Green-Wood Cemetery Sketching

The destination for the NYC Urban Sketchers recently was Green-Wood Cemetery in Brookly. We've sketched there before, but for me it has been a few years. Just outside of the main entrance is the Weir Green-House. Originally it was just a place to purchase flowers for the cemetery, but it has been renovated recently and is now the visitor's center for Green-Wood Cemetery as well as a place to buy flowers. It is a beautiful building from the outside, but I didn't have a chance to go inside.

My next sketch was of the main gate to Green-Wood Cemetery. At the top of the tall spire is a huge nest that is the home to the Broolyn parrots. There is a large (and quite vocal) colony of parrots that make their home in the entrance. The story goes that back in the 1960s the original parrots escaped from a shipment which arrived at Kennedy Airport from South America. The escaped parrots found their way to Brooklyn and have been there ever since. It is entertaining to watch them fly in and out of the spire.

Across from the entrance is a high hill (said to be the highest spot in Brooklyn) that offers a great view of the entrance itself and the NYC skyline in the distance. I climbed up to the top of the hill and sat with quite a few other sketchers who had the same idea. It was a perfect location until I had to figure out a way to get down from there. I always find going down a hill or down stairs to be more difficult than going up. The two ladies who I sketched in front of me were mother and daughter. The mom was from Florida and her daughter lives nearby in Brooklyn. Neither had ever sketched with our group before.

Our show and tell was scheduled for 3:00 so I had a full hour to find another location to sketch. I wandered and found this view on the side of that same hill. The trees here are massive since many of them are original trees that were here in the 1860s when the cemetery opened.

At our show-and-tell there were about 35/40 sketchers. It is always fun to see how everyone interprets the scenes at a location.

The only downside to the day was the incredible amount of traffic that we sat in going home. The distance from the cemetery to our first stop to drop someone off was 58 miles. It took us nearly 2 1/2 hours. My thanks to my friend, Susan who drove through the traffic. Then she and I had another 1/2 hour to drive...luckily without traffic.

Industry City Sketches

The NYC Urban Sketchers met recently at Industry City in Brooklyn to sketch. It is a complex of industrial buildings that have been transformed into restaurants, bars, shops for various things, and businesses. The weather was mild but rain was predicted. Somehow I had forgotten to put my small watercolor palette back in my backpack. Luckily there was an art supply store there. All I wanted was a small, inexpensive palette and the salesperson found a Yarka set that was $5.95. I used Yarka paints back when I first started doing watercolors. The paints don't contain much pigment, so they didn't give me the same results I get from my Winsor Newton and Daniel Smith Paints, but I adjusted.

Suzala and I headed over to an area between two of the buildings called Japan Village. There was a bit of architecture that resembled the Japanese style and lots of lanterns. Two other sketchers joined us there, Melanie Gluck and Hugo Costa, a friend and Urban Sketcher from Spain who is working in Brooklyn this month. I hadn't seen him in a few years. I was nearly finished with this sketch when my fingers and toes started to get cold...and then the drizzle started. We all headed inside to the Japanese food court.

We were lucky to find an empty table right by the ramen counter. When my soup came I quickly sketched that before it disappeared. When I finished eating I resumed my sketching with the rest of the scene.

At 3:00 we headed off to show-and-tell with the rest of the group. There were about 25 sketchers who took part. It was a wet, but fun day of sketching.

DUMBO

I recently went with my friend, Suzala and Robin, a visiting sketcher from LA on a sketch trip to DUMBO in Brooklyn. For those who don't know it stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Robin had sketched in the city before but hadn't been to DUMBO for the iconic view of the Brooklyn Bridge. (It was much more crowded than my sketch...maybe X50. It was a long ride in but Suzala's husband, Rick played chauffeur, tour guide and photographer for us. He gave us a tour from Long Island through the city describing and telling about each area.

This part of Washington Street is closed to traffic and there are tables set out which made sketching very convenient.

We even did a little throw down of our sketches. Left to right...Suzala, Robin, Joan.

Then we moved on to another area of DUMBO. Robin selected a different spot to sketch than Suzala and I did. We both sketched the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Again I didn't include the massive line of people waiting. I was so tempted...but resisted.

Top to bottom: My sketch, Robin's sketch of the Manhattan Bridge, and Suzala's sketch.

It is always fun to share sketching time with people from other locations.

Red Hook Part 2

 After viewing the Red Hook Artist Coalition's exhibit I came back outside and sat in front of one of the warehouses. It seems like some of them have been renovated and turned into businesses. I was overlooking an old trolley and this huge warehouse facing me had shutters on all of it's windows...and there were an amazing number of them. I got bored and stopped doing all the windows and shutters and left it this way.

Between the two warehouses on my side was a very interesting industrial view...with the Ikea sign as part of it. I had fun doing this view in direct watercolor.

Red Hook Part 1

 On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met in Red Hook, Brooklyn to sketch. I started with a sketch of the Red Hook Yacht Club. It was closed which gave me a view of the doorway with the symbol of Red Hook and a version of the American flag. 

We had sketched in this location back in 2013 and I sketched this same building. At the time it was open and the older gentlemen who were members of the social club invited us in to see the unusual things that were inside. They also brought us olive bread and Italian bread. This time it was quiet with none of the members around. My sketches from that visit in 2013 are here.

Part of the reason for our visit to Red Hook was that it would coincide with the reception for a gallery show going on in which included several of our active members. The exhibit at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition included over 100 artists' works all related to the theme of Art of Coney Island. My friend, Shawne Cooper had 6 of her sketches in the exhibition. Here she is with some of her pieces behind her. The gallery building itself was a former Red Hook warehouse which is a treasure and a wonderful place for an exhibit.

Brownstones

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers were doing a collaborative project. I didn't really join them because it required committing to getting something done within a specific amount of time, and I can't guarantee that with Jerry's condition I will be free at the right time. Mornings are busy here. The plan was to work from a reference photo of Brooklyn brownstones. The photo showed 5 brownstones and each person on a 5 person team did one building and then they were "joined" together by the team leader.

I liked the reference photo so I decided to start my own version. I did two of the buildings in direct watercolor (so this part meets the challenge). I will probably continue with the other 3 brownstones and finish the reference photo. If I finish I will post the finished piece tomorrow.

Inktober Day 5 - At Domino Park

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers met at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was built on the grounds of the former Domino Sugar Refinery. Some of the buildings and structures were renovated and incorporated into the design of the park.

Of course I had to do one sketch for Inktober, so I focused on these tanks that once contained syrup. In the background is the actual building that housed the Domino Sugar Factory. It is being restored and converted into apartments/condos. I used my Elegant Writer pen, my Lamy filled with permanent platinum carbon black ink, and an orange micron pen.

#inktober

#inktober2019

#momentsketchers

At the end of the promenade under the Brooklyn Bridge there was a view of a restaurant, the skyline, and an area with some utility trucks and equipment. How could I resist those yellow trucks?

For my third sketch I focused on what I think are cranes and conveyors that must have been used to load and unload the sugar or the raw materials off boats that came up the river. In the back is a tank used in the refining process.

The Mary A. Whalen

Down along the docks in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn is a wonderful, historic boat. The Mary A. Whalen is a coastal oil tanker that is the last of her kind. This year she is celebrating her 81st birthday. The NYC Urban Sketchers visited her on Sunday. She has been repurposed for public culture and education and is owned and operated by PortSide New York. For the morning we were given private access to sketch where we wanted inside or out. Later the ship was open to all visitors.
#portsidenewyork

 I started out on the portside deck where our host Caroline, had a table set up for visitors to sketch or paint, complete with clipboards, paper, paints, and colored pencils. I used my own supplies.

Next I went into the galley to sketch. The staff loved that we enjoyed sketching their messy area, but we told them that sketchers love that. I don't think the galley has been modernized much in her 81 years. The stove is amazing and runs on diesel fuel (which does have an odor that I wasn't crazy about) and it has no traditional burners. The staff still uses it and does cook on it and bakes things in the oven. This sketch was done directly in ink...no pencil...and then the color was added.

I had lunch with some of the other sketchers on the portside deck and then went looking for a view that showed more of the ship. I went down along the dock and found a front view of the ship.

My view was looking through a fence, but it was a good view.

Around 3:00 we had our "show & tell" back on the deck. By that time they had put up a canopy for shade from the sun. One of our members, Louis, always takes photos of everyone with one of their sketches so here I am.

Because it was Mary Whalen's birthday, our host, Caroline brought out two big cakes to celebrate with us and the other public that was visiting.

Brooklyn Flea Market/Smorgasburg - Part 1

The NYC Urban Sketchers met at the Brooklyn Flea Market and Smorgasburg today. It moved to a new location since the last time we sketched there. It was fun with lots of subjects. 

I started with a sketch of the creative area that was set up for the kids to play and create. There was a big roll of paper for the kids and piles of crayons. Some adults were very happy to sit there and color too.

Several of us were sketching from a table. Right nearby were some very tempting delights. I sketched the Ring Ding Bar. It looked so good and there were all kinds of flavors...the nutella was calling me but I resisted. Right next to the Ring Ding Bar was a donut stand with really outrageous items for consumption. I resisted all of them. Yea!

Swag Bags and On to the Draw-A-Thon Part 1

I know some of you were wondering what we got in our swag bags from Blick. Let me just say that they were prepared with about 100 bags in case we had a big turnout. Some of the merchandise was from the store itself but Caran d'Ache had their own little bags for us filled with art treasures. I arranged everything we received on my kitchen table this morning. My hubby was impressed with what I came home with. This includes the extras that Caran d'Ache gave us too.

In addition all customers coming into the store had the chance to spin a prize wheel and get a gift ranging from gift cards, paints, sketchbooks, aprons, etc. I got a small set of some kind of acrylic paints that I will gift to some artist that will use them.

After lunch I won a watercolor pad and a set of koi watercolor paints. We shopped at the store for a while and I'm sure they made money off of us since everyone I know that was there bought several things. lol (We never do seem to have enough supplies.) All I know was that my backpack weighed a ton and I had to carry it into the city.

From Brooklyn many of us headed into Manhattan to the Draw-A-Thon at the High School of Art and Design on 56th St. This is one of their big fundraisers. You pay a fee to enter and there are two big rooms with models posing from around 9am until 6pm. One room is strictly nudes and there are 4 areas set up. Two are for long poses and the same pose is held all day long. In the third area the model does mostly quick gesture poses that last from 2 - 10 minutes. The last area the model poses for about 10 minutes each time. I went to that area and sketched for about an hour and a half.

During a short break I started sketching the woman to the left of me who was sketching with her legs resting on a chair. I sketched the model when she posed again but at one point she was down on the platform and I couldn't see her from where I was sitting, so I went back to sketching some of the other people sketching in the room.

When I got tired of the nude models I went to the other room which was much more fun...but that's for tomorrow.

Sketching Brooklyn

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers were invited to help celebrate the opening weekend of the new Blick store on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. They were celebrating with special classes and giveaways. When we got there they supplied coffee and muffins to anyone coming to the store. It looked like it was a small store, but it was deceptively large and well-stocked and the staff was so great. Mark had arranged to lead a sketch walk in the neighborhood. But before we went out we were each given a big, red swag bag from Blick with all sorts of great materials, plus a bag from Caran d'Ache, and small sketchbooks from Strathmore. They told us to go out and sketch for a while and that lunch would be waiting for us when we got back.They were really so nice to us! 

We did head out to sketch in the neighborhood. We were all bundled up but only lasted about an hour and a half before we were so cold that we had to go inside. Here is my sketch and a few photos of some of the other sketchers.

After lunch they raffled off gifts for us including sketchbooks, Koi watercolor sets, and gift cards.

It was quite a welcome!

Gowanus 3 & Inktober 2018 - Day 3

For this sketch by the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn I stood, leaning against a wall/fence and was looking toward Carroll Street. There was a lot of construction going on...so lots of orange fencing to restrict traffic where the road was all torn up.

My Inktober 2018 Day 3 sketch was done at Little Vincent's in Ronkonkoma. They reheated my pizza slice and it was much too hot to eat without burning my mouth, so I started sketching my view. Of course I stopped once I was able to eat the slice and then finished this when it was done. I used my Lamy pen, a brush pen, and my water brush that I touched to the Lamy pen to get some shading. And yes, the pizza was good!

For

Gowanus 2 & Inktober 2018 Day 2

As I said yesterday the area near the Gowanus Canal is pretty gritty and industrial. There are some buildings that have been abandoned and graffitied. Some of the structures are weathered and worn and have seen better days like this waterpower that doesn't seem like it will be standing much longer.

Yesterday afternoon I met a friend for lunch and parked in a lot by the Bronxville train station. When I got back to my car there was a ticket on the windshield for an expired inspection sticker. I didn't realize that it was due..it was only October 1st. I swear in the past Nissan sent me a reminder, but if they did I must have overlooked it. So this morning I was at Nissan to have the inspection done so I wouldn't get a second ticket. Since I was at Nissan for an oil change a little over a week ago sketching the inside of the waiting room seemed old, so I sketched the view into the showroom this time for my Inktober Day 2 sketch. #inktober #inktober2018

Gowanus 1 & Inktober 2018 Day 1

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at the gritty, industrial area around the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. We have sketched there before and it is such a fun place. It was (IS?) one of the most polluted areas of our country and they have been working hard to clean up the area. As they do clean it up, new buildings are sprouting up and a lot of the graffitied buildings are slowly coming down. The essence of the place is slowly being lost as the area is changing. The toxic waste area is slowly becoming a lovely residential area. I haven't been there in a few years and the changes are very noticable.

One of our members, Jessica is part of an organization called the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club. On Saturday they were offering free canoe rides on the canal. I thought about it but with my poor sense of balance I didn't want to end up in the canal or to have my art supplies in the canal. So I stayed on shore. Several of our sketchers did go out in the canoes and a few even managed to sketch while they were in the canoes. Here is the first of my sketches. It includes a composite sketch of the people in the canoe. They passed by too quickly so I included a bit of what I saw in each of the canoes.

Today is October 1st and you know what that means...INKTOBER!!! Started by Jake Parker, Inktober has become very popular. I have participated in it since 2015 and always look forward to it. If you click on this link you can find out more about it...or just grab a pen and sketch in ink. This was sketched from the parking lot at Smith Point Beach.

#inktober #inktober2018

Inktober Day 17 - Huge Tree & Green-Wood Cemetery Part III

My plein air painting group went to Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket this morning. I've sketched and painted there many times. Sometimes it is hard to find something to inspire you when you have been there before. I think in the entire landscape there was one tree that had changed color and the red barn that usually entices me was wrapped in orange fencing because they are repairing it. So a friend and I walked around a bit on one of the paths I hadn't been on before. We found this huge tree with a strange bamboo grove behind it. It wasn't something I would paint but I thought it made a good Inktober subject. I used my twig, Chinese ink, and a stencil brush for this one.

#inktober #inktober2017

My last sketch from Green-Wood Cemetery was done from up on a hill looking back at the main entrance to the cemetery. I believe that the highest spot in Brooklyn is in Green-Wood Cemetery. Up at the top of that tall spire in the entrance is this huge nest and it is the home to the Brooklyn parrots. Parrots you ask...yes. There is a large colony of parrots that make their home in the entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery. Apparently back in the 1960s the parrots escaped from a shipment which arrived at Kennedy Airport which was coming from South America. The escapees found their way to Brooklyn. They have been there ever since. It is fun to watch them flying in and out of the openings in the entryway. I wish they came down a little closer so you could really see them.

Inktober - Day 15 - At the Cemetery

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers went to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. It is a huge place and the burial place of some famous people like Leonard Bernstein and Louis Tiffany. We drove around to find a good view to sketch and ended up by one of the back gates. I'm going to post this first, because it was what attracted us to this area...the prostrate angel was so moving that I had to sketch it. I used watercolor pencils for this.

This next sketch is my Inktober Day 15 sketch done right around the same area as the angel. I used my Lamy pen with waterproof black ink as well as my Elegant Writer to make some areas bleed.

Inktober - Day 5 - On the Ferry & Parkslope

Today's Inktober sketch was done on the Cross Sound Ferry going from Orient Point to New London, CT this morning. The concession stand is always a busy place.
#inktober #inktober2017

This was done on Sunday in Parkslope Brooklyn with the small group of NYC Urban Sketchers that I spent the day with. It was my last sketch of the day done on 5th Avenue and Carrol St.

Inktober - Day 3 - Andrews Farm

My plein air group was painting at Andrews Farm in Wading River today. In addition to my painting from there I made sure I got a sketch done for Inktober. I went inside the farm stand to sketch this basket of peppers. #inktober #inktober2017

On Sunday a small group of NYC Urban Sketchers and I went to Parkslope, Brooklyn. The rest of the NYC group went up to Connecticut, but we thought that was a little too far, and Brooklyn seemed to interest us more. This was where I did the first sketch for Inktober2017. Parkslope has many brownstones, that are a delight to paint. I sat directly across from this one and painted it. The owner did come out to see what I was doing and liked it. Too bad he didn't want to buy it. As you can see, Parkslope has cars parked in front of the buildings, so I had to make sure I sat with a view between two parked cars so I could paint this view.

My

Inktober - Day 1 and a Bit of Wine

Yes, Inktober is back!!! For those of you who do not know about Inktober here is some information.

Inktober was created by artist Jake Parker as a challenge to improve inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. 

Anyone can do Inktober, just pick up a pen and start drawing.
INKtober rules:
1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).
2) Post it on tumblr (or Instagram, twitter, facebook, flickr, Pinterest or just pin it on your wall.)
3) Hashtag it with #inktober
4) Repeat (you can do it daily, like me, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. What ever you decide, just be consistent with it. INKtober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.)

The sketch below was one on an outing with a few other NYC Urban Sketchers in Parkslope, Brooklyn. There are so many interesting buildings and brownstones there to catch your attention. The building I picked was mostly a red-brown...really calling for color but I resisted adding it, using hatching instead. #inktober #inktober2017

I know if I don't keep posting some of the other pieces I have, I'll end up too far behind, so some days this month I'll be posting my Inktober sketch as well as a second one.