Azalea Garden

This week the NYC Urban Sketcher's theme is trees and flowers in bloom. Since I'm probably not getting out of the house in the near future due to taking care of my husband, I watched the NY Botanical Garden's video of their Azalea Garden to find an image to sketch. It isn't as good as being there in person, but it will have to do for now.

New York Botanical Gardens Part II

Like I said, it was hot on Sunday at the Botanical Gardens, so most of what I did depended on where the shade was at a given time. After finishing the first painting, I wandered around to see some of the invited painters at work. Of course I appreciate all the artwork, but I gravitate toward the watercolor artists. Marc Taro Holmes was painting in the back of the conservancy near the water lily pond. I went over to see him and introduced myself. I will be taking a workshop with him at the Urban Sketching Symposium in Chicago in July. His work is just amazing. I chatted with him and watched his process for a while until his shade started shrinking. Then I was off to see Shari Blaukopf who was in front of the conservancy. I met her last year when she was in NY. All of the artists were so gracious with their time and didn't seem to mind answering questions and having lots of people stop and watch.

I walked a little bit and found a shady spot not too far away. Thank goodness there are a lot of big trees around. Another of the "uninvited" artists was painting there, and while I was painting another artist sat down to paint in that same area. Here is my second painting of the day.

New York Botanical Gardens Part I

Sunday at the NY Botanical Gardens they were having a Plein Air Invitational Paint-Out. Many well-known plein air artists from the USA and Canada were scheduled to participate. In addition the regular folk were invited to come and watch and sketch on their own. The NYC Urban Sketchers set their location to the gardens for Saturday, but I would have gone regardless. I had gone last year and spent a lot of time watching the other artists who I have followed online.

Sunday the temperatures were in the 90s, so it sort of slowed me down a bit. I tended to stay where there was shade and not walk far. My first painting was done by the gardens in front of the Conservancy. It is a walled garden with lovely flowers...and lots of people. I put in one figure when there should have been about 10 at any given time. Luckily I had a perfectly shady spot to work from...in truth the shade determined the view I would be sketching.

NY Botanical Gardens - Part 4

I tend to paint a lot faster (and smaller pieces) than my friend, Susan. So when we go out painting together I often am finished painting before she is. Since that was the case at the NY Botanical Gardens I walked up "daffodil hill." Looking down the hill toward the field with the blooming trees was another beautiful scene. This one was done directly in watercolor in my sketchbook.

NY Botanical Gardens - Parts 2 & 3

Although I went to the NY Botanical Gardens partly to see the Chihuly glass exhibit, I was there primarily to paint. We arrived at the gardens at 9:30 and were there until nearly 5:30 so that gave me the opportunity to do several paintings. 

After doing the painting with the rocks I went over to the area that had the crabapple trees which were in bloom. It was breathtaking between the pink trees and all the daffodils that were in bloom in the field. I did a small panoramic painting so I could include a sweeping scope of the vista.

Susan and I stopped for lunch and then returned to the same area. This was done from a pathway on the other side of the field I sat in front of for the previous painting. The gardens had a program where 1 million daffodils had been planted. I didn't count them but it seemed like at least that many. lol People were taking photos in the middle of the daffodils. At one point a guide came along with a group of kids celebrating someone's birthday. Most of the kids were under 5 and it was bedlam. When they finally moved away a woman came over to me and asked how I could sit there so calmly and keep painting surrounded by all the screaming kids. I just said to her, "I was a NYC school teacher. I can ignore anything." 

Here are the rest of the photos I took of the Chihuly glass exhibit. I will photograph the ones I missed the next time I go back.

NY Botanical Gardens - Part 1

Last week a friend and I went to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It is such a wonderful place with all kinds of little gardens in this vast enclosure. We discovered that the rhododendron garden was in bloom so we headed there. I stuck to the fringes of that garden. I liked the solid rocks as a contrast to the delicate flowers.

The garden itself is very impressive but until the end of October there is a special exhibit by the glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly from Seattle. His pieces are amazing! They were free standing in ponds, some towering 30 feet or more into the air, and some ticked into the indoor planting arrangements in the greenhouses. Here are photos of a few of them.