Roosevelt Island Colors

Last weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers met on Roosevelt Island which is located in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The plan was to sketch the cherry trees there. After having a few days of very mild temperatures, things changed. It was windy and cold on Roosevelt Island. Luckily I was prepared for the cold, but the wind was a problem. I did my first sketch trying to sit where the wind was locked a bit, but not really enough.

You can reach Roosevelt Island several ways. The one that is the most fun is by the tram from Manhattan. There is also a ferry and a small bridge that connects the island to Queens. I wanted to sketch the tram but it didn't stay close enough for long enouh.

For my second sketch I decided to join some of the other sketchers in a courtyard area where most of the wind was blocked. The earlier sketchers were lucky enough to get a large table were a big group of us were able to sit and sketch...and we were pretty much sheltered from the wind.

Show and tell was back over by the tram where I met up with a few other sketchers who were there early. I sketched two of them in a tiny sketchbook I had with me.

It was a full day of sketching.

Outside MoMA'a PS-1

 The NYC Urban Sketchers met at MoMA's PS-1 in Queens on Saturday. It is a museum featuring very modern art in a restored former school building. Suzala and I checked out a few of the exhibits and the building itself before deciding we would attempt to sketch out on the street in front of the museum. It was cold and windy, but we were bundled up and there were chairs outside to sit on. The view we saw was more interesting than inside the museum itself with the train trestle, buses, cars, and people. Our plan was to sketch outside until we were too cold and then go into the basement boiler room of the building to sketch the wonderful things there.

We lasted for almost 2 hours, until our hands were freezing. We decided we needed some food and went looking for lunch before going back to join the group for show and tell.

Queens Botanical Garden

On Earth Day the NYC Urban Sketchers celebrated and sketched at the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing.  There were quite a few events going on in the garden related to Earth Day. Groups danced, taught about recycling, taught about composting, and gave away trees. 

I started out doing a large sketch of the trees and flowers that were in bloom. A few kids cooperated and hung out on the grass in front of me.

I knew that I couldn't capture everything in a large size so I did a page in my sketchbook with some small sketches of what was going on. Here is how I set up the page.

I started with a sketch of someone dressed as a bee. It turned out that this was Howard Wassinger, a beekeeper and owner of HnH Apiary in Queens. He and his wife had a table where they were teaching people about beekeeping and offering them a taste of the honey they get from their hives. At one point he yelled over to me that he was coming over to see what I was sketching and was surprised to see himself as my model. He was thrilled!

Next I moved on to the beehives that were nearby. These belong to the QBG.

I walked to the other end of the park and found a few sketchers at work. Breanna was sketching with us for the first time. She and her husband recently moved to the area from Montana...quite a change.

Helene' is French and now lives in NYC. She has been sketching with us for a few months now. She was so excited that I had sketched her.

As always our day ended with our "show and tell" where we share our sketches from the day. I always love to see what each person selects for their subject.

Astoria Park - Part I

 On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers were meeting in person at Astoria Park in Astoria, Queens. With all that had happened with Jerry and then the restrictions from Covid 19 I haven't been able to join the sketchers in person since some time in December of 2019. This was an opportunity that I really wanted to take advantage of because it is a location that we can drive to easily and there is parking. Also it would be a somewhat shorter day of sketching and I could leave Jerry for part of the day. I texted my friend, Suzala to see if she was going and she volunteered to drive if I came to her house. My only hesitancy was the amount of walking it might involve. I had been there before to sketch and knew what the park was like.

It was so great to see the other sketchers! There were probably about 20 of us that showed up and for quite a few of us this was our first meeting since Covid. We've seen each other at Zoom events but not in person. My feeling is that there is a possibility that if the Covid cases start rising again we may be restricted again, so I definitely wanted to do this now while we could. Several of us picked a spot that was along the East River which has views of two bridges, the Triborough Bridge (which I didn't sketch this time) and Hell's Gate Bridge which is below.

We took a break for lunch and some catching up...but I had to walk back up the hill to our meeting location which was worth the hike.

A Beautiful Noise

Today I was much more inspired than yesterday. The NYC Urban Sketchers had a theme for the morning of doing "poetry sketching." The idea was suggested by another of our sketchers, Suzanne Cleary, who wanted us to find a poem that spoke to us and illustrate it. It didn't really have to be a poem. It could be a verse, a lyric, or words that inspired us. Jerry and I had watched a Neil Diamond concert on PBS last week. The song, "A Beautiful Noise," has been in my head ever since. I could even see the image I wanted to sketch to go with it, so I searched the internet and found the image of the NYC #7 train heading around the curve from Manhattan into Long Island City, Queens. This is a very iconic view to those of us here in NYC with the back of the Silvercup sign. For the non-New Yorker's  the sign was part of the Silvercup Bakery that is now the Silvercup Studios where movies are produced.

Inktober Day 23 - Throgs Neck Bridge

Returning to Long Island always involves a bridge or a ferry. Coming back from my sister's house in NJ meant a trip across the Throgs Neck Bridge which spans from the Bronx on one side to Queens on my side. I've wanted to sketch the bridge for a while but am usually in a hurry. This time I was determined to find a spot to see it and sketch it...easier said than done. I know there is a parking area along the north side of the Cross Island Parkway but I wasn't sure it had a view and besides I was heading south. I ended up going really out of my way and hitting construction on the local streets but I was fairly certain that the Bay Terrace Shopping Center parking lot in Bayside had views facing the bridge. Once I was able to get to the parking lot it was a breeze, so here is my Day 23 Inktober sketch.

#inktober

#inktober2019

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.

Roosevelt Island - Part I

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers joined Richard Alomar and a group of Landscape Architects sketching Roosevelt Island. We met near the subway and then Richard told us a bit about the history of Roosevelt Island. Like most parts of NYC it originally belonged to the Native Americans, then the British took control, later selling it to the Dutch. The island had a smallpox hospital, a penitentiary, and an insane asylum at times through its history. For a long time it wasn't a place you would want to visit, but over the years many of the buildings were abandoned. The island, like all NYC real estate was eventually renovated. Roosevelt Island is now home to lovely apartments. It is still rather isolated and connected to Manhattan by subway or tram. It is also connected to the borough of Queens by a bridge.

We started walking and went to an area that had a great view of the river and the Roosevelt Island Bridge. We were told to walk with one sketchbook and one drawing tool. We were given about 25 minutes and were supposed to do 3 sketches...one toward the bridge, one looking up north along the river and one directly ahead. I don't sketch quick enough to do 3 sketches so I used my Lamy pen to sketch the view of the bridge. There was no time to add color.

Our next stop was about midway along the western side of Roosevelt Island looking across the river to Manhattan. Rather than just doing the view of the city I included some of the sketchers sitting on the shaded bench in front of me. This was done directly in watercolor.

More to come...

Astoria Park - Part 2

One of the bridges visible from Astoria Park is Hells Gate Bridge. It is owned by Amtrak and the train tracks go across from Queens to the Bronx. I love the unusual color pink on parts of the bridge.

Here is my painting done in the same location back in 2013.

Astoria Park - Part i

The destination for the NYC Urban Sketchers this past weekend was Astoria Park. We've sketched there a few times before. At this park there are views of two bridges, lots of fun activities, and great water views. On Sunday it was the end of Ramadan and there was some sort of service in the park in the morning, so there were a lot of Muslim families enjoying the day. Rather than sketch the whole RFK Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge) I did a small section looking under it with a Muslim woman who was watching her kids playing on the grass nearby.

Just in case you're curious, here is a sketch I did in Oct 2013 almost in the same spot.

And another sketch done of the entire bridge last year.

Triborough Bridge

Yesterday the NY Urban Sketchers met at Astoria Park in Queens. It is right by the Triborough Bridge (aka the Robert Kennedy Bridge) and it connects Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. The views of the bridge from the park are great. Yesterday started off rather chilly, so I was glad I brought along a long-sleeved shirt and my fleece hoodie. I needed them.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 20 - City Sunset

I can't believe that January is 2/3 over already...how did that happen? My Christmas tree is still up!!!!

Here is the link to Leslie Saeta's blog where all the artwork for the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" is being displayed. It is definitely worth a look. http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

If you would like to vote on Sea Dean's "Paint a Masterpiece" blog here is the link:

http://paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com

Today's painting was done from a photo taken my my niece , Kathleen Szalay Hoffmann (the professional dancer living in Australia) a few days after Christmas when we were driving back from Maine. We were crossing the Whitestone Bridge in Queens with this breathtaking sunset over the city. She snapped a picture and gave me a copy of it, since I was driving and couldn't take one. Thanks Kathleen!

City Sunset by Joan Tavolott
from a photograph by Kathleen Szalay Hoffmann

Astoria Park Views

The NYC Urban Sketchers met at Astoria Park today. We had a good turnout with 9 of us sketching for most of the day. The park is in Astoria which is in the borough of Queens. 

Our first sketching location was right at the entrance to the park, just along the RFK Bridge, formerly called the Triborough Bridge. 

Here are Susan, Ben, and Mark hard at work.

I sketched the bridge from below.

This is about 4 x 7.

I also sketched Mark working at his easel.

Next we moved closer into the park. Susan and Gene were busy talking 

with a wonderful view behind them..

I painted a view of the RFK Bridge.

We also had a good view of Hells Gate Bridge...and yes, it actually was

pink and fuchsia.

Here is a photo of the view with my sketch in front of it.

We took a break for lunch at a wonderful Greek restaurant in the neighborhood called 

Agnani located at 19-06 Ditmars Blvd. We talked, shared our sketches, and swapped some sketching information about materials. Then a few of us went back to the park to sketch.

I did this small one which is about 4 x 6.