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.
These were done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt recently. They are all tiny sketches.
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| Fast Food |
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| Cold water, trees |
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| An animal...a bridge |
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.
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.
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.
These were all done for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt.
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| an umbrella |
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| rocks |
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| something that protects |
I find doing continuous line sketches so much fun. Of course when I am done with the lines...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Here on Long Island we have many streets that end with wide views to the bay. This was in Sayville.
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.
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 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.
