Flowers by the Fence

These flowers were behind a wrought iron fence near the beach in Sayville. Doing direct watercolor I need to be more patient and wait for things to dry...something I tend not to do. lol

Mexican Entry

I've sketched at the Mexican restaurant, Viva La Vida in Oakdale several times. I like the contrasts of color in their architecture and decorative elements. This was done for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge.

 

Continuous Line Drawing

I hosted the last Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt. Each hunt contains 26 items to find and sketch. The sketchers can sketch as many or as few as they want/can. It has been a long time since I have been able to finish one of the lists, but I figured if I put the last of the items into one continuous line sketch I could do it. I think there are 11 items in the sketch...all fun to do.

Dunes at Robert Moses

We had a sunny day last week and knowing what the forecast was for the weekend, I hurried down to Robert Moses Beach to paint and enjoy the sun. The dunes had nice shadows. 

Patchogue Lighthouse View

 Recently the Patchogue Sketch Club went to the Sandspit Marina in Patchogue for our sketch night. Right off the end of the parking area is a small lighthouse that we all sketched. 

The Farm on Lakeland

It is the season for The Farm on Lakeland in Sayville to be open for business. Right now they have lots of hanging baskets and flowers in bloom. I sat along the side street to paint this for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge 2025. 

Suffolk County Farm

I hadn't been to the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank for a while. There were some flowers in bloom. I painted them in direct watercolor for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge 2025.

The sheep were out and some were near the shelter...

(These were also done for the 30 x 30 challenge.)

and some were just grazing in the nearby field.

(More for the 30 x 30 challenge.)

Domino Park

The NYC Urban Sketchers met at Domino Park recently. Domino Park is located in Williamsburg along the East River.  It was built on the site of the former Domino Sugar Refinery. There is a great view of several of the bridges from there.

These tank were used for storing the sugar syrup produced as the sugar was refined. I sketched this area where several of my fellow sketchers were working.

Park Entrance

 I've sketched the entrance to Sayville Beach Park a few times. I like the stone pillar entrance.

School Picnic

 I went down to the Bellport Dock and there was a 2nd grade school picnic going on. The kids were running around, but the parents were keeping things organzied. I liked the kids on the side playing Connect Four.

Dublin Deck

The Dublin Deck over in Patchogue has some fun things in their parking lot. 

Who wouldn't like a pirate and a giant chair? 

Fundraiser for the Long Island Maritime Museum

Once again the Long Island Maritime Museum is having a fundraiser. They are restoring The Priscilla, a sixty-foot, 1888 oyster dredge. Her mast had to be replaces and to pay for a new one artists have been painting on slabs of wood cut from Priscilla's mast. Each slice is about 2 1/2 inches thick. Some are perfectly round and some had the bottom flattened so that it can stand up. The paintings will all be for sale/auctioned in the near future. Here is my submission for the fundraiser.

Here it is standing.

I used acrylic paints for this project. The next time I'll have to remember to cover it with white gesso so the paint goes on the wood smoother.

Island View Marina

 Near the Sandspit parking lot in Patchogue you can see across the canal to the Island View Marina. Sometimes there is a lot going on, but this day it was pretty quiet...perfect for sketching.

Memorial Day

I was home on Memorial Day and decided to check out the local events to honor the veterans here in Holbrook. The ceremony was held at the Holbrook Vietnam Memorial. The parade started on Main Street at 11:00 and ended at the memorial. I sat and sketched the memorial before the marchers arrived. It was decorated with floral arrangements. 

Finally I could hear music and the marchers came into sight. I decided to sketch a little of everything...the police officers with the American flag, a bagpiper, and a family watching the parade. It was nice to experience this with other people from my area...just honoring those that gave so much.

Special Treats

Recently I went to a car show in Babylon. There were old and new cars, but I was attracted to this 1955 Chevy Bel Air. While I was sketching the owner came over to see what I was doing. There was a lot about this model that attracted me. 

Dinner that night was a special treat. My model went into the pot shortly after

The Bayside Clam Bar & Grill

It was damp and chilly but that didn't stop me from sketching from my mobile studio at the beach in Islip. The Bayside Clam Bar & Grill wasn't open when I was there, but I'm sure it is now open for the season.

Cold Spring Harbor

Suzala and I took a ride to Cold Spring Harbor, one of the small towns on the north shore in Nassau County. We rode through and found a spot with some good buildings. I focused on this one that has a hair salon. 

Assorted Sketches

I do some sketches for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts and rather than posting them individually I have saved a few to post together. 

Something with wings

My palette

The continuous line sketch for my palette

A medium I don't use often - oil pastels

A breakfast item

Cedar Beach

My plein air group recently went up to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai. It is on the Long Island Sound and has some nice sandy areas like this one. 

White Roses

I spent a day with my sister, Mickey recently. We turned it into a bit of an art day and went up to The Gardens of Wycoff near her in New Jersey. We had painted in the rose garden once before and that was our destination. It seems we were a bit early and most of the rose bushes only had buds. The only exception seemed to be a few bushes with white roses.

 

Setauket Water View

Setauket is a lovely area, but parking near the water is really limited. I found a spot facing the bay, but wasn't sure it was legal so I worked from my car. This is an area that last August several stretches of the road were washed away in a storm. People were unable to get in or out of the streets there for days.

Oyster Bay

I recently went to Oyster Bay with Suzala and her husband. There was a book festival going on, so Rick was very happy to be there. We sat across from the Oyster Bay Brewing Company to sketch.

For our second sketch we headed into the park aiming to sketch the beach. It was really windy, but I sat on a concrete wall with my back to the water to sketch the view looking toward the sand. Some dark clouds started moving in just as we were finishing, so I think we timed it right.

Marina Building

With so many marinas around this area I can always find something new to sketch, especially if the doors are open to the inside area like at J D Marina in Sayville. 

North Fork Delights

I recently took a ride out on the north fork of Long Island to buy flowers for my patio. Of course I did some sketching too. White Flower in Southold caught my attention with all the lovely merchandise inside and outside the store. 

When I got hungry I stopped at the Southold Fish Market. I wanted to do a quick sketch of my sea scallop lunch but realized I had no sketchbook and no paper. Everything was out in my car. All I could find in my bag was the receipt from the lunch I bought so I turned it over and sketched on the back with the ink brush that I had in my bag. My small set of watercolors were luckily in my purse. The scallops were delicious!

Sketch Club at Starbucks

Rain changed the plans for the Patchogue Sketch Club recently. Instead of sketching outside we had to find an indoor location and ended up in Starbucks in Patchogue. We had a theme of "Trinkets." Apparently trinkets covers something small that is inexpensive. I brought along a mermaid ornament, a tiny rubber duck, a ladybug pin that I've has since childhood, and a small magnet from Santa Fe. 

I was there before the other sketchers arrived, so I sketched a man at one of the other tables. He seemed so deep into whatever was on his computer screen.

Key West Beach Cafe

I was looking for a new location to sketch the other day and drove down to one of the town beaches in Islip.  I was happy to find this "Key West" cafe setting up for the season. I think they may have music too once the season starts. They were already serving food which surprised me. I will have to go back.

Peconic River Herb Farm

On Mother's Day my friend, Suzala and I took a ride to the Peconic River Herb Farm out near Riverhead. It was crowded with people shopping for plants, trees, herb, and assorted other merchandise. It was also crowded with families (who I didn't include in my painting). They have picnic tables and covered gazebos that encourage people to picnic and linger. That day there were people on picnic blankets all over the lawn. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the beautiful day as a family. I've sketched this building previously from the other side. It is a permanent residence there.

 

Sayville Farmers Market

 The Sayville Farmers Market has reopened for the season a few Saturdays ago. I had a good parking spot facing the lavender tent, so I sat by my car and sketched from there.

Hicksville Historical Society Museum

I joined my friend, Suzala at the Hicksville Historical Society Museum which was near the Hicksville train station. It was an interesting building to paint. 

Sayville Marsh View

I made a visit to the grounds around the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville recently. It always is a tempting spot for a sketch.

Office Supplies

Our theme this night was office supplies. I had a lot of them. 

Brewport at the Sachem Library

Luckily I've found that most of the local libraries have small cafes where you can get coffee and a snack. It was a rainy day so I headed over to the Brewport Cafe at the Sachem Library, which is actually my local library. There was an interesting counter, a barista with red hair, and lots of details to include. I stayed dry, had a coffee and a crumb cake cookie. Yum!

 

The Line for Coffee

 Rain was expected but I wanted to sketch. I headed over to Fantastic Gardens in Patchogue hoping I could get a parking space facing the tables of flowers, but no such luck. I checked along the fence outside but there were no spaces there either. I did notice that there was a coffee truck with a long line, but there was no parking along the fence there. I ended up driving down the street, making a u-turn and coming back in the direction of the nursery. Ahead I saw someone pulling out of a space heading in along the fence. Perfect! I was facing the coffee line. I started with the guy in the leg brace figuring he wasn't going to leave. Then I just continued to add people until I ran out of space.

Right after I finished painting the sketch it started to pour. Everyone vanished and the coffee truck shut down. I'm glad I was able to capture it before the rain came.

Town Hall at the Patchogue Theater

Two weeks ago I attended a town hall with a few friends ad the Patchogue Theatre. Congressman Jaime Raskin held it since our two congressional representatives have not held one for their constituents. It was excellent and he is a great speaker. I wish he represented our district. I was with two other sketchers so of course we sketched a bit. I did most of this before the event started but I left a space where I could quickly sketch him in either behind the podium or next to it. Then I colored Congressman Raskin in when I got home. This is reportage sketching.  

Bellport Dock

The spring greens have taken over the foliage. 

This was painted looking up Bellport Lane from the dock.  

At the very end of the dock are a few parking spaces with a railing. There are a few benches too. I had planned to sketch the person who owned this bike, who was sitting on the bench right in front of the railing, but he took off before I could sketch him. I'm lucky I got the bike done before he left.