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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
The spring greens have taken over the foliage.
This was painted looking up Bellport Lane from the dock.
Recently the Patchogue Sketch Club was supposed to meet at the library to sketch things that fit the theme of the night. However the weather was so beautiful outside that we changed gears and went out to sketch the daffodils in bloom by the lake in Patchogue. Volunteers make sure this lovely patch is always in bloom at this time of year. It was a wise decision to go outdoors! We sketched until it started getting too dark.
I'm about a week or so behind in my posting. The pink blossoms on the trees are now pretty much all gone, so I'm glad I captured this one.
I find it hard to resist purple flowers. These were in Sayville near a closed garage door.
Recently I had a few paintings in a show with one of my art groups. They were displayed for the month of April in Port Jeff. When the show was over I drove up to pick them up. While I was in Port Jeff I sat and sketched the steps and flowers along the street. Port Jeff is very hilly so the house here was above me, but I liked this view down below.
We've had some windy weather, but I've escaped to the beach on a few sunny days. This day at Smith Point Beach the waves were a bit rough and the water was up quite high. I stayed up by the pavillion and sat on a bench to enjoy the day.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and those who have stepped in and mothered us when it was needed!
For a while I was able to find cherry trees in bloom almost everywhere. This one was up in Port Jeff on a hilly street.
At the Long Island Railroad Station in Riverhead there are a few old train cars. My favorite is the bright red one, and I've painted it before.
The sun came out and I headed down to Robert Moses Beach one day last week. Although it was sunny it was still very windy, so I sat near a building to block the wind. This dune was in my line of sight.
Recently the Patchogue Sketch Club had a costumed model.
These were 2 minute poses.
I only found one magnolia tree that I could sketch this year. It was at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum and most of the blossoms were sort of past their peak. It was pretty anyway.
Flowers have been front and center lately. These are the tulips my husband bought me for Easter.
It is hard to resist the cherry trees when they are in bloom because the time is so short. Here is another tree sighted in Sayville.
I as taking a little time out from posting my own work. Yesterday I found out the sad news that Lk Bing, who was part of the Urban Sketcher community, passed away. He was and Urban Sketcher, International workshop instructor, and painter. I really admired his work and was lucky enough to take a workshop with him at the USk Symposium in Amsterdam. The sketching community has lost a great artist and a really nice, generous man.
Here are a few photos I took during and after his workshop in Amsterdam.
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| Lk Bing doing a presketch. |
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| Lk Bing with a few of the many students he affected. |
RIP, Lk Bing! Keep your brush wet up there. Thank you for your time and the information you gave to so many students.
There is a road in Wading River that goes right along the Long Island Sound with homes tucked between the dunes. I'm not sure how often they flood, but it was nice when I was up there.
