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.

View at the Bay

 I painted this at the Islip Beach. The view looks out toward Fire Island in the distance.

Line Sketch

 I did a line sketch near the Long Island Railroad station to include a few items for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt. I was able to include a structure, a sign, a vehicle, and trees and plants.

Lenape Day Celebration - Part 2

 The celebration continued upstairs in the rotunda with music, songs, and dances. The Red Blanket Singers and Dancers performed as a narrator explained about the music and the dances. The costumes were beautiful and the dancer ranged in age from 9 years to adult. They were really good! I was able to capture a few of the performers as well as the narrator on the left side of the page.

After seeing two performances we headed over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the NYC Urban Sketchers were spending the day. Rather than sketch there Suzala, her husband and I stopped to see a few special exhibits. One was an exhibit of the work of Emily Sargent, the sister of John Singer Sargent. The other exhibit was of Man Ray's work. We were finished just in time to join the other sketchers for show and tell.

Lenape Celebration Day - Part 1

 On Saturday I joined two friends, Suzala and Patricia at the Museum of the City of New York where they were having a Lenape Celebration Day, honoring the culture and history of the Lenape Indians who were the first residents of the New York area. 

The day began with a welcome by a Lenape member who opened with music from his flute. He told a little about the Lenape history and what the day would be like. 

Denise Dunkley led a group in a craft activity. Materials were supplied for children and adults to create corn husk dolls. She demonstrated the steps to be followed. We were in a crowded room. Suzala and Patricia decided to create corn husk dolls, but I decided to sketch the two of them being creative. Denise did her demo a few times as people finished and new people entered. She explained that these dolls were actually first made by the Native Americans, the Lenape, who lived here. Most people assume they were first created by the slaves but that isn't true.

Christmas Cactus

 I bought a Christmas cactus at the Bayport Flower House when I was there recently. It has started blooming with these beautiful fuschia blossoms. I sketched it with my colored ink pens. I may have to do an updated version becuse there are so many more blossoms on it already.

St Ann's Church

 St Ann's Episcopal Church in Sayville is lovely. I sat across the street to sketch it head-on. They will be having their Christmas tree sale soon which is a very popular event. The trees usually sell out in a day or two. I did sketch the event in the past. Maybe I'll get a chance to sketch it again this year.

Idle Hour in Oakdale.

 Idle Hour is a former Vanderbilt estate that is located in Oakdale. Part of it is in use by Dowling College. and part of it (stables, barns, etc) were developed into small houses. Apparently for a while it was used as an artist's colony. Today the houses are rather exclusive and parking in the area is restricted to residents only, but I've found one small street where it is possible to park for a while and sketch.

Sayville Water View

 I am lucky to live in an area with such great views of the water. This was painted at a marina in Sayville.

Printing Session #1

Now that the Patchogue Sketch Club is back working inside, we have started doing some printing again. Last week we picked up the supplies we needed and some of us worked on carving a plate for printing. We met at the gallery at MoCA to do our work. Those of us (like myself) who had already carved a plate used the printing press first. I did an ornament hanging on a tree and a word (which was the hardest because yo have to work on a mirror image when you are cutting.

We had different plates than we used last year, and the rubber was harder to cut into. I was pretty happy with the way mine came out. If I find the time I'm going to try it again at home with the supplies I bought last year.

Most of the other sketchers were able to print their plate at least once. It is always exciting to see the paper pulled off and what it looks like.

Maureen inking her plate.

Maureen gets a print.

Janet inking her plate.

Pat with her print.

Teresa did a few plates.

Tian's poinsettia plate.

Liz in action.

We will continue printing next week.

Autumn Colors by the Bay

My autumn color quest took me down by the bay in Blue Point the other day. Fire Island is peeking out across the water.

 

Autumn Path

 It is hard not to stop and capture the autumn colors when I see them. Here's another local scene.

Autumn Colors

 I'm still chasing the bits of autumn color that perk up the landscapes.

Sketchers at Work

 We had about 25 sketchers join us at The Forum on Saturday. As you can see from my sketch, it is a roomy area for meeting, and due to the huge windows I was easily able to sketch the view outside on 125th Street. I had some very cooperative models for this sketch.

View from The Forum at Columbia University

 The NYC Urban Sketchers met at The Forum at Columbia University. Located at 125th Street and Broadway, The Forum is a unique community gathering space with an open atrium look with plenty of seating, tech tables for charging devices and is an ideal gathering spot. The space has huge windows making it easy to sketch the surrounding area. Right outside is the trestle for the #1 elevated train which I sketched here.

Traveling to the City

 Saturday I planned to join the NYC Urban Sketchers at a location at The Forum at Columbia University in Harlem. My usual sketching partners from Long Island weren't going so I took the Long Island Railroad from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station, a ride that was about 1hr 30 min. The good part about taking the train is that I usually have time to complete a sketch on the way there.

Ronkonkoma is the first stop so I make sure to find a spot to sit where I am pretty sure I will have a good view of a few models. A lot of the people who board the train (at 8:07 AM) pick up breakfast for the ride in. Most of the passengers ride all the way to the city, so I had a lot of time to work on the sketch. A family got on and were seated across the aisle from me and facing me. There were a mom & dad and two daughters. The mom had the window seat that wasn't visible to me, but I did manage to sketch the two children and the dad. 

I was finished before the train arrived at Penn Station. 

Now I was ready for the subway ride up to 125th Street.

Exhibit at the Maritime Museum

 On Friday the Long Island Maritime Museum had their reception for the artwork that was created for the auction & fundraiser for the repairs to the Pricilla, a historic oyster schooner being worked on there. Each artist selected a slice of the original mast of the Pricilla which was being replaced. Mine is on the bottom...a painting of the dock at the Maritime Museum itself. I painted it with acrylics. In all there were over 100 pieces of art created. Each can either be bid on or there is a "buy it now" price.

I've participated in the auctions/sales previously at the Long Island Maritime Museum. It is nice to know that the money being raised was for the repairs to the Priscilla. At the reception someone asked how much it actually cost to do all the repairs to the ship, and we were told the final price was $395,000. She also had the deck as well as some of the siding replaced. 

I enjoyed seeing the clever ways some of the artists painted their pieces of the mast. Most were nautical in some way, but not all of them. I hope it is a successful auction.

You can see all the artwork and bid on any pieces here.

Sunken Meadow Fall Colors

I'm still trying to capture the autumn colors before the leaves all fall off the trees. This was painted at Sunken Meadow State Park on the north shore of Long Island.

 

Quick Sketches for the Hunts

 I've done a few sketches for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts.

This was a continuous line sketch, with watercolor added later.

The most recent hunt includes a pair of something...Sharpie markers in this case.

A trio of brushes...done directly in watercolors.

Autumn Still Life

 Our theme for the Patchogue Sketch Club last week was Thanksgiving. Pat brought in a fun jug and some dried Indian corn.

Local Autumn Colors

This view in Sayville had a bit of all kinds of colors on the trees, the ground, and the wall. 

Blazing Red

 I finally found a blazing red group of trees! Yay!! Found in Sayville.

Roosters

 I must say that birds are NOT cooperative models. They are in constant motion. This was sketched at the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank.