Wuyang Casa BBQ

The Wuyang Casa BBQ is in a strip mall in Lake Grove. With the colors and the design this structure definitely stands out.  I felt like I was in a different place. 

Usk Sketchmas Day 23 - Person Wearing Red

 The prompt for day 23 of Usk's Sketchmas is a "person wearing red." Right away I thought of Santa. So I headed to the Smith Haven Mall. I think each year they make it more difficult to see Santa from outside the actual viewing/photographing area. I had to walk around quite a bit to get even a tiny view of Santa. I guess they don't want the families to get a good view and take their own photos of their child with Santa. There were a lot of decorations and trees blocking my view but I persisted...although there was something completely blocking my view on the left .

Time Warp Toys

 I found an interesting store (at least from the outside) in Lake Grove called Time Warp Toys. 

I 

Whole Foods

It is a challenge to find a sketching location when the weather doesn't cooperate. I went over to Whole Foods in Lake Grove because I knew they had a seating area. I purchased a cup of coffee and sat at a table by the window. That made it possible to see customers at the tables by the half wall and see over the wall to the customers and clerks at a few of the checkout stations. Although I was really very close to these models none of them noticed that I was sketching them. People seem to be in their own little worlds. 

Japanese BBQ

 I recently noticed this restaurant out of the corner of my eye because of the bright colors and vowed to go back and sketch it. When I went back to the location in Lake Grove I was very disappointed to find that it had closed. I never noticed it before. I wonder if it opened and closed during Covid. I hadn't been in that shopping center since before the pandemic. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will reopen.

One Week 100 People - Day 1

 For the 6th year Marc Holmes and Liz Steel have challenged artists to sketch 100 people in the span of 1 week. For some reason their week only lasts for 5 days. I've done this challenge several times before and I always enjoy it. It pushes me to do something that I need to practice anyway. I am finally relaxing enough that I will venture into the mall, but I'm still wearing my mask.

For Day 1 I headed over to the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove thinking that would be a great place to find a lot of people. Thinking ahead I knew I needed to find mall locations where people would be relatively still. First I headed to Barnes and Noble which is right outside the mall itself. I know there are small tables by the Starbucks Cafe and a window ledge by the magazines. (Yes, I've sketched there before.)

Next I headed to the Food Court. There were lots of subjects to sketch and I waited for people to sit down at a table which was an indication that they would be there for a while since they were eating. I completed 2 pages of sketches there.

On my way out of the mall I passed the Apple Store. There were charging stations right opposite the store and there were stools to sit on. They were just asking me to sit down and sketch weren't they? The Apple Store has captive models who stand for a long time checking out the iPhones and other merchandise.

I was able to complete 43 sketches in one day!!!

One Week 100 People Challenge 2018 - At the Mall

The 100 People challenge started today and I made sure I went out to a location that would have people to sketch. I headed over to the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. I did this first page sitting in a very comfy chair right outside the Apple Store. With their wide-open glass doors I could easily see the customers and the store personnel. I sketched some of the people inside as well as several people that came and sat across from me who were waiting for the person they were with to finish shopping. One of the people at one of those little kiosks was also in my line of site...lucky him. lol

#OneWeek100People2018

Next I headed to the mall food court. During the week it is pretty easy to get a table and find people to sketch including the guy from the Japanese stall that gives out free samples of teriyaki chicken, which I did taste. Yes, the woman on the bottom did have blue-green hair. I'm glad I sketched her quickly because she didn't stay long. Instead she bagged up her food and left. I'll have to come up with a good location for tomorrow...a place with lines of people. I will need to do a lot since they are forecasting snow for Wednesday and I might not get out in that case.

Barnes & Noble's Starbucks

We had a damp, mostly dreary day so I wanted to sketch something indoors. I was rather tired of being in the same places so I went to the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. Right outside is a Barnes & Noble with a Starbucks inside. Most Starbucks look pretty much alike but I like that the showcase was visible here.

The funny thing was that I was using my water brush which was still filled from last Saturday with a mix of water and rubbing alcohol so it wouldn't freeze. I hadn't used the water brush on Saturday...just my jar of water. For this sketch the water/alcohol mix made the watercolor pigments behave a bit strangely... they separated a lot on the palette and the paper. I'll have to remember that in the future and not mix them. My friend put vodka in her water to keep it from freezing. lol

After I finished this I went into the mall and there in the center was Santa all set up already. That was my first Santa sighting of the season, but I didn't sketch him. They use the same setup and outfit each year. I'll have to find a new location to sketch Santa.

At the Food Court

On Wednesday we had another dreary, damp day. I used my time to do some shopping and then stopped at the food court at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove to sketch some people. This guy looked like he would stay put for a while...at least until his samples ran out. lol

Here are a few more sketches for Every Day in May.

This is a sketch of an alarm clock that was among my FIL's possessions. He would set it when he took a nap in the afternoon and it would ring to remind him to go down to the dining room for dinner.

These boots belong to my husband. I think he has had them for about 30 years, although I probably haven't seen them on his feet in 25 years. They are very worn, but I spiffed them up a lot. He won't let me get rid of them because they are his "lucky boots" from when he lived in Texas.

Indoor Sketching

On Saturday we had showers, but I was itching to sketch somewhere. I grabbed my sketchbook and headed up in the direction of the mall in Lake Grove. Then I remembered a new Fairway Market had opened near there so I went there. It had just opened about a week ago and it was super crowded. I put a shopping basket next to me in the produce department for a bit of protection and pulled out my sketchbook. I'm not used to sketching standing up but it wasn't too bad...and I only had to move a few times so people could get to the oranges behind me. lol  For my first sketch I did some radishes surrounded by leeks, scallions, and lots of leafy lettuces.

Next I sketched the ladies shopping by the big pile of corn.

With all the people passing by and all the workers in the store not one person seemed to care that I was standing there sketching. 

Rainy Day at Starbucks

Last week we had a few days of rain. One of the days I decided to do a bit of shopping so I headed over to the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. When I was done I stopped in Barnes & Noble to have a coffee in their Starbucks inside the store and do a sketch. I loved these colorful ladies in their rain gear. They were just begging to be sketched.