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.

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...

Roosevelt Island

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers went to Roosevelt Island which is a narrow island in New York City's East River. It is accessible from Manhattan by a tram. I got there before the other sketchers so I used that opportunity to go up near the boarding landing and sketch the tram from above ground. It was a quick sketch.

Once we got to the island we walked towards the Roosevelt Memorial. On the way we passed interesting ruins from some of the buildings that had been on the island when this was used mostly for hospital buildings. This particular one was the smallpox hospital. It is in ruins and they have a lot of scaffolding around it. Money is being raised to restore the building.

While I was sketching the above sketch I sat in the Franklin D.Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. The steps lead up to a great view of Manhattan.

Lunch was followed by a very long hike to the northern end of the island where there is a lighthouse. All of us sketched it...you can see a few sketchers in mine. We opted to take the free bus back to the tram station.

It was a full day of sketching.

"Floral Fantasy" has been updated for today.

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