NYC Urban Sketchers Summer Event

Once upon a time the NYC Urban Sketchers had holiday parties, but the group got so large that we couldn't find an indoor location to host the event. Instead we have switched to a summer event that is held at the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing. The event includes raffles, sales, a garage sale, and assorted fun activities...and a wonderful chocolate and a wonderful vanilla cake. 

My friends and I decided to go outside the gates of the QBG and take to the streets for a while. It was a very hot day so finding shade was a must. We sat along the fence in the shade and had a great view of the restaurants that were across the street. Of course they were occasionally obscured by trucks and buses, but sketching was still possible.

There was a sketchwalk led by Mel Barranco which I missed while I was outside the garden.

I reentered the QBG and went inside the building where we were holding the indoor parts of the event. I had some raffle tickets to put into the cups for prizes. I cooled off a bit and then walked over to the storytelling/sketching event being led by Karen DiMauro. We sat pretty much in a half-circle while Karen told some fables. We were told to sketch whatever we wanted but my plan was to sketch the event itself.

This was my sketch of Karen and her audience.

The day ended with raffles, prizes, old friends, new friends, and a great feeling to be with people who have the same interest that I have. Let's do it again!

 

Queens Botanical Garden

 Last weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers had our 2nd Annual Picnic at the Queens Botanical Garden. In addition to sketching there were raffles, an auction, art supplies for sale, and a delicious chocolate cake and fruit to enjoy. These things are the group's way of raising funds for our projects.

Outside we were busy sketching. A lot of the flowers were past their prime but it was fun to sketch them mixed in with some big leaves provided by some of the beautiful plants.

For my second sketch I focused on part of the main building where the gift shop and meeting rooms are located. My thanks to the QBG staff and to the NYC Urban Sketchers board and all the volunteers that made the day possible.

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.

Queens Botanical Garden

 On Sunday the NYC Urban Sketchers had our First Annual Picnic Summer Celebration at the Queens Botanical Garden. Due to Covid we were unable to have a holiday celebration indoors so this was our way of celebrating together. The day included sketching as well as raffles, free art supplies, a silent auction, and some desserts. The best part was spending time with the 80+ members who came to celebrate. Some of the members hadn't been together in person since pre-Covid. I also got to meet several of the members who I had met only on Zoom during our indoor events. We had an indoor space at the gardens but since the weather was so beautiful outdoors, we mostly enjoyed being outside.

By the main building I found Leslie Sim and some koi posing for me.

Pat Gaignat stopped by while I was painting. We hadn't seen each other since the pandemic started.

Facing the gift shop was a great circular gate surrounded by beautiful flowers.

The Queens Botanical Garden is located in part of Flushing that is filled with Oriental businesses and is the second largest Chinatown in New York City. I wanted to include that in one of my sketches so I looked for a scenic spot that gave a glimpse of what was outside the park, like this Oriental market.

It was so great to be back together as a big group again. My thanks to all the members who volunteered and helped organize the event.