Inktober Day 11

 The prompt for these Inktober sketches was to "use a big fat brush." I used a flat brush that was bigger than I usually use. These were done on a trip to Young's Farm in Brookville with my friend, Suzala. She wanted to sketch the sunflowers that were still in bloom there. I worked with Lexington Gray Ink.

#inktober #inktober2026

Since we were sitting by sunflowers I had to do a few small sketches in color too.

Before we left we moved down by the sales barn and sketched the field of flowers there.

Inktober Day 10

 I've been able to keep up with the prompt from Koosje Koene so far. The prompt for day 10 was "draw with sticks and twigs." I have a small collection of twigs to use, a stirrer from my coffee this morning and a small bottle of Noodler's Lexington Grey Ink and I was set. I stopped at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River and sketched one of the paths down near the water. It is definitely a loose way of sketching. It is hard to control the amount of ink the twig releases.

Sketching at Toyota

My car needed an oil change and I had received a notice for a recall on something that I didn't need to understand. I knew I would be there for close to 2 hours, so I went prepared with sketching materials.

I needed a sketch for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt. This fit for "a machine" and also "stacked." I had my brush pen with me so that is what I used.

There was a gentleman sitting almost in front of me...just a back view and a mostly bald head...a perfect model. I'm glad I painted him when I did because he was gone before me. This is tiny...about 3 x 4 maybe.

 

I hadn't done any sketches in Procreate in a while so this seemed like a good time to sketch on my iPad. This gent was also sitting across from me. He had on some decorative pants for sure.

There was also a couple nearby. I sketched them with Procreate on what I thought was the closest ink line to a brush pen.

I think I made the best use of the time I had there.

Flowers

This week the Patchogue Sketch Club was indoors at the Pat-Med Library. The sun was setting around 6:30 and we meet around that time so sketching outdoors won't happen with them again this year. Our theme for the night was artificial flowers. People brought an assortment of interesting fake flowers including Hawaiian leis and orchids. These are supposedly pansies, although until I read the label I wouldn't have guessed that. I thought they made a nice grouping.

Fire Island Lighthouse

I will catch up on Inktober shortly, but I didn't want other work that I've done to end up lost in the shuffle. This past week I did a small (7 x 7in) painting of the Fire Island Lighthouse. It was a windy day so I sat where a building blocked the wind. I think otherwise this would have blown all the way to the lighthouse. I am lucky that this lighthouse is so accessible at Robert Moses State Park. I can see it from the parking lot and there is a nice boardwalk that leads to it...and provided about a 1 1/2 mile walk round trip.

Inktober Day 9

 This sketch fits the prompt "dip pen + brush pen." I sketched it outside the Sayville Bean Coffee House. I used a dip pen with Noodler's Lexington Gray ink and a gray Tombow dual brush pen.

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Inktober Day 8

 Koosjie Koene's Inktober prompt for day 8 was "use a dip pen." As you can see I have a fancy glass one from Venice, but I really rarely use a dip pen. I find dealing with the ink bottle and pen to be rather messy unless I'm working at a table. This was done at Frank Melville Park in Setauket. The building is a water mill that is no longer working. I sketched it from the front. For a while it was the park office, but I don't think it is used at all now.

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Inktober Day 7 + Urban Sketching in Forest Hills

 The prompt for this Inktober sketch was negative space. I guess how you look at your subject determines if you see the negative or the positive spaces. For this sketch I headed over to Robert Moses State Park where you can actually see the Fire Island Lighthouse from the parking lot or the beach. There is also a nice boardwalk that provides a nice way to walk to the lighthouse.

#inktober #inktober 2026

The NYC Urban Sketchers met in Forest Hills over the weekend. I took the LIRR from Ronkonkoma and switched at Jamaica to reach our destination. I hadn't been to Forest Hills in a long time, but can remember being there for a Barry Manilow concert at the tennis stadium probably in 1974. 

My first sketch was of the Forest Hills Station which was where I had arrived. As you can see there were already some sketchers at work.

Next I headed around the corner to the residential area. Most buildings in Forest Hills are Tudor style. I felt like I was in another country. On Dartmouth Street I found this interesting entryway to sketch.

When I was finished I headed back over to Station Square. Susan and Kim were sitting at a table outside Forest Hills Pizza and sketching the view in front of them. I grabbed a slice of pizza and then joined them outside to sketch. Kim was giving advice to Susan to make her shadows darker. I took her advice too and I think it helped my sketch. I did this one quickly since we were meeting in about 40 minutes for show-and-tell.

It was great to spend the day with the other sketchers and see the wonderful work they created as well as some of the interesting spots they found to sketch in the area.

Inktober Day 6

The Inktober prompt for this sketch was "varied line weight." I went down to Cedar Beach in Babylon which is along Ocean Parkway.  The weather was lightly spritzing off and on. Something for kids must have been going on inside the concession area. Families kept going inside and some of them were coming out with pumpkins. I liked the view outside so I didn't bother going in.

While I was there I also did a small painting (I needed to use some color.) of the dunes. If you look thru the break in the dunes you can see there is what looks to be a sandbar or a small area of land that since the nor'easter last week is now sitting out in front of the beach. Apparently several of the beaches have had their landscapes changed quite a bit.

 

Inktober Day 5

 This Inktober sketch for Day 5 is a self portrait with minimal lines. I was sitting in my car with the sun visor down. I used the mirror that was there to do a rather quick sketch of my face not using too many lines.

Inktober Day 4

My sketch for today is a time limit 5 minute sketch that was on Koosje's Inktober Prompt List. I made sure I had a good view from the front seat of my "mobile studio," set the time on my phone for 5 minutes and started sketching this view at The Farm on Lakeland in Sayville. My pen was moving quickly!

#inktober #inktober2026

Inktober Day 3

 Today's sketch does not follow any Inktober prompts. I did this sketch with the Patchogue Sketch Club and our theme for the evening was "cosmetics." I tried to compose my items into an interesting still life. Of course I later added some color to my ink sketch.

Inktober Day 2

 For today's Inktober sketch I followed Koosje's prompt list for "non dominant hand." Although I do this once in a while for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts, I haven't done one in a long time. It is so awkward to hold the pen in my left hand and also to make sure I am not smearing the ink as I sketch. This time I sketched the decorative shark hanging outside Claws Seafood Market in Sayville.

#inktober, #inktober2026

Inktober Begins

 Inktober has just started and I am once again participating. The goal for the month is to do one ink sketch each day this month. Various people have come up with a list of prompts for the event. I sometimes follow the suggestions but most of the time I select my own subject to sketch, but it is fun to combine my ideas with other prompts. I'm including two of the Inktober lists below that I may refer to just in case you'd like to see some of the ideas that people came up with, or maybe take part. It is fine if you don't do an ink sketch every day this month, but it is fun to try and include a few.

My first sketch follows the first prompt on Koosje Koene's list - "continuous line, no lifting the pen." I really enjoy sketching that way. Kingston's Clam Bar in West Sayville is one of my favorite places to sketch...architecture, boats, foliage...

Here are Koosje's Inktober prompts and what is probably the more "official" list.

#inktober #inktober2026

Farmstand Sketch

After being indoors for 2 days during our nor'easter I needed to head out. Since I wanted some fresh veggies I stopped at The Farm on Lakeland in Sayville to sketch a bit of their selection of plants. This was done in a small sketchbook...maybe 2 1/2 x 3 1/2. 

Continuous Line Sketch

The Creative Spark Scavenger Hunts give me the opportunity to combine some of the prompts and do a continuous line sketch. The promps were used for cleaning, used for travel (a travel adaptor), used for cooking (a spatula), made of plastic (a spray bottle), and used for art (a set of paints). Here is the colorized version with watercolor

Here is just the line design.

 

Bayport - Blue Point Library

With the nor'easter expected to hit Long Island and most of the tri-state area over the weekend, I headed out to get some supplies, food, and enjoy a bit of sketching before I would be stuck home. I stopped at the Bayport - Blue Point Library and sat in their reading area to sketch. It is a bright area even on dreary days. A few other patrons were in assorted places, but I only captured one lady in one of the comfy chairs near the window.

 

Grey Day in Sayville

 Long Island was expecting showers and the views near the Great South Bay in Sayville looking toward Fire Island were a little grey.

Carnival Sketch

I like sketching the rides at the carnival...so many great colors. A good part of this was done with Posca markers. I sketched it the day after the carnival so there weren't any riders. I'm sure the packed this up for transport soon after I finished sketching it. 

In For Repairs

 This boat was being worked on at Shellfish Marine by the West Sayville Dock. They always have such interesting looking boats on the premises. According to Google this is a tugboat and the tires make a good fender for the bow.

Fountain

 I've sketched this fountain which is in front of a home in Sayville so many times. I love fountains and the aren't very common. This was done in the sketchbook from Venice that seems to have no/not enough sizing on the paper. I'm trying to use it up anyway.

Newly Purchased

 On Sunday a friend and I went to see the North East Watercolor Society's Members' Show in Garden City. The work was really good and inspiring. Since we were in the area we stopped at the Blick store in Carle Place. I bought a few tubes of watercolor and gouche as well as a few Neocolor II crayons since they sell them as open stock. I skeched some of the supplies when I got home since "bought recently" was one of the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt prompts.

Ocean View

I couldn't visit Smith Point Park without sketching the actual ocean view. This was done directly in watercolor. I tried to catch the waves. 

Sky and Reeds

 The clouds were great in the sky looking back toward the mainland from Smith Point Park. Sometimes you have to look the other way. lol 

Swezey Avey House

This is the front porch of the Swezey Avey House in Yaphank. My plein air group will be holding our annual exhibit and sale there in November. The patriotic bunting makes this historic house look so welcoming. 

La Plage

 A new restaurant opened this spring in Bellport called La Plage. Passing by it today I saw this scene by the outdoor seating area. I quickly sketched the woman outside the fence just in case she moved away sooner than the other women. It was a smart move to draw her first because she moved off quickly.

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Small Sketches

As you know I do sketches for Creative Spark's Scavenger Hunts. Some of the sketches are really small like this sketch of a golf court. It is about 2 inches by 2 inches. 

A friend invited us for Rosh Hashanah dinner and for dessert she made a wonderful blueberry pie. We came home with a bit of the pie, but it got a bit mangled on the trip home. I sketched it anyway.

"Fruit" was one of the promps. I sketched my clementine using dry Neocolor II crayons.

Vendors at the Farmers Market

I stopped at the Sayville Farmers Market last Saturday. The vendors were set up around the perimeter of the field so I aimed for the vendors right actoss from where I was parked. 

Umbrella in the Flower Field

 I had an appointment up in Wading River and when I was done I stopped at Andrews Family Farm to so a quick painting. I liked the view of the umbrella and table in the middle of the flower field.

Sayville Beach Entrance

 This was sketched down at Sayville Beach looking toward the entrance. The flag was flying at half-mast since it was the 25th anniversary of 9-11.

Continuous Line Sketch

An easy way to get some of the listed items for the Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt is to put several of the items into a still life. Then I like to do a continuous line of the whole thing...

and then add a bit of color.

 

Dahlia Garden

 My plein air group always heads to the Dahlia Garden at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum at this time of year. I usually do a closeup of a dahlia or two but I did a more encompassing view of some of the flower beds this time.