimes we sketch things that aren't big sketches...like these. 

I was in the middle of sketching out a scene for a commission when this goose meandered by with a group of friends. They were busy eating and kept turning around and walking to a new spot. I would just jump ship from one goose and continue with the next one that was posed in a similar position. I like how this one came out. 

I was at the pool the other day and this dad and his kids were nearby. I thought they needed to be sketched but I only had a small pad of writing paper and a ball point pen. Gotta use what you have!

The two bottom sketches were for one of the Scavenger Hunts...something spicy

and something sweet. These were done with a medium I don't use very often...colored pencils. I got a free set from Zebra a few years ago (24 colors) and they've been sitting in my cabinet unused.