Brooklyn's Best Baking Company

 I drove up to St James on Saturday for a craft fair...it wasn't great. Luckily I happened to see a post the other day about a new bakery/coffee shop that recently opened up there so I took the address with me to check it out and see if it had sketching potential. Brooklyn's Best Baking Company at 420 Lake Ave, St. James was a delight! The display cases included bite-sized portions of cheesecakes in about 6 different varieties, cookies, scones, carrot cake, brownies, cupcakes, etc. It was so hard to choose! I had a coffee and a piece of carrot cake which was the first thing I sketched on my page (after I had a bite because I couldn't wait). They have a small area with tables for seating. My thanks to the friendly staff that didn't question why I was there for so long. I couldn't leave before buying something else to have after dinner tonight. FYI they do make larger sizes if you are interested. I think it is a good thing that they aren't closer to where I live.

I'm trying to do some of the USk December 2025 Prompts and this fit the list as a "coffee Shop."

My Library

 I started off the month with good intentions of following the USk sketch prompts, but have been sidetracked by other things and haven't done the sketch for each day. I did the library prompt. This is the exterior view of the Sachem Public Library here in Holbrook, my town library. The actual entrance is around the back, but I thought this view was interesting and I was able to sit in my mobile studio across the street in the parking lot of the school...much too convenient to pass up. Hopefully I will get to a few more of the items on the list.

Here are the December prompts just in case you are interested.

Sketches for Creative Spark

 These sketches were all done for a recent Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt.

Bottles

Footware

A cartoon character

Procreate Sketches While Waiting

 I've had my new car for almost a year now. It needed to be inspected in December and also needed an oil change. I figured if I waited for the first week of December I could take care of both at the same time. I made an appointment at Sunrise Toyota in Oakdale. I joined quite a few people that were waiting for their cars in the service area. Planning ahead was a good idea since I got to do a few sketches on my iPad while I waited.

The bottom two sketches were done as continuous line sketches. 

Decorated for the Holidays

 This shop is on Bellport Lane in Bellport. I think it is a pet store, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find a name. I do know that in the summer they usually have a bowl of water out for the dogs in town. 

Blueberry Cheesecake

My husband has a thing for desserts with blueberries...pie, cheesecake...you name it. 

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine - Part 3

 A musical rehearsal was scheduled for 2:00 so I headed back into the main part of the cathedral. There were a number of people setting up and doing sound and lighting checks, but no performers ready to rehearse. That was disappointing because hearing music in there is heavenly. I sketched until our meeting time for show and tell at 3:00 focusing on the piano and the area around the main altar. Due to limited time I didn't finish all of the color on site. I made sure to do the ink lines and was able to do a little of the color, but the rest was completed at home.

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine - Part 2

 Along the sides and the back of the main altar the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine has numerous rooms and chapels. One room contains items "from the crypt" which were moved from the church basement. There were chalices and bowls, but what I loved was this wooden statue of Archangel Michael dressed in a suit of armor. It is really beautiful and larger than life. I used mostly a few watercolor pencils, ink and a white Posca marker for the highlights.

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine - Part 1

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on Amsterdam Ave and 112th Street in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. We've sketched there a few times. It is VAST and really a beautiful place. It is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and construction was started in 1892, but the building is unfinished with only two-thirds of it completed due to style changes, work interruptions, and unstable ground on the site. It is often used for events and art exhibitions.

For my first sketch I focused on the stained glass window over the entrance to the cathedral. I had just finished my sketch when a woman on the staff came over and told us we couldn't use watercolors. That was a surprise to many of us because we have used them there in the past. I put my watercolors away for the moment, but planned on using them in one of the back chapels.

Marsh View at Timber Point

I took a ride to Timber Point in Great River the other day. There is a catering hall and a golf club, but I found if you keep driving there is a small marina "for members only." Nobody was there so I sat in my mobile studio sketching the bay and the marina across the way. The sky had some great clouds.

Mini Pies

We went to my sister-in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Karen likes to prepare most of the meal herself, but asked me to bring a pie (pecan if possible). Since there were only going to be four of us for dinner I know we always have too much left over. She was already making a pumpkin pie so I made a small pecan pie in a pyrex dish and a mini blueberry pie in a small springform pan because that is Jerry's favorite. In fact I made a second mini blueberry for him to have at home. The mini pies worked well...just enough for dinner and one slice of pecan to bring home.

 

Printing Again

 The Patchogue Sketch Club usually doesn't meet on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving since so many members are busy or traveling right before the holiday. But this year Mark scheduled us for a print making session at MoCA in Patchogue. Only 4 of us were there but that gave each of us an oppertunity to have easier access to the printer and the supplies.

I had created an additonal rubber plate to use. We were working on Christmas scenes or cards. I liked the way the new plate was coming out, but I made a mistake with my initials and they now print backwards. I am going to see if I can add something to the bottom of the sketch that can mesh with the initials and cover my mistake. 

I also did a few prints with the ornament I already had. I was able to work in two colors on that one. Here are some of the pages I printed.

Color in Bellport

My ride to Bellport was very productive when I saw this colorful view on Bellport Lane.