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! 

Terry Street Gazebo

I did the Terry Street Gazebo a little differently. I used Caran d'Ache Neocolors. I've had them for a long time but have never really used them...so this was a bit of an experiment. Although they are "water soluble" they don't blend completely and leave texture. I guess that can be a good thing.  

"The Chain" in Rotary Park

 Last Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club at Rotary Park. They are a Fleetwood Mac tribute band and were pretty good. I was happy that I had time to sketch each of the members of the group and a few audience members too.

Continuous Line Sketches

My sketches for the Creative Spark's scavenger hunts sometimes includes continuous line sketching. Here are a few of them that I've completed recently. 

"Clutter" on my table.

"keys"

"egg beater, watering can, rock, fork, art supply"

Bottles

On one o the recent Creative Spark scavenger hunts one of the objects was a bottle. I had a six pack of Stella Artois bottles from the holiday sitting around. Instead of just sketching one bottle I did them all. If you notice, two of them hadn't been opened at the time.

Jazz NYC 55 & Anniversary #28

While we were in the West Village we grabbed lunch to go and went to Washington Square Park. We were meeting several other sketchers in the park. There was a lot going on. As we were finishing lunch I realized there was a group a little further into the park playing music. I checked it out and there were 4 jazz musicians playing...and they were good. I found a spot on a nearby bench and several of the other sketcher we met up with all joined in to sketch the group. I had no idea how long they would remain so I started with the bass player on the right. I sketched him and then the sax player. I added color to them and then moved on to the guitar player, leaving a space for the drummer who was walking around taking up a collection of tips. When he came back I squeezed him into the last space. I find that the drummers in most groups are the hardest to sketch because they are usually in the back and often blocked by the other musicians. Our friend, Mel, always talks to the musicians he sketches so he found out the group's name. They were still playing when we left around 4:30. I hope the tips were good!

Today is our 28th Anniversary! How time flies. Here is a photo from our first wedding day taken by the nurses at the nursing home where my mom was a patient. We had our first wedding ceremony (very impromptu...notice our fancy clothes) at her bedside the day before she passed away.  When the nurses found out about the ceremony they brought us a cake to celebrate. Two other ceremonies were also held later, but that is another story.

 

Village Cigars

 My friend and I went to the West Village last Saturday. Village Cigars is an iconic building which has been on Christoper Street for nearly 100 years, but has recently closed. The building is part of Greenwich Village Historic Dicstrict and has some protections. The interior of the building is being converted into a coffee shop, and I hope they are planning on keeping the outside as is.

Ferry Loading

I went over near the ferry terminals in Sayville and sat across the creek from where they depart. The South Bay Clipper was boarding passengers to make the trip across the bay to the Fire Island communities. I've only taken the ferry to Fire Island once, but it was a fun trip. These riders look like they are ready for a great day! 

Lobster for the 4th

 Our family has a tradition of having lobster to eat on the 4th of July. It is my mom's birthday. After my parents moved to Maine to live with my sister, we often went up to Maine to celebrate. Most often we bought lobsters and had a big feast. It was a good time for out of town family members to get together for a happy occasion. After she passed away the family gatherings in Maine tapered off, but most of my siblings and I still try to continue the tradition. This is one of our critters. The Maine celebrations also usually included a patriotic cake (decorated like an American flag) with strawberries and blueberries. 

Vanderbilt Museum

 Last week, on a rather hot day, my friend, Suzala and I took a trip to the Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion, and Planetarium in Centerport. It was my first visit there, and I hope not my last. It was the summer estate of William K. Vanderbilt and is called Eagle's Nest. The buildings are Spanish in style.

I started sketching this view of part of the mansion and along came a photographer and a wedding party for their wedding photos. We were asked to leave for a bit while that happened, and about an hour later we returned to finish our sketches.

When we were asked to relocate for a while, we went around the other side of the mansion, sat in the shade on the hillside, and sketched a different view of part of the building.

We didn't have the time (or the stamina) to see the entire property, so we are planning to go back when the weather isn't as hot.

 

At the Grange

Last week the Patchogue Sketch Club went to The Grange in Sayville. I've sketched there so many times and I'm always looking for something a little different to sketch. Luckily Mariann was sitting across from me sketching the scene behind me. I started with her and then included the scene behind her.

Lavender By The Bay

 Every summer my plein air group waits to hear that the lavender at Lavender By the Bay is in bloom. They have two locations...one in Calverton and one in East Marion. I like the one in East Marion better, but the one in Calverton is a lot closer so we've been going there. I did one 8 x 10 painting directly in watercolor.

Below is my setup with the finished painting.

I decided to do another smaller (4 x 6) directly in watercolor and it was done in about 15 minutes. I like the looseness to this one and the white spots that I was able to save.

House on Greene Avenue

 There are a number of charming houses with beautiful gardens on Greene Avenue. This was done in direct watercolor.

Hydro Peppers

Last weekend I went to the Islip Farmers Market. The weather wasn't the best so I parked and sat in my mobile studio to sketch. I was behind the stall for Hydro Peppers. People kept stopping by the booth and I had to know what he was selling. When I finished the sketch I walked over to the booth to check things out. He was selling hot sauce and pepper jelly. I asked how hot it was and after being warned that it was hotter than what I was used to, I sampled the hot sauce. Yikes!!! It was so hot! As much as I enjoy hot sauce it was too hot for my taste, but if you like your hot sauce very hot...this is for you! 

Fountain

 I haven't found too many homes in the area that have fountains, but this one in Sayville is one of my favorites. One of the items on the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt recently.

Another item on the Scavenger Hunt list was an anchor. This one is outside by Shellfish Marine Inc down by the West Sayville dock.

Acrylic Presentation

Last Wednesday the sketch group was invited to a presentation by our local ambassador for Holbein and Legion Paper. He visited recently and did presentations on watercolor (which I attended) and more recently on oil paints (which I did not attend).

Jim brought along samples of their acrylic paints, an irridescent medium, several of their papers including black, gessos, and other interesting materials for us to try. At the end of the presentation he gave out the materials he brought along.

I did this little scene on yupo paper with acrylic paints. I beieve the blue was a matte acrylic. I liked how the acrylics adhere to the yupo. When I've painted with watercolors on yupo the paint floats and takes a very long time to dry.

I tried the irridescent medium mixed with the acrylic paints on the black paper.

The acrylic paints blended better than I expected on the paper we had.

It is always fun to experiment with new materials...without having to buy them.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! 

The Farm on Lakeland is located on Lakeland Avenue in Sayville. The have a large assortment of plants and vegetables for sale. I always buy corn and tomatoes there when they are at their peak. I often sketch The Farm from the side around the corner so that I don't take up one of the parking spaces in front since there aren't too many of them. This was done in direct watercolor for the 30 x 30 challenge.

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Off to the City

Recently I went into NYC to join the NYC Urban Sketchers for the day. I took the train into Penn Station and had a nice spot to sketch these ladies on the train ride in.

We met at The Vessel, a very unique structure that you can climb. I didn't. Sketching it was complicated enough. This is the second time I've sketched it. You can see my other sketch of it here. I believe it is the 3rd sketch in that post.

The Vessel is right by The Highline, a wonderful elevated walkway/park that residents and visitors enjoy.

The sketchers had visited the Highline a while ago to sketch the giant pigeon. I wasn't able to go to that event, but the pigeon is still in residence so I got my chance. He is super big!

Refreshing

During the really hot days that we had last week, watermelon sure was refreshing. 

This was done for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge...and then eaten almost immediately.

 

Misty Morning

This was painted on one of those foggy, misty mornings down by the bay in Bayport. It was done directly with watercolor for the challenge.