Main Street Bellport

 I am participating in a plein air paint out sponsored by the South Bay Art Organization. Artists can paint in Bellport, Brookhaven, or East Patchogue. Then each artist selects one of their paintings to be on display and for sale at Bellport Day which is this Saturday. Since most of the people who come to the festival are actually residents of Bellport, or people who are there for the summer I tried to do scenes that will connect with them like this one of Main Street. I got a lot of positive feedback from people walking around the town on Friday.

You can see a bit of how it began here.

Roadwork in Bellport

 As I was driving through Bellport the other day I noticed they were doing some kind of roadwork on Main Street. I passed the guy holding the "slow" sign and turned my car around until I was parked behind him. He seemed a little more interested in something in the car that he was snacking on rather than the traffic (which is very slow in Bellport at this time of year).

Chicken Place Restaurant

Last week the Patchogue Sketch Club met on Main Street in Patchogue. Although we've been to Patchogue many times at the library but it has been a while since we sketched outdoors there. We all picked a location to sketch. I was attracted to the little man statue in front of the Chicken Place Restaurant. The statue reminded me of a bobble-head doll. I guess he is carrying a take-out box from the restaurant which is Peruvian. I will have to checkout the food sometime. 

 

Along Main Street

I was up in Port Jeff the other day and found a parking space right by some umbrellas and colorful flowers. It was meant to be sketched. Done from my mobile studio which had the best view. 

Port Jeff Houses

 I like sketching in Port Jefferson but finding a good view of something isn't easy. A lot of the streets are steep and parking is limited. Recently I realized that there is a parking lot that faces some houses across Main Street. If I'm lucky I can get a parking spot facing the houses straight on and even though I'm across the street they are visible above the traffic because they are partway up the hill. The other day I was lucky because the spot gave me a view of more than one house. What interested me wasn't the houses right on the street, but the ones that were tucked behind them up the driveways. With them side by side I thought it was a bonus to sketch across the view.

Insurance on Main Street

There are two buildings side by side on Main Street in Sayville with similar looking fronts. I like them with the bay front window and the sort of tile roof. This one is an insurance company and the other one is a photography studio. I may have to sketch that one too.

 

Inktober 2020 Day 25 - Claws

 For my Day 25 sketch for Inktober I sat in my mobile studio near Claws on Main Street in Sayville. It is a very popular seafood market and eatery. There was a line out front of people patiently waiting to go inside and purchase their seafood. Off to the left is the tented outdoor seating area and pickup window for cooked food. Looks like they are doing a good job of social distancing. 

30 x 30 Direct Watercolor - Day 21 - Thornhill's

Thornhill's Rexall is/was a pharmacy on the corner of Main Street and Gillette Avenue in Sayville. Apparently it was an institution in Sayville and anyone who grew up in this area had memories of the pharmacy and the candies and sodas that could be purchased there when they were kids. Something I read said that it had been around when they were a kid in the early 1950s and that the pharmacy had the first telephone number assigned in Sayville. 

I've lived in this area about 14 years, but never had the occasion to enter the store...and then it closed. People were heartbroken and the store stood vacant for  years now. Recently I read that it was finally sold. I don't know what the new owner plans to do with the store but it is attached to a group of store so I don't think it can be torn down. 

I decided I needed to capture it before the sign comes down and renovations are done. Who knows how they will change it... Today was another rainy day so I sat in my mobile studio in the parking lot across the street from Thornhill's to paint my Direct Watercolor Day 31 painting. I do hope I get a chance to get back there and do another version of a painting/sketch of the sign and the corner building. This month the Rainbow flag is flying on all the posts along with the American flag and I wanted to capture that too.

#30x30directwatercolor #directwatercolor2019

Top Hat Barber Shop

I always liked this barber shop on Main Street in Sayville, but it isn't in a great location to sketch it unless you can get a parking space right near it. If you sit across the street there are too many cars in the way, and even during mild weather if you sit on the street in front of the shop you are too close to get a good view (besides blocking the narrow sidewalk). I lucked out today since I was in Sayville in the morning and pretty much the entire block had no cars parked yet. Yay!!! When I first pulled into the space there was a man sitting on the bench with his dog. Of course they took off before I could sketch them. But along came this man with his dogs and I sketched them quickly. In fact there were three dogs but I couldn't sketch that fast. lol

In the afternoon Jerry had an appointment to renew his driver's license so I went along to sketch some people at the DMV. I don't know how but we were out of there fairly quickly so I didn't get a lot of sketches done.

Main Street

We have a lot of interesting towns here on Long Island. I like views where I am looking down the main street toward something in the distance like this domed building in Islip. I sat in my "mobile studio" to capture this scene.

Inktober 2018 - Day 7

There weren't any events for Pumpkinfest today that I wanted to go to and it was drizzling this morning. I waited for the weather to improve and then drove down to Pemaquid Point to sketch. That is one of my favorite places up here and almost always visit it. I sat along the road that runs along the water to do my Inktober - Day 7 sketch of the rocky coast.

Yesterday I did a few sketches while I was in town. Here is one of another decorated pumpkin.

I met my husband for lunch and then stayed in town for the Pumpkinfest Parade on Main Street. I found a spot to put my stool where I was leaning against a telephone pole. I figure that way I wouldn't be knocked over by people in the crowd. I sketched the people starting to gather and sit on the opposite side of the street from me.

Here are photos of a few more of the decorated pumpkins. This one had a "Starry Night" look to it.

These two were a little creepy but fun.

Roosevelt Island - Part 2

At the northern tip of Roosevelt Island is the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse. It was built by the convicts from the penitentiary and was made of local stone. It was designed by the same person who designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, James Renwick, Jr. and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

We had lunch along Main Street and sat near a church. When I finished eating I sketch the view from our spot to the water.

Finally we sat on the eastern side of the island and sketch the Ravenswood Generating Station across the river in Queens. Due to the chimney I needed to do this across a double page spread.

Inktober - Day 9 - Pumpkinfest X 2

Today is the last day of Pumpkinfest here in Damariscotta. Today's big event is the Pumpkin Regatta where huge pumpkins are hollowed out and turned into boats. I went down to the harbor at around 10 to find a place close to the water where I could sit on my chair. Of course they were forecasting rain during the day. I took my slicker just in case. Since I was there about 1 1/2 hrs before the racing would start I got a good location and I was right in front of the truck that was delivering the pumpkin boats. They were forklifted off the truck. I decided since they were so close to me that was what I would sketch. I used pencil first and then my water brush and watercolors. Then I started adding some ink. It spritzed a bit so I closed the sketchbook until it stopped and then I started again. I got a good part of this painting done before it really started to rain. I was getting just too wet and it didn't look like it was going to stop, so I packed up my stuff and headed over to one of the stores. I never did see any of the actual race. When I got back to my sister's house I finished painting and inking this sketch. 

Here are a few photos I took while I was sitting there.

The crowd waiting in the rain.

The forklift delivering the pumpkin boat to the river.

The Viking boat taking a spin.

The Unicorn boat out on the river.

After I dripped off a bit in one of the stores I went back out and sat across the street under the overhang in front of the bookstore on Main Street. That was a nice, dry place and I was able to do my  Inktober Day 9 sketch of the view across the street. One of the decorated pumpkins was sitting in front of the Damariscotta Center. #inktober #inktober2017

 Here is a photo I took of the scene...right about when the shuttle bus must have dropped people off. lol 

Babylon's Main Street

A few weeks ago several artist friends decided to go to Babylon and sketch along Maine Street. I was a bit late so by the time I got there one of them was leaving and the other had a problem with her watercolor because it had started drizzling. It had totally ruined her sky, so she gave up and left too. After going all the way there I decided to at least sketch the scene, so I stood mostly under an overhang and sketched the view. By that time the weather had improved and it was no longer spritzing. I worked on it for about 1 1/2 hrs and it really needed a lot more. I ended up leaving with it unfinished. Last week (when it was raining again and I was indoors) I decided to work more on it. Now I consider it finished

Therapy

I love seeing all the shops decked out for the holidays. This one is on Main Street in Sayville and is named Therapy.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 18 - Mauve Morning

Today is day 18 of "30 Paintings in 30 Days" with Leslie Saeta.

http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

Vote if you want on Sea Dean's blog.

http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com

Today's painting was done from a reference photo I took at sunrise in Islamorada, Florida.
It was a wonderful morning!

I did a sketch yesterday sitting in my car on Main Street in Sayville.

It is hard to sketch when the traffic keeps blocking your view. lol

My friend Helen Percy Lystra is also participating in the challenge. Here is a link to her blog that is always fun to visit. She not only paints and sketches, but she collages and does fiber arts too.

http://www.helenlystra.blogspot.com

Pera Bell

Recently the Patchogue Sketch Club sketched along Main Street in Patchogue. I saw where I could see the restaurant Pera Bell (which I'm told has the best burgers) and a bit of the Patchogue Theater.

Of course someone was outside talking on his cell phone, which I guess is better than having a smoke. This was done across a double page spread in a sketchbook that my friend, Gina made. The paper isn't watercolor paper so it doesn't do well with big wet washes, but it does fine for most other things in a painting.

This sketch above is in my sketchbook that will be part of a sketchbook display in one of the galleries in Patchogue. It will be with other sketchbooks done by other artists in the Patchogue Sketch Club.

Caroline's Flower Shoppe (SOLD)

Today was a cloudy, dismal day but since I didn't get outside to paint yesterday I just had to go out. I took a ride to Islip which has some interesting buildings and houses. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Caroline's Flower Shoppe, located at 341 Main Street. Who could miss those colors! I have passed this spot a number of times and always thought it would be a fun place to sketch. 

Today was the day!

I sat in my car parked in front of the shop. One of the workers came out and asked if I could move my car back a little so there would be room to park in front of me...no problem. I had sketched the view and started painting when someone came over again and asked if it was possible for me to move my car to the other side of the street because their delivery van needed to be close to the building to load up for the day. I said I was doing a painting but had it sketched and could finish painting it from the other side of the street. When I finished the painting I figured I might as well go inside and show it to them. The two ladies working at the counter loved it and took it inside the office to show it to the owner...and she bought it.

 I like days like this!!!

This is 5 x 7.

Roast Coffee & Tea

The Patchogue Sketch Club met at Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company on Main St. in Patchogue last night for a bit of sketching indoors. This was a view of a few of the patrons at one of the nearby tables. Of course they left before I had the entire sketch done, but I had most of it completed and painted the watercolors from memory.

My thanks to Roast Coffee & Tea Trading Company for always being so cordial to us when we come in and monopolize a few tables for a while.

Suffolk Theater

Happy Spring!!!

Today was a sunny but cold day here on Long Island. I decided to drive out to Riverhead to shop in the outlets and then sketch. The Suffolk Theater on Main Street in Riverhead recently had it's grand-opening after being renovated. It is a unique Art Deco theater that opened in 1933.

I am so glad that people are willing to preserve places like this. Too many are being lost.

This is about 6 x7 in my Stillman & Birn Alpha Journal.