Inktober 2018 - Day 14 & 10 x 10 Workshop

For today's Inktober 2018's Day 14 sketch I went to Bellport. Like in the years past the town has decorated lamp posts and telephone poles with creative scarecrows with pumpkin heads. There is always a vote for your favorite scarecrow. The one I selected this time is Scarecrow #2 titled "Charlotte Mistress of the Night." I was attracted to her gown and the black long gloves...very high society. lol
#inktober #inktober2018

As I promised yesterday here is a bit about the NYC Urban Sketchers 10 x 10 workshop with Laura Rosen titled "Adding Atmosphere and Form with Color." It was a great workshop but the weather really didn't cooperate. Laura had us meet her at Riverside Park South at 68th Street and the Hudson River. The morning stared with rain so by the time everyone arrived they were wet and it was chilly and windy. Laura did a demo under the umbrellas at the outdoor cafe there but the rain was falling between the umbrellas and the wind was blowing it over to where we were working. We moved from there to a covered roadway that runs along the park. She showed us some prepared examples of how the colors in the sky transition from almost an ultramarine at the top slowly changing to cerulean as you go down and then to a light area with a tint of blue, yellow ochre, and a touch of alizarin. She also showed how warm and cool colors can help to give something form.

The rain finally stopped so we joined her out on the pier looking upriver toward the George Washington Bridge. She did a demo showing us how she layers cool and warm colors as she goes back into the scene to provide depth and atmospheric perspective. Laura uses an orange micron pen to sketch. She likes the warmth it adds to the sketches and it neutralizes with the cool colors. Here are a few photos from the demo.

Laura demonstrating her technique.

Laura adding color to the painting.

Laura's nearly finished painting.

It was hard to paint in the conditions we had because it was so damp that the paint wouldn't dry on the very damp paper. We moved back by the cafe for a wrap-up. It was a little warmer there because there was a lot less wind. Except for myself and one other sketcher everyone else opted to go leave and not paint because they were too uncomfortable. I knew I wasn't leaving without painting. So Ron and I went back on the dock. We went near some kind of storage shelter that blocked a little of the wind...enough that I was able to sketch without my fingerless gloves. lol Laura came out to check on us but she was shivering from being wet and cold. We told her she should go home and we would stay as long as we could. We were comfortable and the sun actually came out for about 2 minutes. Both of us were able to do two paintings each, one facing the bridge and one facing south. With the dampness it was hard to get dark colors without layers, but I was happy with my two paintings. I did end up adding a few darks at home to make the sailboats stand out a little more.

Around 2:00 Ron and I decided to call it a day and went to get some lunch. I think it was a productive day and a helpful workshop.

Sketching in Washington Heights.

I met up with the NYC Urban Sketchers on Saturday. Svetlana organized a wonderful day for us in Washington Heights. We met at Bennett Park which is on the former site of Ft. Washington. Inside the park are some cannons which were fun to sketch...or climb on like the little kids did.

Next we headed down the hill to Plaza Lafayette which overlooks the river and the George Washington Bridge. I wanted to try to catch the height of the bridge down to the bike path down at the bottom so I used a vertical format.

We had some regular members of the group show up to sketch and welcomed a few new sketchers. We have members from France, Germany, Russia, and China sketching with us. Most of them work here in NYC or are finishing their education. It is an interesting group.

Here are John and Mark sketching the view.

Svetlana 

Jimmy 

Lucy

Michael

And the whole group from the morning.

Our next stop was lunch. Some of us sketched a bit. I did a woman at the next table. I used my ink pen and the crayons that were on the table. That waxy smell of crayons always takes me back to beijng a kid. I usually sketch directly on the table covering, but decided I wanted it in my sketchbook...just in case it came out good. 

After lunch we went down to the park by "The Little Red Lighthouse" also known as the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse. It is right at the bottom of the George Washington Bridge. It is no longer operating but is a popular spot, especially since a children's book had been written about it. I liked seeing this 40 ft structure contrasted against the huge bridge. I sketched the lighthouse with a view of the workings underneath the bottom of the bridge.

There was a group having a picnic nearby so I included them in a second sketch. I did this one directly in ink...no pencil lines first.

My thanks to Svetlana for organizing a great day of sketching and to all the sketchers who showed up today to make the day such fun!

I reposted most of this from the NYC Urban Sketchers blog...I don't know how/why it came out with a colored background and frames around the sketches. I wish I knew. lol