Islip Buoys

 Riding around in Islip I found this house with a lot of lobster buoys along one of the canals. It reminded me of the houses in Maine. They were prepared with a few boats too.

Ace Hotel Lobby

After 3 sketches in the bar area I made my way back to the Ace Hotel Lobby. There were sketchers all over. I found a spot to sit in a comfy chair and a view of...you guessed it...sketchers sketching. My only problem with the lobby was that it wasn't well lit and it was hard to see the details of what I was sketching...which could be a good thing. lol 

 The staff at the hotel was really very nice. We monopolized their lobby and part of the restaurant from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon when we had our show and tell.

Ace Hotel's Bar Area

 The NYC Urban Sketchers were scheduled to meet at a fashion exhibit at FIT (the Fashion Institute of Technology) for our sketching location last week. Unfortunately when we got there we found out that we couldn't use stools, backpacks had to be hand-held, and only dry media could be used in this very DARK exhibit. We are adaptable and the organizers offered another location...the Ace Hotel. A few of the sketchers stayed to sketch standing in the dark, but my travel buddy, Suzala and I checked out the exhibit and then headed to the Ace Hotel which was a few blocks away. Many members of our group were already there working.

There was a nice hotel lobby with comfy seating, but it was fairly dark. Off to the side was the entrance to Koloman, their lovely contemporary French restaurant that was very European in feeling. I went in to scope it out and found Leslie sitting at the bar with her coffee and pastry. She was busy sketching the bar area. As long as we ordered something they were fine with us staying in the front of the bar area which had a huge window that overlooked the street. It also had a ledge all across the window which provided a good space to work. 

I started sketching Leslie, who was now joined by Elaine. The waiter took my order and before I could finish my first sketch, my coffee and this delicious croissant with jam and butter was delivered. It made such a great subject that I had to sketch that too...but quickly so I could eat the croissant! So I switched and started sketching the croissant on another page leaving space for the rest of the presentation. As soon as I had the croissant sketched, I moved back to the sketch of the sketchers because I know people, even sketchers, tend to move after a while. They were now joined by a random person not affiliated with our group, but I included him too.

Then I moved back to the food setup and added in the plates, jam, butter, and cutlery.

While I had the street view in front of me I decided to paint the building right across from us...some sort of construction was going on there with workers going in and out, but that is the fun of sketching NYC.

Our group in the bar area changed as people joined us and left us for the lobby. This photo was taken by my friend, Suzala of some of us ladies that were sketching and chatting about all kinds of things. We had a great time together!

Left to right: Me, Leslie, Shawne, Elaine and Kim.

Southdown Coffee

 After sketching at the camilla house (see yesterday's post) we decided to stop for coffee. Suzala checked with her daughter to see which coffee shop in Oyster Bay would be best for us as a sketching location. She suggested Southdown Coffee. We found a small table tucked near the window with a nice view of the counter...and sketched away.

Camellia House

 On one of the bitterly cold days recently my friend and I met at the Planting Fields Arboretum and headed over to their camellia house. I hold what I believe is one of the largest collections of camellias in the world. It is beautiful to see them when they are in bloom. They will only be in bloom for a few more weeks, so I'm glad we got over there when we did.

Tiny Sketches for the Hunt

 These were done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt recently. They are all tiny sketches.

Fast Food

Cold water, trees

An animal...a bridge

For Valentine's Day Jerry bought me a lovely bouquet of flowers. It took me a while but I finally sketched them using water-soluble colored inks and watercolors. Now they will last! 

Starbucks

 After painting and sketching at Hicks Nurseries we needed a pick-me-up and headed over to Starbucks in Plainview. For some reason there were barely any customers. Luckily there were several baristas behind the counter, so we had people to sketch while we had our coffee.

Bromeliads

Last Sunday we had heavy rain here on Long Island. My friend, Suzala and I wanted to go sketching somewhere and I suggested Hicks Nurseries in Westbury. They have a huge greenhouse with plants and assorted garden supplies. The tropical bromeliads caught my attention and I sat myself down by a table of them. The sound of the rain on the glass ceiling was so loud at times!

The staff at Hicks Nurseries kept coming over to see what we were sketching and to talk about art with us. The loved that we were there sketching...and so did the shoppers.

Here is a photo of part of my sketch and my view.

TLC Needed

One of the items on the list for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt was "barn." This one in Bellport looks like it needs a little TLC. 

Small Scavenger Hunt Sketches

These were all done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt. 

an umbrella

rocks

something that protects

Continuous Line Fun

I find doing continuous line sketches so much fun. Of course when I am done with the lines... 

I usually add some color.

The Doll

Last week our Wednesday night sketch theme was dolls. My friend, Rosanne O'Reilly belongs to a doll collectors club and they had a meeting earlier in the day. So she volunteered to bring some of her dolls for us to sketch. She brought about 8 of them, so there were a lot to choose from. A few other people brought in dolls that they had at home too. I selected this fashionable one with the name, Gene, dressed in a beautiful outfit.

Collages

Back in January I had taken part in an online collage workshop. The instructor was great, and I've tried to keep the supplies out and available so that I can continue collaging for a while. Cat demonstrated a variety of techniques to make and paint our collage papers. We used bubbles, stencils, marbles, cling wrap, and all kinds of items to make marks. These 3 x 3 collages were done with a limited palette of primary red, primary yellow, black, and white to keep them cohesive. I did 12 small collages and then two larger ones (5 x 5) with that same color scheme.

I think the smaller ones were easier to do than the larger ones.

Next I switched to a palette of primary blue, primary yellow, black, and white. So far I've only finished two 4 x 4 collages with those colors. I plan on doing more with this color palette and then maybe try a neutral palette and some black and whites. 

 

Snowman

After it snowed the other day I was driving through Sayville and had to stop and sketch this snowman. The house behind it still had a few Christmas decorations on the lawn and fence, but I used artistic license and left those items out. 

Cyclamen Plant

For Valentine's Day Jerry bought me a bouquet of flowers and a cyclamen plant. The plant was wrapped in paper with Valentine hearts all over it. I did get to draw the cyclamen plant, but haven't done the bouquet yet.

Snowy View

 We recently had about 4 inches of snow. Although it is an inconvenience it definitely improves the wintry look of things. This was painted in Brookhaven.

Industry City, Brooklyn

 Last Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at Industry City, Building 2 in Brooklyn. This is a revitalized area of a number of industrial buildings that have been converted into retail spaces, restaurants, galleries, etc. This truck apparently is used in nicer weather as a food/drink truck.

This is the view looking down part of the length of the building I sketched in. There was an Italian, a Korean, a Mexican, an avocado themed, and assorted other eateries just in this building. I got a shrimp burrito from the Mexican place and it was delicious.

In the other direction was the Burger Joint, which was very popular. I started the sketch on sight with the lines and some color, but ran out of time before show-and-tell to finish it. The additional color was added at home.

Our sketch group has become very large. The last two locations we had 40+ sketchers join us. Here is most of the group that was left at the end of the day.

Winter Foliage

 Right now the trees are mostly bare...with a few brown or rust-colored leaves. Luckily the grasses have nice variations of yellows, ochres and browns. This was painted last week in Brookhaven before the snow fell.

Captree Island View

The sky was filled with wonderful clouds the other day so I stopped at Captree Island instead of driving over to the beach. The view across to the mainland was great! 

Valentine Items

 Our theme last week for the Patchogue Sketch Club was Valentine or love related. I collected an assortment of Valentine items for a still life.

Blue Point Brewing

Blue Point Brewery is a local beer company. They have a big following out here and about 8 years ago moved into larger quarters. They now have a large room and an outside area where they have events and parties. I haven't been inside but I do like the industrial look of the tanks outside. It was fun to sketch them.

Antique Store

 I've passed this antique store in Oakdale many, many times and have always thought about sketching it. The problem is it is in a strip mall, and there is never a good spot to sit and sketch it. When I passed the other day there were a few parking spaces across from the store so I backed my car in so that I was facing it. It was too cold to sit outside but using my "mobile studio" worked well. I was surprised at the amount of traffic that went through that door while I was there. Of course before I finished someone came out and moved things around and took a few items into the store.

Italian Pastry

I needed to sketch a treat for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt, so I checked out the bakery department inside an Italian market. This Napoleon looked so tempting, so I bought one and a few almond biscotti. I wasn't impressed with the Napoleon, but the biscotti were definitely delicious!

 

Chelsea Market

 Chelsea Market was the location for the NYC Urban Sketchers this past weekend. It is housed in the old Nabisco Factory on 15th St and 9th Ave. It is filled with restaurants, food stalls, shops, businesses, and lots of locals and tourists. You can meander the two floors for a long time debating on "the best" spot for sketching. They graciously provide quite a lot of tables and chairs which makes it even more convenient for us. I started downstairs across from Alf Bakery where there were quite a few sketchers already busy at work. As you can see there were Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling since it was still Chinese New Year. 

After searching for a great lunch location I ended up by Pearl River Mart, a store selling Oriental merchandise. In the area outside the shop there must have been at least a dozen sketchers lined up sketching the view, mainly due to the wonderful dragon there. We sat and sketched and chatted from there for the rest of the afternoon.

Here is my friend, Mel Barranco sketching next to me.

Our show and tell was held downstairs where I had been sketching in the morning. We had about 35 sketchers participate and show their sketches. It was a great day!

Train Ride

 One of the best things about taking the train into the city instead of driving is being able to sketch on the train. It ride is a bit jerky so I usually sketch lightly in pencil before adding watercolor and ink. Sometimes I get a clear view of a passenger, but on Saturday I got legs and hands all around! 

This sketch and photo will give you an indication of how I sketch on the train.

Leading to the Bay

 Here on Long Island we have many streets that end with wide views to the bay. This was in Sayville.

Packaged Goods

 On Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club's theme for the night was packaged goods...boxes, containers, bags, jars, etc. Here are a few things I sketched.

Roadwork in Bellport

 As I was driving through Bellport the other day I noticed they were doing some kind of roadwork on Main Street. I passed the guy holding the "slow" sign and turned my car around until I was parked behind him. He seemed a little more interested in something in the car that he was snacking on rather than the traffic (which is very slow in Bellport at this time of year).

Meadow Croft Estate

 Meadow Croft Estate in Sayville is a good place for sketching. The house and barn (pictured here) are interesting buildings. I caught it when there was still a little snow on the ground.

Corey Beach

With our cold, windy days I've been looking for locations where I can part and sketch from my "mobile studio." At this time of year you can park along the street by Corey Beach in Bayport and get a view like this one. The covered pavilion and the life guard's shack are a good backdrop to the shrubs and beach grasses. 

The Met Cloisters - Part 2

 The arches and fancy decoration were a lot to capture. I liked this view looking through the arches to other arches in the midground and then the background. I did use ballpoint pen to make the lines stand out a little...nobody from the Cloisters noticed.

I finished the above sketch with some time to spare before we were doing our show and tell, so I found a ceiling area that had potential. This was done in a gray toned Strathmore sketchbook and I added a bit of white colored pencil for highlights.