Beach Fences

 At the end of Dune Road in Westhampton is Cupsogue Beach. I was there on a cold, very windy day. The beach fences and their shadows attracted me.

Hampton Bays Sketches

 I have a fondness for several towns in the Hamptons since I spent many summers renting summer houses there with friends. Hampton Bays is probably the least ritzy of the Hamptons and most affordable.

This is the Ponquogue Bridge which connects Hampton Bays with the barrier island that runs along part of the coast. When I first started going out there the bridge was a much smaller version and a bit rickety. I remember when they built this bridge and have good memories of walking to the center of it with my niece and nephew to watch the sunset. They were maybe 7 and 8 and told me they had never watched the sunset. So every day for the time they stayed with me we went somewhere to watch the sunset.

If you cross the bridge Ponquogue Beach is straight ahead. If you make a left you can ride about a mile along Dune Road and you come to the Shinnecock Canal. Nearby are the commercial fishing docks. I did a continuous line sketch of this fishing boat docked there.

Along the Shinnecock Canal is a rocky jetty where fishermen come and fish and people come to watch the boats travel through the canal.

In case you are wondering about the unusual names, many of the towns and locations have American Indian names. The Shinnecock Indians are still in the area and have a reservation nearby.

Beach Dunes

 I hope I didn't post this before. It has been sitting on my desktop for a long time. I did it the same day as I did an Inktober sketch of the commercial fishing boats on Dune Road in Hampton Bays. I love the many, many different dune views I find.

View from Dune Road & Eye Doctor Visit

 One day last week I took a drive out to the Hamptons and sketched along Dune Road. I love the views across the bay there.

Jerry has been having a lot of appointments with eye doctors lately since having his cataract surgery and preparing for his upcoming eye surgery to help repair the damage from the blood vessel that hemorrhaged in his eye. I posted this sketch on Creative Spark and one of the sketchers there identified it as a machine that can tell the strength of the lenses in prescription eye glasses. I'll take his word for it.

Fishing Boat

 Before I started working on the 100 People challenge I had posted a sketch of the dunes at Tiana Beach in the Hamptons. I drove along Dune Road to the end by the Shinnecock Canal where there are a few restaurants and a commercial fishing dock. I sat and sketched one of the fishing boats with all the interesting equipment both on the boat and off the boat.

Tiana Dunes

 I was out driving along Dune Road in the Hamptons the other day and stopped at Tiana Beach. I spent a lot of time there when I was young and single, and it is part of my nostalgia drive that I take once in a while. There has been a lot of loss of the dunes since the last time I stopped there.

Beach Sketches

Yesterday I took a ride out to Dune Road in the Hamptons. It is a barrier beach that runs from Westhampton through East Quogue, Quogue, and Hampton Bays. This part of Long Island has been a favorite of mine since I was in my 20s and I always tell Jerry that when I die I want my ashes sprinkled there. Along the road are million dollar mansions, some condos, a few resorts as well as a few small cottages. It is a beautiful area but at high tide it is very often flooded in spots. Beach parking in the summer is expensive unless you are a resident, but at this time of year you can park easily. I planned on parking at Ponquogue Beach because the parking lot has great views across the dunes and bay and a pavilion with tables where you can sometimes be sheltered from the wind. Just my luck...the parking lot was closed because they are rebuilding the beach pavilion. I ended up driving along heading back west and checking out every parking lot along the way. Most spots had no view of the water unless you were out of the car, and it was too windy yesterday to do that. Finally in Quogue I found a small lot that is more of a street.  It went up to Dolphin Beach where there was a small opening in the dunes. I could just see the water from my car...perfect! When I finished my watercolor I turned the car around to leave and noticed that the view looking toward the bay was nice too, so I did that view as well.

Double Dunes

I am trying to catch up with some paintings that missed getting posted before the 30 day challenge.

Both of these were painted along Dune Road in Hampton Bays from different parking lots.

Beach Sketches

Both of these were painting with watercolors before the painting challenge started. They were done along Dune Road in the Hamptons, one of my favorite places to visit. The bottom one is the concession stand at one of the beaches in Quogue.

30 Day Challenge - Day 28 - Dunes

I can't resist painting near the beach. It was a nice day to be by the water, but still too cold to sit outside my car and paint. My Day 28 gouache painting for the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge was done along Dune Road in Hampton Bays. 

You still have time to check out some of the great work that has been painted for the 30 Day Challenge. Take a look here.

Cupsogue Beach

On Sunday I went to Cupsogue Beach at the end of Dune Road in Westhampton. I haven't been there in about a year and it changed quite a bit. The Beach Hut Raw Bar and Grill is now on the level of the parking lot. You still have to walk up the boardwalk to get over the dunes and to the beach. I wonder if the renovations were due to the winter storms. It is a nice, quiet beach. I'll have to make sure to go back again.

Beach Sketches

The other day I took a ride out to the Hamptons along the south shore of Long Island and went to Dune Road. From the parking lot of Ponquogue Beach I had a slightly raised view of the area. These were painted in my car. First I painted the dunes with a view going down Dune Road.

Then I turned the car around and faced the dunes. There were great shadows from all the dune fences.

I don't know if you've seen the drawing event/challenge that has been posted by Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steele. It is called One Week 100 People, and the goal is to draw 100 people in one week, from March 6-10. They are doing only the weekdays, but Marc said people could use the whole week if needed. If you participate you can share your sketches on the social media of your choice using the hashtag #OneWeek100People2017.

 I am hoping to participate and am thinking about the best places to go to find lots of people and figures. It means drawing about 20 people per day...not impossible, but not easy either. It will help to use a medium that is easy to work with and fast. Hopefully at the end of the week our people sketches will have improved immensely.

Dune Road

I went out to Hampton Bays on Sunday to see an exhibit of my friend's art group. So of course I figured I would go early and paint. I went down to Dune Road which is on a barrier island with dunes and the Shinnecock Canal at one end. I sat right next to one of the bridges and painted the view looking toward the canal. When I finished this I went over to view the the exhibit which was very nice. Stay tuned because I went back after viewing the exhibit.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 11 - Last Light

This is painting #11 for Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge for January.

http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

I used a reference photo I took many years ago along Dune Road in the Hamptons.

This is 5 x 7.

Last Light by Joan Tavolott

Dune Road House

On Monday I headed over to Dune Road in Quogue. This is part of the Hamptons, and the houses here are expensive even if they are small like this one. It is prime real estate.

It was a bit windy so I did this from my car. This is 5 x 7.

April 10 - Dillon, SC

Dune Road View II

On Friday we had such wonderful weather so I drove back out to the Hamptons to the same spot on Dune Road where I knew I could park. I wanted to try another view of this area. Instead of painting the view to the right like last time, I looked slightly left. This painting is about 6 x 15. I also used a fine micron pen for the wires. I think that works a bit better.



Dune Road Views

With the forecast for mild weather I headed for Dune Road out in the Hamptons, an area that has million dollar homes. Right now you can park in some areas, but once the season starts you have to be a resident. This was done in the Quogue section of Dune Road where "Hotdog Beach" used to be. I believe the fence on the left is what remains of "The Barge" which was a local bar/hangout when I first started going to the Hamptons in college. The second painting was done from the same parking area, but I parked close to the road itself so I could look down the road to paint.



Cupsogue Beach View

Yesterday I ventured over to Cupsogue Beach on Dune Road in Westhampton. I love the view of the bay from the boardwalk there. This is one of the paintings in my "Sketchbook Project" journal that will be submitted when I finish all the sketches. This is 3 x 5.