Setauket Water View

 My plein air group, PALS, was invited to paint at the home of one of our members who overlooks the water in Setauket. Her house and property are lovely and the views are spectacular. In the distance you can see Connecticut across Long Island Sound. Many thanks, Chris!

Trip to Norwalk

On Saturday my friend, Suzala's husband was going to a robotics competition in Norwalk, CT.  She wanted to go along and sketch in the town. We invited another friend who lives close to CT to join us for the day. Suzala drove us around so we could see some of the sights that she though would be good sketch locations. We all loved this spot which is the Norwalk River Railroad Bridge. None of us was fast enough to capture a train crossing the bridge, but we had a lot of fun sketching it. I knew it was a bit much to tackle doing it directly in watercolor (which Suzala did) so I sketched it directly in ink and added watercolor. We were glad we picked this location because we found out later that this bridge is scheduled to be replaced in the near future. I'm sure the new one won't be as interesting.

In the afternoon I headed up the street to sketch the Sono (South Norwalk) Switch Tower Museum. That staircase was quite a subject. lol The person inside had noticed that I was sketching it and came out to see the sketch when I finished. He liked it enough that he asked if he could take a photo of it. Of course I said yes.

Ivy League Schools

This weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers had Ivy League Schools as their virtual theme. I thought this gate from Yale University was interesting.  Jerry and I visited the campus once to see some exhibit at the library.

Sunken Meadow View

I seem to be a bit behind posting some of these sketches. I took a trip to Sunken Meadow State Park on Sunday. It is on Long Island Sound and across the way is Connecticut. I was planning on sketching this view with the path when these two people decided to step into the scene, so I included them too. 

Christmas Travels

We are away for Christmas this year, visiting my sister and her family in Maine. Like we usually do, yesterday we took the ferry from Orient Point, NY across to New London, CT to shorten the amount of time we had to be in the car. For some reason we were on a smaller ferry which didn't have a big cabin with a big snack bar, tables around the perimeter, and seating in the middle. This ferry had two small levels with the cafe and a few tables downstairs and then a few tables and seats facing forward, sort of like on an airplane. The sketching options weren't as fun, but I sketched anyway.

Inktober 2018 - Day 5

I am presently in Maine visiting family. We left Long Island this morning on the 9:00 am ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT. While we were on the ferry I was able to sketch the people seated across from us having coffee.

#inktober #inktober2018

Ferry Sketch

Today we drove back from Maine. It wasn't a bad ride. The roads were all clear and by the time we got to the middle of Massachusetts there was hardly any snow on the ground. When we got to New London and the Cross Sound Ferry we were told that the ferry was running about 30 minutes late...try an hour. So instead of leaving New London at 6 we left at 7pm. It was a long day.

The ferry was very crowded which gave me a variety of subjects to sketch. The concession line is always one of my favorites because when one person moves out of sight the next one just takes their place. 

A lot of people were traveling with their dogs. I did a quick sketch of one.

Ferry Ride

On Thursday we took the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT while traveling up to my sister's house for the Christmas holidays. We left a day early because they were forecasting snow for Friday. I like taking the ferry because it always gives me the opportunity to do a bit of sketching on a day that is spent mostly in the car and I am usually driving. This lady in the middle looks like she needed a nap.

Port Jeff View

Last week I took a trip up to Port Jeff. It is a cute town north of me where you can catch the ferry across the Long Island Sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut. I found a spot to sketch a view.

Inktober - Day 10 - The Harbor, Bob's, and a Ferry Ride

Today was our last day in Damariscotta for this trip. We planned on leaving around 10am but I went down by the harbor to do an Inktober sketch in the morning. This was done with a twig and Chinese ink. I think the extra practice with the twig is starting to pay off. #inktober #inktober2017

Our last stop in Maine was for lunch in Kittery. Bob's Clam Hut is our favorite restaurant...and it is deadly. We always eat too much, but the food is so good. When we finished eating I had some time to do a sketch before we got back in the car to head back to the ferry in New London, CT.

Of course I found someone to sketch on the ferry ride. This man was sitting with a woman that I assume was his wife, but they got up and moved before I got to sketch her.

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.

Ferry Sketches

Coming back from Maine we were able to take the Cross Sound Ferry back from New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, Long Island. It doesn't really make the trip any shorter (unless it is rush hour and then it is a definite win), but for a span of time you're out of the car. I sketched the view in front of us as we waited for the crew to start loading the cars on the ferry.

Once we boarded my husband suggested sitting in the bar area where there are small tables, so I had some place for my materials while I was sketching...and lots of victims...I mean models to sketch.

Damariscotta Sketches

Last weekend my husband and I went up to Maine to visit family for a few days. The weather was not cooperative so we ended up delaying the trip one day due to rain. Because of that we couldn't get a reservation on the ferry going over to Connecticut. So we ended up driving the whole way...so no ferry sketches from the trip up.

 Of course by the time we got up to Maine it was raining. So we just hung out for the rest of the day. Sunday morning it was foggy but not raining, so I headed down by the river to do some sketches. It was windy so I sat on my chair with my car right behind me so it would block the wind a bit. It worked long enough to get two sketches done.

New London to Orient Point

Once I left Maine on Monday I had about a 3 hr trip to New London. I allowed myself some extra time so I could get down there and find a place for dinner before my 8pm ferry. I wanted someplace rustic with seafood. I checked out places on the internet and found what sounded like a good place....Fred's Shanty. Thank goodness for a GPS because I was taken on quite a few little streets along the water in New London, and around several traffic circles. Then it appeared and just like the description on the internet...and with a lot of people. I placed my order for whole belly fried clams and found an empty picnic table. Not to waste time I started sketching. The pencil sketch was finished before my number was called, and then after dinner I added the ink and watercolors. There were two kids at the next table that were fascinated by what I was doing. This is the result. I did about 1/4 of the number of people that were there.

The GPS got me to the ferry dock with no problem. Because it was the last ferry of the night it was pretty empty. I was hoping for a great sunset, but it was sort of pale. It did look pretty when the ferry was pulling away from the dock and the sun was right over the city.

I did go inside to find someone to pose for me with two poodles. Who could resist?

Sunken Meadow View

Sunken Meadow State Park is on the north shore of Long Island on the sound. There are some lovely views of the hills and the water...and Connecticut if it is a clear day. It was cold the other day when I was there so I sat in my car facing an opening in the fence where a path was leading down to the water. This is about 5 x 7 done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

Traveling on the Ferry

I am going to backtrack a bit now. On Tuesday I headed up to Maine. I like taking the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient Point, NY to Bridgeport, CT. It makes the distance I have to drive shorter and it is such a nice ride. I arrived at the ferry terminal early enough to sip some coffee and sketch the view out the window of my car. The other cars were lined up waiting for them to unload the ferry that had come the other way.

Once on board I found an interesting view to sketch. The lifeboats really attracted me.