Inktober Day 8

 Koosjie Koene's Inktober prompt for day 8 was "use a dip pen." As you can see I have a fancy glass one from Venice, but I really rarely use a dip pen. I find dealing with the ink bottle and pen to be rather messy unless I'm working at a table. This was done at Frank Melville Park in Setauket. The building is a water mill that is no longer working. I sketched it from the front. For a while it was the park office, but I don't think it is used at all now.

#inktober #inktober2026

Setauket Water View

Setauket is a lovely area, but parking near the water is really limited. I found a spot facing the bay, but wasn't sure it was legal so I worked from my car. This is an area that last August several stretches of the road were washed away in a storm. People were unable to get in or out of the streets there for days.

Fishing With Dad

Sometimes that scene comes along that you have to capture. While I was painting the cherry tree in Setauket in the last post, a car pulled up along the bank across from me and a family climbed out. The dad and one of the young sons stood there and the dad was teaching the little boy to fish. It was such a great scene! As with most sketches of people I had to do it immediately before they moved out of my line of sight, which they did a little while later.

Cherry Tree

It took a while but the cherry trees here finally started blooming. This one was in Setauket. I used a combination of watercolors, watercolor pencils, and watercolor crayons to try to get some of the texture of the blooms on the tree. 

Setauket Water View

 My plein air group, PALS, was invited to paint at the home of one of our members who overlooks the water in Setauket. Her house and property are lovely and the views are spectacular. In the distance you can see Connecticut across Long Island Sound. Many thanks, Chris!

Flower Baskets

When I was in Setauket the other day I stopped at Pantaleon's Farm Stand. They had some great, colorful baskets of flowers. 

Frank Melville Park colors

 Our plein air group headed up to Frank Melville Park in Setauket recently. I've painted the bridge there several times but the colors called to me that day. If you look hard the bridge can just barely be seen in the background.

Inktober Day 24 - Setauket

Since I was already in Setauket for my Day 24 Inktober sketch I stopped at the Emma S Clark Memorial Library. It was misty outside so having an indoor location was a good thing. I've seen their reading room several times and thought it would make an interesting place to sketch with the fireplace, interesting windows and high-back chairs.
#inktober
#inktober2019

The reason I had been in Setauket is that my plein air group, PALS, had been at Ward Melville Memorial Park to paint in the morning. We were hoping to see some colorful trees, but things are coming into color here much later than usual since we had warm weather for so long. The sky was overcast and from time to time it was misty and I was afraid it might rain. I used a bit of artistic license to make the trees more colorful than they were. This still needs a bit of work.

Inktober 2018 - Day 23

My Tuesday plein air group went to Frank Melville Park in Setauket today to paint. We were hoping for some autumn colors but there wasn't much yet. I did get a bit of color fix working on that painting but it isn't quite finished yet. I will post it when it is. I took a break for lunch and figured I might as well go back and do my Day 23 sketch for Inktober 2018 while I was up there. (Setauket is on the north shore of Long Island, about 25 minutes directly north of me.) When I went back I sat looking toward the bridge that is over by the watermill.

#inktober, #inktober2018

Inktober Day 17 - Huge Tree & Green-Wood Cemetery Part III

My plein air painting group went to Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket this morning. I've sketched and painted there many times. Sometimes it is hard to find something to inspire you when you have been there before. I think in the entire landscape there was one tree that had changed color and the red barn that usually entices me was wrapped in orange fencing because they are repairing it. So a friend and I walked around a bit on one of the paths I hadn't been on before. We found this huge tree with a strange bamboo grove behind it. It wasn't something I would paint but I thought it made a good Inktober subject. I used my twig, Chinese ink, and a stencil brush for this one.

#inktober #inktober2017

My last sketch from Green-Wood Cemetery was done from up on a hill looking back at the main entrance to the cemetery. I believe that the highest spot in Brooklyn is in Green-Wood Cemetery. Up at the top of that tall spire in the entrance is this huge nest and it is the home to the Brooklyn parrots. Parrots you ask...yes. There is a large colony of parrots that make their home in the entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery. Apparently back in the 1960s the parrots escaped from a shipment which arrived at Kennedy Airport which was coming from South America. The escapees found their way to Brooklyn. They have been there ever since. It is fun to watch them flying in and out of the openings in the entryway. I wish they came down a little closer so you could really see them.

Setauket View

I was up along the water in Setauket the other day. I sat in a parking lot by the dock and painted the view back to the street.

Setauket Mill

On Sunday I took a ride up to Frank Melville Park in Setauket. I love the mill there, but it isn't easy to sketch the wheel part of it without standing up. I sat to do the sketch but had to keep straining my neck to see over the fence that was smack in front of me. I used a little salt to get the texture on the bricks.

Setauket in Bloom

The forsythia is in bloom around here and I just had to get out to paint it. This was done up in Setauket.

There are two posts for "Tracy at the Ranch" today. Somehow I missed posting there yesterday.

Setauket Bridge

Spring finally arrived on Long Island and I wanted to make sure to capture the forsythia while it was in bloom. This was sketched from my car by the Setauket Bridge.

Here is a link to my "fake" aquarium blog. There are two new pages.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com

#inktober, #inktober2015 - Day 19 & Scarecrow #2

I was driving around in the Stony Brook/Setauket area today and decided to sketch this building with the marsh grasses behind it in the harbor as my Inktober Day 19.

I couldn't resist doing another scarecrow when I was in Bellport the other day. I may have to go back and do a few more.

Setauket Tree

Up at Frank Melville Park in Setauket are two big trees with such interesting trunks...all carved with initials and hearts and scratches. This on has a big hole in it that I think gives it such character. I love the nearly white limbs and trunk.

Setauket View

I headed up to Ward Melville Park in Setauket one day this week. This is the same park where I was painting the yellow forsythia last year and my photo was taken for one of the NYC newspapers. This time I was there alone except for the people walking their dogs. The yellow forsythia was in bloom again. I painted it with part of the bridge over the water.

My fake journal, "Floral Fantasy" is finished except for the "Wrap Up" post I added today. Here is the link in case you are interested in reading it.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Today is May 1 and I began another challenge, Every Day in May. A list is provided with something to sketch every day of the month. Here is my sketch for today.

"a favorite food"

Yes, pizza is my favorite "food." Chocolate might beat it out as a favorite, but I consider it an indulgence not a food. lol Take a minute and tell me what your favorite food is.

Painting with Lin and Susan

Last week my friend, Lin, was visiting NY for a few days from her home in North Carolina. She had a spare day to come out sketching with me and our friend, Susan. Susan suggested taking her up to Setauket. Lin was originally from Long Island but now only gets here to visit once a year or so. She hadn't ever been to Setauket. This is one of two bridges at Frank Melville Park. Behind this particular bridge is a grist mill and an estuary that goes out to the bay. It is a really pretty spot to paint and sketch.

Next we went off to lunch...but didn't sketch it. We were too busy talking and catching up on things.

Lin wanted to put her feet in the Atlantic but the best we could do for her was to take her to a small beach in Stony Brook harbor. We sat in the shade and painted the view there.

Here are Lin and Susan sketching from the shade of the trees in Setauket.

Fame in Setauket

Yesterday I was out plein air painting in Setauket. I was sitting by the water painting the pond, the bridge and the forsythia bush. A man came over and asked if he could take my photo and I said yes. People have asked to take photos of me painting before. Anyway, he goes to his car and comes back with this big camera with a huge lens and starts snapping away. Finally I asked him if he was a professional photographer and he said he works for Newsday which is one of the big Long Island & NY newspapers. He took my name and told me that my photo might be in the paper today.

I tried to find a way of linking the photo, but it doesn't give everyone access, so I took a photo of the photo on the computer. LOL It came out OK.

Here is the painting I was working on when he came over.

Caroline Church of Brookhaven

With the lack of leaves on the trees it is easy to see through to the architecture you don't always notice. I don't know why this is the Caroline Church of Brookhaven since it is in the town of Setauket. Some times things don't make much sense. Anyway this church is always fun to sketch.