Dahlias

 My plein air group usually goes to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum to paint a few times each year. We headed back on the property to the dahlia garden for some beautiful flowers.

Pondering Chlorine Levels

 Unfortunately our development has had some problems with the chlorine levels in our pool. This particular day the lifeguard was sitting checking the levels (again!). I was under a shady umbrella and since my Apple pencil was charged I figured I should sketch something with my Procreate app.

Schneider's Farm

 My friend, Suzala and I went sketching at @schneidersfarmmelville. It is a small place without much shade, but they were welcoming and we made it work. This was sketched from a little bit of shade behind the farm stand. My thanks to the Schneider staff for being so nice.

Main Street Sayville

 From my experience I've learned that the best way to sketch a street in a town is to do it from my mobile studio. I sit in the driver's seat which sort of gives me a view like I was out in the street sketching. In this scene I was able to see both sides of the street and the vehicle coming and going. This sketch was done in Sayville.

Toyota Service

 I made a trip to Toyota recently to have my car checked and sat in the service area for a while.

This young lady seemed like a good model. I had my iPad with me and used the Procreate program.

Colored Ink Drawings

These were done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt going on. 

Something related to coffee

Something hand-held

Something that snaps

Last Days

 Sunflowers are interesting even when they are well past their prime. These were starting to curl and droop so I figured I should sketch them before I tossed them. I think they still have a bit of elegance to them.

S

Side Garden

I think I will eventually run out of houses in Sayville to sketch and paint, but it hasn't happened yet. This one is down near the beach and caught my eye. 

Procreate at the Pool

I haven't done too much sketching at the pool this summer because I've been too busy kicking for exercise. I had my iPad with me the other day and rather than read when I got out of the pool I decided to sketch since there were people close enough to me to use as models. The problem with sketching on the iPad at the pool is there is a definite glare and it is hard to see what I'm actually creating on the screen. When I get home I always see the areas I should have improved before exporting the sketch from the program. 

Swing on the Side

 Last Sunday I rode out to the Peconic Herb Farm out in Calverton. I like the small buildings on the property. I sketched the Tool Shed from the other side and the swing was visible this way. There were several people that sat there while I was sketching.

Smith Point Beach View

 I sat up above the beach at Smith Point to sketch the dunes and the people on the sand last week.

West Sayville Dock

 I haven't sketch at the West Sayville Dock recently, but when I stopped by I remembered how there is always something to sketch there.

The Park in the Rain

Last Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club had Rotary Park in Sayville as our location for the evening. The Lazy Bunny Ukulele Band was playing. We saw them last year and sketched them. Since I had sketched the whole band the last time I decided to sketch the crowd instead. As soon as I pulled out my sketchbook a very light drizzle started falling and some of my ink lines immediately started to bleed. You can see that in the 3 people that were in front of my. I didn't care. I was going to sketch. Most of the ink lines ended up being OK, but as I started to add watercolor the drizzle got heavier. It gave a bit of a watery look to the foliage and the grass. I know two of the other sketchers did some sketching too, but I think they stopped before it got so wet. I sort of like the effect. By the way, the band was fun!

 

Boat Rental

My plein air group, PALS made it's annual visit to Silly Lily's Fishing Station recently. I liked the fun boat rental shack, although it wasn't open.

 

Seating on the Porch

 This was painted in Yaphank at the Hawkins House. I painted there once before but on the other side of the porch. The two sides are very similar. I used watercolor pencils for the texture of the wicker.

View to the Marina

 We have a lot of canals and marinas locally. This was across the water in Patchogue.

Sayville Farmers Market

I stopped by the Sayville Farmers Market last Saturday. I sketched a view of this vendor with her bread products from the back. The view from the back seems to work well there. She sold out by the time the market closed. 

House and Flowers

 Direct watercolor done in Sayville near the Sayville Maritime Museum.

Pool Sketch

 I finally pulled out my regular sketchbook and did a sketch by the pool directly in ink.

East Moriches Sunflower Field

 My plein air group, PALS, visits this wonderful sunflower field in East Moriches every year. The owner of the field has his workers come and plant sunflowers every year for the community to enjoy. He has the field fenced in so the deer don't get inside and last year started leaving buckets with sunflower bouquets for the public to take for free. I guess that keeps the public from wandering in and cutting the flowers at random. Each year I try to find a different perspective to use for my painting.

Lindenhurst Street Corner

We decided to do another sketch while we were in Lindenhurst. We found a good, shady spot to sit that looked down W Hoffmann Street with the Long Island Railroad Station in the distance. Of course I loved the wires, signs, fire escape, and street light too.

 

Great South Bay Brewery

My friends and I are always looking for new spots to sketch. Suzala suggested Lindenhurst, a town I really haven't explored. We met up by the train station and then went in one car to scope out the location. There was a nice main street with a lot of stores and restaurants. We found a tiny bit of shade and painted the Great South Bay Brewery. We stopped inside later and discovered it had been a bank at one time. I could see that in the architecture with the big, arched windows.

Sayville Summerfest

On Saturday Sayville was having a Summerfest complete with vendors, food, games, a carnival, a petting zoo, and assorted entertainment. It was crowded so I couldn't sit and sketch in the middle of everything. I found a safe, quiet spot behind some food trucks where I had a view of a few things including the ferris wheel at the carnival. Luckily I had my Posca markers in my bag. They added nice brights to the cars on the ferris wheel.

 

Sunday Coffee

 Coffee shops are great places for sketching...and even better if they have an outdoor seating area with umbrellas. The Sayville Bean Coffee House looked good as people were sitting outside having their Sunday morning coffee. There's usually someone sitting in an unusual position like the lady with the tattoos on her leg and thigh.

Boatyard Office

 I hadn't been to Week's Boatyard in what seemed like a long while. Instead of sketching boats I focused on their office and the welcoming open door. There is usually something fun to sketch there.

Heading to the City

 I was in Sayville the other morning heading to the Farm on Lakeland. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a crowd of people on the platform of the Sayville Long Island Railroad station. I immediately pulled into the parking lot and looked for a space with a view so I could capture all the people heading back into NYC after spending their time on Fire Island. My timing was great. I had just about finished the people when the train heading West to the city rolled in. Then I concentrated on everything else in the sketch.

Behind the Fence

 The Patchogue Sketch Club met at the Sayville Maritime Museum grounds. The day had been really hot, about 96 degrees, but by the time we met it was a bit cooler and there was a nice breeze by the water. I sketched the buildings at the gate of the grounds.

Sketches

 These are a few sketches done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts recently. 

Continuous line with Neocolors and a Sketch & Wash pencil added.

Done with a Sketch & Wash pencil.

Ink with Neocolors.

Neocolors

Procreate at the Pool

 I haven't done much sketching at the pool this summer. I'm in the water almost all the time, or there are no people close by to sketch. This guy sat at the edge of the pool for a really long time. Of course once I started sketching him he moved with his daughters. I did did have him sketched, but needed to add the color to him from memory. 

Purple Dahlias

 Last week my plein air group, PALS, met at the dahlia garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. There were dahlias of assorted colors like these purple ones.

Flowers and Chairs

A lot of the homes in Sayville have such welcoming porches with chairs and great landscaping. Sometimes I feel like a peeping Tom. lol 

Rocky Waterfall

Brookwood Hall and Park in Islip was the meeting point for the Patchogue Sketch Club last week. There is a lake, a ball field, a garden, and Wednesday night there was also a concert. We hadn't sketched there before so there was no set location in the park to meet. I wandered around and found a serenity garden which had a rocky waterfall. It was peaceful and surprisingly enough a few other sketchers found me. It was fun to play with the rocks and foliage.

 

Boatbuilding at the Maritime Museum

On the grounds of the Sayville Maritime Museum is the Frank F Penney Boat Builder building. It is a nice contrast against the land and waterscapes of the area.

NYC Urban Sketchers Summer Event

Once upon a time the NYC Urban Sketchers had holiday parties, but the group got so large that we couldn't find an indoor location to host the event. Instead we have switched to a summer event that is held at the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing. The event includes raffles, sales, a garage sale, and assorted fun activities...and a wonderful chocolate and a wonderful vanilla cake. 

My friends and I decided to go outside the gates of the QBG and take to the streets for a while. It was a very hot day so finding shade was a must. We sat along the fence in the shade and had a great view of the restaurants that were across the street. Of course they were occasionally obscured by trucks and buses, but sketching was still possible.

There was a sketchwalk led by Mel Barranco which I missed while I was outside the garden.

I reentered the QBG and went inside the building where we were holding the indoor parts of the event. I had some raffle tickets to put into the cups for prizes. I cooled off a bit and then walked over to the storytelling/sketching event being led by Karen DiMauro. We sat pretty much in a half-circle while Karen told some fables. We were told to sketch whatever we wanted but my plan was to sketch the event itself.

This was my sketch of Karen and her audience.

The day ended with raffles, prizes, old friends, new friends, and a great feeling to be with people who have the same interest that I have. Let's do it again!

 

Bush Farm Sunflowers

My final painting for the plein air event was done at Bush Farm in Brookhaven on Saturday. I was attracted to the buildings with a small area of sunflowers. 

Sailing Class

  Several times a week there is a sailing class for kids in Bellport. All the kids show up and start getting their small sailboats ready to go out for a lesson. I was there early so that I sketch out the scene before they moved off. I also took a few photos to use as references. While they were out on the water and out of sight I worked on the sky and the surrounding objects in the area. This was done during the SBAA plein air event.

Main Street Bellport

 I am participating in a plein air paint out sponsored by the South Bay Art Organization. Artists can paint in Bellport, Brookhaven, or East Patchogue. Then each artist selects one of their paintings to be on display and for sale at Bellport Day which is this Saturday. Since most of the people who come to the festival are actually residents of Bellport, or people who are there for the summer I tried to do scenes that will connect with them like this one of Main Street. I got a lot of positive feedback from people walking around the town on Friday.

You can see a bit of how it began here.

Sunday Coffee

 I was in Sayville last Sunday and liked the view of the outside of the Sayville Bean Coffee House. It looked like a nice spot to grab a cuppa on a Sunday morning.

Garden and House

 There is a small marina in Sayville along Brown's Creek. I sat there but wasn't looking toward the creek and the water. There is a lovely garden in the circle at the entrance and views of a few houses behind it. I still had the Caran d'Ache Neocolors in my bag and gave them another try for this scene.

Commission

Shhhh...I don't know if the person that this was created for received it yet or not. I did a commission for a friend (who is standing in the back of the Bronco). She asked me if I could combine several references from the gay pride parade and do a sketch with her standing in the back and her wife and her friend who owns the Bronco inside. It is a thank you gift to him for driving them. We also decided to change the location to include this restaurant that the driver owns. I have to say it was a challenge to get all this information in a 5 x 7 sketch...but I did it!