Happy Easter & Sketches from the Central Park Area

Happy Easter to those who are celebrating. 

Yesterday I sketched with the NYC Urban Sketchers.  Our destination was Salon 94 on 89th Street near Central Park. There was a bit of a mixup, and we were told we couldn't sketch in the gallery, although some of the sketchers weren't noticed and managed to sketch for a while. Since the weather seemed promising most of the sketchers headed up to 5th Ave and Central Park. Many of us sat outside of the park to sketch, some sketchers went into the park, and some sketchers went into the Metropolitan Museum. The view that the group I stayed with was 89th St and the Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue. I couldn't decide what I wanted to sketch, so I did some small sketches of what was in front of  me.

I started with a sketch of the Guggenheim on the left and then the streetlight, signs, and birds right in front of us. Then I sketched looking down 89th Street with the buildings, cars, and foliage that I could see.

My final sketch on the page was of some of the other sketchers sketching while sitting in front of the wall enclosing Central Park. I had a bit of lunch and then headed into Central Park. I didn't go far. The cherry blossoms had started to bloom so I sat in a spot where I was out of traffic but could see the blossoms. That is the painting I posted at the top of this page. 

At 3:00 we had our "show and tell." It was interesting to see what everyone had painted since so many of us had wandered to different locations. The Guggenheim Museum was a popular subject, but there were some other good locations and some sketches that had be done in Salon 94. People started to leave but a group of about 8 of us decided to go back into Central Park and do one more sketch. The spot we picked included a blooming cherry tree with the Guggenheim Museum behind it.

First Robotics - Lunch Concert

 At around noon the First Robotics Competition took a break. I was in a luck seat because they took away the row of chairs that were in front of me and I then had a front row seat to a concert at lunchtime. There were about 9 musicians from Long Beach High School who performed. I didn't know how long they would play so I started with the first musician that was on my left. After I finished enough of that one musician I moved to the next in line. I guess they played for about 30 minutes, but I was only able to sketch three of them before they left. They were actually very good. I'm glad I didn't try to do the whole group because I wouldn't have had enough info to complete the sketch. When the group was leaving a man came over and told me that his son was one of the musicians I had sketched and asked if he could take a photo. I said yes, but told him the sketch wasn't finished yet and if he wanted I would email a copy to him. I did later when I got home.

First Robotics Competition - Sketch 1

Last Friday I joined my friend, Suzala, at the First Robotics Competition that was being held over two days at Hofstra University. Suzala and I sketched there a few years ago and thought it was fun. I still haven't figured out how the competition is scored, but that doesn't affect my enjoyment of sketching it. I was able to sneak into a seating area that I believe was supposed to be for judges, but nobody stopped me and I had a 2nd row seat to what was going on. Most of the teams were from local schools with a few teams from foreign countries. Each team dressed in attire that was somehow connected to their team name. The two people on the left were in cowboy hats, but I don't know what their team name was. I like the uniforms on the referees. The competition moves quickly and teams are on and off the floor fast, so this sketch has bits of assorted activity that was going on. 

Old Gas Pump at Yaphank Garage

 It is rare to find old gas pumps and the ones (3) at the Yaphank Garage are in excellent condition. They are no longer in use at the restored Shell station from the late 1930s but only serve as part of a museum. The inside of the building that you can see through the windows shows what the office would have looked like back then. I've sketched/painted this station several times.

Collage

 Last Wednesday the South Bay Art Association had our monthly meeting and there was a collage workshop. I brought along some gelli printed paper and the instructor, Derek Owens had tons of collage fodder, especially fabric.

Along Brown's River

This is a direct watercolor done along Brown's River in Sayville.

Buildings at CEED

Last week I took a ride to CEED in Brookhaven. CEED is the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery. It is a resource for connecting to and experiencing the joys of nature that hopes to restore balance and harmony in our lives so that we become stewards of the earth. They have nature trails, gardens, and all kinds of programs for children and adults. I sat in front of part of their building to capture this tool shed and planting table.

 

Oyster Shells

 Part of our dinner for Jerry's birthday were oysters on the half-shell from The Fish Store in Bayport...which were delicious! I saved some of the shells to do a still life. I like the rugged edges and bumpy textures of the shells. What do you think?

Lighthouse Across the Bay

 I couldn't be near a beach with a lighthouse view and not sketch it. I was at Captree State Park where I painted the previous scene. It is across the Great South Bay and you can see the Fire Island Lighthouse located on the western end of Fire Island in Robert Moses State Park. I like the view across the water.

Beach Grasses

 I don't get tired of sketching beach grasses. This was done over the weekend at Captree State Park in Islip.

Carousel Horse

After sketching at the Fireman's Museum, Suzala and I went over to Nunley's Carousel which occupies the next building in the museum area we were in. Nunley's Carousel was created in 1912 by the Sein & Goldstein Artistic Carousell Co, of Brooklyn, NY and installed in Garden City Park in Canarsie, on the Brooklyn Waterfront, where it operated for 20 years. In 1940, a parkway was planned in the area, and the carousel was moved to Baldwin, on Long Island where it operated from 1940 to 1995 as part of Nunley's Carousel and Amusement Park. In 1995 after 56 years in Baldwin, the owners closed the park, retired, and sold the land. The carousel eventually ended up in Garden City in a complex of unique museums called Museum Row.

Many of us on Long Island had fond memories of Nunley's Carousel when it was in Baldwin. It was a popular spot for families to stop on the way home from the beach, or spend part of the day, because the amusement park also had food and other amusements. 

Sketching a horse on the carousel is no easy feat because each time the carousel moves and then stops, a different horse is in front of you. Suzala and I only had about 40 minutes to sketch before the carousel was closing for a private party. When it stopped I would race around the perimeter, looking for the horse I had started sketching. I would like to go back another time (when I have a longer period of time to sketch) and try again. I've sketched carousels before but didn't concentrate on one particular horse.

 

Porch Seating

Now that the challenge is over I'll try to get back to normal postings. At this point I think this was sketched in Sayville, but I'm not sure where. I loved the seating on the porch and the milkcan by the stairs.

 

One Week 100 People - Final Sketches

Here are my final sketches for the 100 People challenge. First I joined my friend, Suzala at the Nassau County Firefighters Museum. Two of the firemen working there snuck into my sketch. (They loved that!) Then I still needed 2 more people so we went to 99 Ranch Market, an Asian grocery store that has a food court. I ended up doing a total of 102 sketches!

 

One Week 100 People - Day 6 Part 2

 Somehow I missed posting yesterday. I swear I typed up something and wished everyone a 

Happy St Patrick's Day, but it isn't here.

This is the post that I should have posted yesterday. I had sketched at the Sayville Bean Coffee House. There were a lot of people who came and went that I inserted into the sketch. When I finished this sketch I thought I had reached 100 people, only to realize I had miscounted and was off by a few people.

This sketch has a funny story. The guy who was sitting at the table in front of me (green Bean sweatshirt) came over to me later and asked if I had sketched there before. It turns out he is a co-owner of the coffee shop. Anyway, he said his aunt that lives in South Carolina texted him my last sketch of the coffee shop after she saw it posted on Facebook. I don't know the woman or how she saw it, but she recognized that the sketch was his place. He had it in the photos on his phone. He told me I was welcome to come and sketch any time.

One Week 100 People - Day 6

 Somehow I miscounted and thought I was finished...but I wasn't. Here are people #85-96 done at the Sayville Bean Coffee House, and a few people sketched at Underworld Productions, a location that has areas set up to resemble sets from the past. There was an area set up like an old-fashioned bathroom, living room, den, bedroom, as well as the soda shop and the beauty salon. Two models were available for the Patchogue Sketch Club and the Patchogue Photography Club.

Adonna posed in the beauty salon. She was great and we had time for more than one sketch of her.

Our group had Isabella modeling in the soda shop, but only for about 40 minutes. I finished the color at home.

I still have a few more people to sketch tomorrow to reach 100.

One Week 100 People - Day 5

 On day 5 of the challenge I sketched at the library.

There weren't too many people at the library, so I headed over to the local market parking lot. These people were hard to do because they walked too quickly and didn't stay put. I'll have to remember that the next time the challenge comes up.

One Week 100 People - Day 4

 My plan was to go to the Motor Vehicle Department this morning to sketch. When I got there I found out they no longer let you just show up at the office...you need an appointment! Now what??? In the same strip mall there was a TJ Max, so I headed in there to sketch shoppers. Some of them were cooperative and stood in the same general area looking through the racks. I had to stand to sketch which I don't really like doing. But I got some sketching done...and lost the cap on one of my pens. Here are some of the shoppers.

It was a very sunny day and I thought there would be some people down by the water in Sayville. There weren't as many people there as I expected. I think the wind kept them away. But I did get a few sketches done, even one of the man sitting in the car next to me. He was there for a while...had his lunch and then put his seat back and took a nap. lol

I finished the day completing sketch #66.

One Week 100 People - Day 3

 For my next day of sketching, first I headed to the food court at the mall in Lake Grove. There are always people there and they usually stay put for a while, as long as you start sketching when they sit down to eat. 

I did a second page of sketches there. As I was finishing I felt a presence behind me and heard a male voice laugh and say, "Did I make the cut?" I turned around and found the man who I sketched at the top left of the page looking at the sketches over my shoulder. He was thrilled to be in the collection.

I wanted to get a little more sketching done so I went to a local supermarket. Once again I had to stand to sketch these. When I finished this page I was up to 51 sketches.

One Week 100 People - Day 2

 My second day of sketching for the challenge wasn't as exciting. I headed to a local Panera Bread in Bohemia for my sketching. I like that one rather than one that is closer to me because of the setup. They have tables in the front that face the counter where people order as well as the tablets that they can order on. But I didn't sit there at first. I sat at a table that faced some of the occupied booths as well as a table with three women playing what I think was mahjong. That gave me a few options for my sketches.

#oneweek100people #oneweek100people2024

When I had sketched that view I moved to the front and sketched some of the people placing their orders. At the end of day 2 I had sketched 31 people. 

One Week 100 People - Day 1

 It is that time of year for the "One Week 100 People" challenge. I usually have a hard time finding places with a lot of people so I decided to start a little early. The start date is actually today, March 11th, but this weekend several of the towns near me held their St Patrick's Day parades this weekend so as not to compete with the big one in NYC. They also try to space the parades over a few weekends here on Long Island because a lot of the firemen and police officers march with other local towns too. But I couldn't pass up finding a crowd of people.

I headed over to Westhampton for the parade. Just getting into the area to park was difficult. Most of the streets I know that lead to the center of town were closed off. Luckily a very nice young lady who was part of the Westhampton police force gave me a suggestion for where I could park. Of course Main Street was crowded with people waiting for the parade to reach our end. That gave me time to sketch some of the crowd. I used a Micron pen, a brush pen, a water brush, and a green watercolor pencil on site. Any other color was done later. I knew I had to sketch quickly because it was cold and windy. 

These people were right in front of me, but I was also able to see across to the other side of the street. I was able to use my stool to sketch this one.

This was one of my favorite characters...all decked out in his shamrock suit. lol

As always, you can hear the bagpipe players before they arrive. Even knowing they were coming didn't prepare me for sketching them since they were moving. Luckily I was at the end of the parade route and this bagpiper came back through the crowd and stopped to talk to someone nearby.

There were a lot of families viewing the parade.

It was fun sketching, but after about an hour and a half I was much too cold and had to go someplace to warm up.

Fog by the Water

I sketched by Dublin Deck in Patchogue the other day. There was a lot of fog moving in and out as well as some drizzle. I was in my mobile studio sketching the view.

Jars and Timer

 We had a few rainy days this week which means I was looking for something indoors to sketch. I decided to gather a few things for the current Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt. I included something sweet (raspberry jam), something with numbers (timer), something savory (pesto), something spicy (hot sauce), and a tool (spoon). This was done as a continuous line drawing.

Here is the original ink drawing.

Short Beach View - SOLD

Last Sunday we had a surprisingly warm day...probably about 65 degrees and sunny. My friend, Susan and I took a ride up to Short Beach in Smithtown. It was actually warm enough to sit outside without a coat and paint! It felt so good to be outside painting, and it was nice to be painting with a friend. 

Since I posted this on Facebook it sold.

Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society Barn

The South Bay Art Association visited the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society Barn last Saturday to sketch some of the interesting historical treasures they have inside. Apparently in May there will be an exhibit (Historic Bellport Visited at the Brewport Coffee House) of our sketches depicting things from the past in the area. I found this great secretary's desk with assorted objects that was fun to capture in ink and watercolor. 

Port Jeff Parking Lot View

It is fun to sketch in Port Jeff...if you can find parking. lol I like sketching the buildings that are on the hill. It was easy at this time of year and midweek. 

Beached at Silly Lily

 I took a ride to Silly Lily Fishing Station in East Moriches. Right now they are actually closed so all the boats are beached and many are shrink-wrapped. The rowboats are just overturned...not covered. The docks are pulled in too. Even with all that I can always find something to sketch there. I wonder who Lily is and if she is actually silly...

Live Model

 On Wednesday evening the Patchogue Sketch Club had a live model. It was so nice to have a variety of poses and an excellent model. The poses ranged from 2 minutes to a longer pose of 20 minutes.

Hecksher Park View

The other day we had sunshine but windy conditions. I headed over to Hecksher State Park in East Islip and painted the view across the dunes. This park is located along the Great South Bay.

Funchos

I headed out to Riverhead the other day. It was a fairly nice day, but not quite warm enough to sit outside and sketch. I headed over to Funchos, a Mexican restaurant that has a big outdoor seating area and a part of the restaurant that can be covered up in colder weather. I parked so I had a view of some of the fun signs that were outside. I'll have to go back and sketch it again when the outside seating area is open. They decorate it even more and sometimes have live music. I did go inside and have a delicious burrito for lunch.

Here is a closeup of one of the signs.