I tend to do a lot of sketches at The Grange because it is so close to home and is a great spot with this driveway. I grabbed my Strathmore toned tan sketchbook when I was heading out because I know that while gouache works so well on the toned paper. I've sketched this driveway twice this winter and the view each way makes me happy.
I stopped at The Grange in Sayville recently after we had a light coating of snow on top of the snow we had previously. It freshened up the scene and I knew I had to paint the view. This is looking down the driveway toward Montauk Highway. I was sitting in my mobile studio just past the carriage shed.
After sketching the view of the parking lot in the snow on Saturday I had lunch and then headed out to find a snow scene to sketch. The roads were clear, but it was cold. I headed over to Islip Grange Park in Sayville. The park has an area with a small hill that has a handball court at the top. It also has parking and from past experience I know people go there to go sledding. I was able to sit in my car facing the hill and capture some of the poses of the sledders and parents enjoying the snow.
Last week the Patchogue Sketch Club went to The Grange in Sayville. I've sketched there so many times and I'm always looking for something a little different to sketch. Luckily Mariann was sitting across from me sketching the scene behind me. I started with her and then included the scene behind her.
I've sketched at The Grange in Sayville many time, but I don't think I did a close-up of the carriage house before. The Town of Islip is responsible for the upkeep of the property, and they have really let things go. There is a big opening through the back of the structure and many, many holes in the roof. It is a shame that they haven't taken better care of the buildings.
The other night the Patchogue Sketch Club met at The Grange in Sayville. I've sketched there many times before and have drawn most of the buildings several times. This time my focus was on the carriage house, which as you can tell needs a lot of TLC. The Town of Islip has been really negligent in taking care of these old buildings and if something isn't done soon some of them will be too far gone to save.
We had a second snowfall recently. Depending on where you are on the south shore towns got somewhere between 2-5 inches of snow. I headed out in my mobile studio and ended up down by The Grange in Sayville. There were a lot of people sledding but I couldn't get close enough to sketch there from my car. I did park near the historic buildings and got a bit of a view.
Our sketch group met at The Grange in Sayville the other night. There are some assorted small buildings and some pretty paths.
At the end of last week I noticed that they were setting up for a carnival down at The Grange, a park that is about 5 minutes from me. The rides and booths seem to always look the same so I was looking for a different view. I parked my car and the carousel was right in front of me. None of the booths were open and there were only a few workers there, so I sat and sketched. I was far enough away that I didn't have to worry about the horses being anatomically correct. lol That's always a good thing. I thought I would get back there while it was open over the weekend, but that didn't happen.
On Saturday at The Grange in Sayville there is a farmers market. I sketched one booth and some of the customers.
The Islip Grange in Sayville has some interesting buildings. This one reminds me of an outhouse. I'm not sure what it actually is.
While I was gone NY had a bit of snow. Our first storm dumped about 10 inches in my area. Luckily I don't have to go anywhere, so if I sit tight things get plowed and I can get out easily. This first sketch was done the morning after the snow started. We had about 24 hours where it kept snowing, sometimes very lightly but that was after we had a lot of snow.
This was done from my living room window. The path had been plowed and due to some cutting back of the foliage in the fall you can actually see the houses beyond the fence.
This sketch was done down by the Sayville Grange just a few minutes from me. Some nice lady and her dog came walking into view while I was sketching which was a bonus.
I've sketched at The Grange in Sayville so many times you would think it would get boring. However, with a little bit of a lighting change or a slightly different perspective there is often a new scene. The shadow on the barn was what I noticed. I sat in my mobile studio to do this. Most of the painting was done on site, but it got too dark to see the farm machine so I had to stop. Luckily I had taken a photo of it and finished that part at home.
Finally we have a bit of color around here on the south shore of Long Island. I had a busy day on Sunday, but I rushed out around 3:30 knowing that there was only about an hour of light left. If I was lucky the "golden hour" could be great. I knew I needed to sit facing east so the sun would be shining on the side of the trees that were facing me. I ended up down at The Grange, a park nearby that has a lot of open area. I didn't want to be anywhere that would be shading the trees.
There is a park called The Grange that is down the road from me in Sayville. I've sketched there many, many times and have probably sketched just about every view there. On Saturday the Patchogue Sketch Club decided to meet in the afternoon around 2:00 while the weather was nice (since we are quickly losing our evening light on Wednesday nights). I debated whether I wanted to go and finally went a little early because the Sayville Farmers' Market is held there until 2:00 and I was hoping to get some farm fresh veggies. I was able to do that and wandered over near the caretaker's house. I walked all the way around looking for something different and saw this area with the missing picket from the fence and a bit of color. I had my spot!
