Rialto Fish Market

 Somehow I got distracted and didn’t post yesterday. This was done standing up at the Rialto Fish Market in a small Stillman & Burn sketchbook. When I finished I did my shopping for dinner…gamerones (shrimp) for me and monkfish for Jerry. 

I promised myself that I would do a few sketches on Procreate while I had time in the evening here. Both of these were sketched for the current Scavenger Hunt on creativespark.art.

Snowstorm

 Here are two more snow scenes I did while I couldn't post. This first one is the view outside my window. This time I sketched from the spare room...which funny enough has no spare room. The view is only slightly different from the living room. This was done on in my Strathmore tan toned sketchbook.

 

When I finally left the house I drove towards Oakdale. There is a little spot with a bit of the river running through it. There used to be more water but in the last year or two some of it was blocked and there is only a narrow rivulet. I was able to park along the side of the road in my mobile studio looking in through the entrance. From all the footsteps in the snow I know some fishermen and bird watchers had been there to check things out. I was comfortable just being in my car and sketching. This was done in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook.

Sayville Houses in the Snow

While the snow was still looking good I did a few more sketches in Sayville. I always look for houses that have shrubs that still have snow on them. The top sketch was done on Strathmore tan toned paper and the other was done in my Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook.

A Trip to the Met - Part 2

A friend from Long Island had joined us at the Met on Saturday so after lunch I asked her where she wanted to sketch. I suggested either we do more armor or go to the Temple of Dendur which is one of my favorite places in the museum. It was crowded but we were able to sit comfortably on the wall around the room and there was a lovely view out the window. Robin was very happy there. I was working in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook which is 8 x 10...so open across two pages it was 10 x 16 and I filled most of the two pages. Robin had to leave early but I sat there with my watercolors and ink and sketched until the group was meeting at 3:00. I was happy with the way the sketch turned out. 

Philadelphia

Yes, you are right...I missed posting yesterday. The NYC Urban Sketchers went to Philadelphia for the day. One of our members had been in contact with the person who organizes the Philadelphia Urban Sketchers and worked out plans for a day where the two groups would meet in Philly and sketch their town. Most of the NYC sketchers left by Greyhound bus from the city, but my friend and I went down by car with her family. We we leaft Long Island at 7 am for the three hour trip.

Michael (our host in Philly) had sent us a map and a schedule for the day starting with his group meeting our group at the bus station. Of course there was a small problem since Greyhound had oversold the seats on the bus and 4 of our group didn't get to come down on the 8 am bus, but on one that arrived about an hour and a half later. That was the only problem the entire day.

We started off at Independence Hall which had a wide, grassy area where we spread out to sketch. I did this sketch in my large Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook.

After lunch some of us took the train and some of us walked to City Hall. The building was impressive but I decided to do just a part of it with the colorful umbrellas in front of it.

Lots of sketching was going on. In addition to NY and Philly sketchers we had someone from Sydney, Australia and Washington, DC.

Erin Hill, from Australia was sketching close to me, so I did my 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Day 7 sketch of her at work.

#directwatercolor2019 #30x30directwatercolor

My final sketch was of this super cool Airstream that was turned into a food truck in Dilworth Park.

At a sketching event there is always lots to talk about and share.

Many thanks to our two organizers, Suzala (seated up front on the left) and Michael (seated on the right) for all their hard work in making this event happen.

After our "show and tell" which lasted until about 7, Suzala and I met the rest of her family and went out to dinner. Of course there was traffic at the George Washington Bridge coming back to NY. I finally arrived home at about 12:45 this morning. It was a long day!

Summer Concert

On Wednesday the last of the summer concerts were held in Gillette Park in Sayville. The band, Seven Turns, an Allman Brothers tribute band was playing. They were pretty good and the crowd love them. I wish I could post these sketches side by side because that's how I drew them...but on separate pages. 

I got to the park around 6:15 and I started with the audience sketch before the concert started because I knew by 7:30 it would be nearly dark. I didn't sketch everyone...just a sample of some interesting poses. Once the band started playing I knew I had to sketch them too, so I moved to the left side of my Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook. There was a sketch on the other side of the page, but the paper is good and nothing showed through. It got dark before I was finished but I had brought along a book light to use which helped a lot. (My friend Gina had the idea to bring a book light the last time we sketched there, so my thanks to her for a good idea.) I am real happy with the way these came out!

Governors Island Sketches

So sorry I missed posting yesterday. This one is a bit long so I hope it makes up for it.

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers took the ferry from downtown Manhattan to Governors Island. This is a small island between Manhattan and Brooklyn and is car-free with an old fort, some lovely old houses, and great views back to the city. 

I did a quick ink sketch on the ferry ride which lasts all of about 7 minutes.

Our first stop was Colonel's Row where there are some wonderful houses that were once used for the military officers. This sketch and the one below were done in my Stillman & Birn Beta softcover multi-media sketchbook.

While we were on the island a Civil War Reenactment was taking place. I caught some of the "soldiers" during their break from firing the cannon.

Before leaving I had time for a quick ink sketch of the skyline.

Islip Marina

Last week on one of our damp, drizzly days I went to the Islip Marina. I sat in my car to sketch this sailboat and a bit of the dock behind it. This was done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

Mary

This week's sketch model at the SBAA Portrait Group was Mary.

She was a great model!

When I was out the other day painting the forsythia (the day I met the photographer) I also did an ink was of a massive tree. I forgot to post it then. This is across a double page spread in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

Patchogue Rescue Boat

Last Wednesday our sketch group headed down to the Fire Island Ranger Station in Patchogue.

This rescue boat was moored on the water there. This was done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook. 

Sunken Meadow View

Sunken Meadow State Park is on the north shore of Long Island on the sound. There are some lovely views of the hills and the water...and Connecticut if it is a clear day. It was cold the other day when I was there so I sat in my car facing an opening in the fence where a path was leading down to the water. This is about 5 x 7 done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook.

Sayville Dock

There is always some kind of activity going on down by the Sayville dock with the boars, repairs, fishermen, birds, and assorted marine materials. That's why I go down there to sketch so often. This was done in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook and is about 5 x 7.

Snowy Lot

Since the snow is still around I'm painting and sketching it as much as possible.

This was done in the parking lot of the Smith Haven Marina. The views of the water weren't too exciting, but I liked the disturbed snow in the parking lot. lol

This was done in my Stillman & Birn Alpha Sketchbook...in fact it is the last sketch in that book.

I have tried several of the Stillman and Birn sketchbooks. Michael Kalman was nice enough to send me samples of some of the books when they came out. Each of them is different. I think I like the Beta Series the best. It seems to work the best for the watercolors I do. The Alpha paper is thinner and when I do sky washes it doesn't handle it as well as the Beta. But both of them take ink so well! I will have to order another of the square sketchbooks. I really liked that size. I have sampled the bound and spirals and still can't decide which one I like best. The spiral makes it easy to put the other side of the paper out of the way...but the bound one gives you that possibility of maybe, just maybe, sketching across the double page spread. I am currently working in a bound Beta but haven't done a double page spread yet.