Usk Sketchmas Day 23 - Person Wearing Red

 The prompt for day 23 of Usk's Sketchmas is a "person wearing red." Right away I thought of Santa. So I headed to the Smith Haven Mall. I think each year they make it more difficult to see Santa from outside the actual viewing/photographing area. I had to walk around quite a bit to get even a tiny view of Santa. I guess they don't want the families to get a good view and take their own photos of their child with Santa. There were a lot of decorations and trees blocking my view but I persisted...although there was something completely blocking my view on the left .

Usk Sketchmas Day 22 - Glowing Street Lights

 Glowing street lights can easily be found at this time of year for the day 22 prompt. I grabbed my Stillman & Birn Nova Trio to get a black page to work on. When it got dark I rushed into town to sketch the lights there but in my rush I didn't check my battery operated light that I was planning to use. Of course the batteries were dead! I had to use my interior lights and sketch while my car was still running which I don't really like to do. I used gouache, watercolors, and a white gel pen to sketch the scene. I should have brought along a white colored pencil but forgot so I added a little bit of it when I got home. I don't do nocturnal sketching very often. 

Usk Sketchmas Day 21 - Busker & Mini Printmaking

 This prompt for Usk Sketchmas gave me a problem. We don't have buskers anywhere near here. You can find them in Manhattan, but I wasn't going to travel  1 1/2 hrs to sketch one. I had to resort to working from a photo for this sketch as much as it bothered me not to be working from life this time. Anyway, this young man was playing the xylophone on the street in Riga, Latvia when I was there for my nephew's wedding in 2018 and I snapped his picture. It came in handy.

The Patchogue Sketch Club met on Wednesday night but we didn't sketch. The Patchogue Arts Council had arranged for a workshop @Festive Mini Prints With Artist Andrea Cote which we attended instead. We had fun.

Laurie, Mareille, Cindy and I were making stencils to use on our prints.

Kaityln was working and Mike was looking on.

Maureen was at the press.

My prints and ghost prints.

Usk Sketchmas Day 20 - Bakery

 The prompt for day 20 was "bakery" and I went to La Roma Pastry Shop in Oakdale. I heard about the bakery through friends but had never stopped there before. I got a cappuccino and biscotti to enjoy while I was sketching and sat down at a table. The biscotti were delicious and the bakery was festively decorated, active with people coming in, and a pleasure to be in. I was there for quite a while before one of the workers came over to see what I was sketching. Then everyone took a look. The owners and the staff were so nice and just loved that I took the time to come in and sketch their bakery. I will definitely be going back.

Usk Sketchmas Day 19 - People Shopping

 The prompt for day 19 was "people shopping." At this time of year you can pretty much find them anywhere. I was out food shopping so I brought along my sketch supplies and stood in the corner of ShopRite right outside the produce department. I'd much rather be seated while I'm sketching so I rushed through this because there was so much to sketch. The ink and some of the color was done on location with additional color added at home.

Usk Sketchmas Day 18 - Dog or Cat & Museum Trip

 The Sketchmas prompt yesterday was a "dog or cat." I don't have any pets and didn't really want to disturb a friend to go over and do a pet portrait. So I went to Petco and stood by their window to the grooming station. The dog I picked stood pretty still, but the groomer kept moving around and blocking my view. Also, I couldn't see the dog's paws because there were boxes blocking my view. I did the sketch on site but added the color at home.

On Saturday one of my art groups, Wet Paints, had a bus trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a free trip for members...only guests had to pay. How could I pass that up? The museum had several great exhibits so I wasn't planning to spend the day sketching like I usually do. Along with two friend from the group I went to view the Manet/Degas Exhibition which was really good and extensive. Manet & Degas were friends and often painted in the same areas and used the same models. The curator of the exhibit showed a painting of each of theirs and the info by the paintings discussed how the two paintings were related. I learned a lot about both of them.

The second exhibit was titled "Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain, and the Origins of Fauvism." The two artists redefined color as they painted with colors that they sensed rather than the natural hues of what they were seeing. It was a color explosion.

The final exhibit we saw was "Women Dressing Women" which explored many of the women fashion designers from The Met's permanent collection from the turn of the century to the present day. My favorites were some of the older fashions.

The Met's Christmas tree with the beautiful angels merited a stop too.

But I did have about 30 minutes to do a sketch before we were due back on the bus. My friend Liz was sketching in front of me.

Usk Sketchmas Day 17 - Street Corner

 The day 17 prompt was a "street corner." It was cold out and most spots that I liked I couldn't sit inside my car to sketch. I found this shop on a corner in Islip. I loved the blow-up soldier standing by the steps outside.

Usk Sketchmas Day 16

 Day 16 for Usk Sketchmas was a "seasonal product." I thought Christmas trees would fit that very well, so I headed over to the Christmas tree lot by the Sayville Fire Department.

Usk Sketchmas Day 15

 The prompt for Usk Sketchmas was "flower or floral display" Since I had a poinsettia sitting next to my tree it seemed a perfect model.

Usk Sketchmas Day 14

 The prompt for yesterday's Sketchmas was "tall building" and I had timed it perfectly with my trip into NYC. I was meeting friends for dinner and a Broadway show (Neil Diamond's, It's a Beautiful Noise) so I planned my day so that I could go to Bryant Park before meeting up with them. I sat near the skating rink and painted the view in front of me.

I didn't get to see the tree in Rockefeller Center since it meant walking another 6 city blocks and I had already walked from Penn Station (32 St) to the park on 42 St...and I would still have to walk back later.

There is a Christmas tree in Bryant Park but it pales in comparison to the one in Rockefeller Center.

Here are a few photos of my day in Bryant Park.

The view across the skating rink.

A line in front of the Stroopwaffle booth.

The yummy fresh stroopwaffles dipped in chocolate and covered with toppings. Yes, I did indulge and thought about having them in Amsterdam when I was there.

Bell decorations on the tree.

Usk Sketchmas Days 10 & 13

I wasn't able to do the prompt for Usk's Sketchmas day 10 when it came up. The prompt was for a "sketcher" and I knew I wasn't going to be anywhere with another sketcher until tonight. My sketch group met at the new Starbucks in Patchogue and our theme was kitchen tools. I did a few of those but my main focus was on Marianne who was sketching across the table from me. 

The prompt for day 13 was a "beautiful shoe." This sketch was actually done a few days ago when I was at Macy's in the Lake Grove Mall. I couldn't find a spot to sit close to sketch these so I stood by them in the shoe department, did a pencil sketch, and then sat a distance away from them to add the color. They were great but not something I would ever wear without killing myself. lol

Usk Sketchmas Day 8 & 9

 The day 8 prompt for the Usk Sketchmas was a "warm drink." I headed over to Dolci Momenti Bakery in Holbrook where I indulged in a cappuccino and a nutella filled pastry to go with it...definitely an indulgence.

Day 9's prompt was a "lane with garbage bins." I didn't time it right to find trash bins along the street but did find two tucked in a corner behind a small strip mall. 

Usk Sketchmas Days 6 & 7

 It seems I'm behind a bit on posting my Usk Sketchmas sketches so I am showing two today.

The day 6 prompt was "wild animal." I hadn't visited the Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology Center in a while so I headed over there. I've been sketching a lot from my mobile studio but I had to actually walk in to see the animals at the Ecology Center. I debated if I should sketch the bear, but he was so far away and so dark that he would have just appeared as a dark blob. The peacock was colorful although he didn't do a fancy spread of his feathers.

The day 7 prompt was "shop front." I was cold and although I had a lot of options for store fronts I needed a location that I could park in front of. Mini Monet is an art studio and gift shop in Sayville. They offer classes for adults as well as children and have an open studio for ceramics and wood cutouts. I lucked out and got a parking space across the street and even luckier, no cars came and parked to block my view.

This weekend was also my plein air group's exhibit and sale. It went well. I sold a few paintings, one of my books, and a lot of cards. It is nice to know my work will be treasured somewhere else other than piled in my spare room. lol Here are a few photos from our day.

In addition to the wall paintings I had small works, cards, books, and ornaments for sale. Most of us brought along smaller items or unframed paintings because that is what mostly sells.

The two center paintings in the white frames are mine.

The top painting, "Abundance" sold off the wall.

Usk Sketchmas Day 5

The prompt for day 5 of Usk's Sketchmas was "statue." This wooden statue was sculpted by Todd Arnett and it overlooks Lake Ronkonkoma. Local legend says the Indian Princess of Lake Ronkonkoma fell in love with an Englishman who lived across the lake. Her father would not permit her to have a relationship with the Englishman. The heartbroken princess killed herself because she could not be with her true love. Folklore goes on to say that every year in a desperate search for her true love, the princess takes a young man's life by drowning in the lake. I sketched the statue on location in the town of Lake Ronkonkoma. 

Usk Sketchmas Day 4

"Seasonal Food" was the prompt for the Usk Sketchmas Day 4. When I think of the holidays I think of all the cookies I used to bake. I always started immediately after Thanksgiving and baked several batches each night. Before Christmas vacation I packed up most of them to give to friends in the school I worked in. It was a big thing when I started passing out cookie tins. One of my good friends and her husband were in Peru adopting their son and had to spend several weeks there thru Christmas. I saved her cookies in my freezer and they enjoyed them when the came home. Now that I'm retired I only bake maybe 3 kinds and I only do a half batch of each. 

For this sketch I headed to Pat's Marketplace in East Islip. I knew they had a bakery area and always had trays of cookies prepared.

USK Sketchmas Day 3

 The day 3 prompt for Usk Sketchmas was "musical instrument." We do have a keyboard in the house but it isn't the easiest thing to get to. This prompt fell on a weekend day so I checked the internet to see if there were any local musical programs for the holidays that I could go to. There was a chorus but I wasn't sure if there would be an actual instrument that I could see easily and sketch. Then I saw a listing that the Bayport-Bluepoint Library was having a classical guitar program...yes! Guitarist, Peter Fletcher performed and I sketched him the entire time...well I finished a few minutes before the performance ended.

When his program was over a woman came over to talk to me and see what I had sketched. She could tell I was sketching from where she was sitting. She loved it and asked me if I could bring it over and show it to her mom who was in a wheelchair on the other side of the room. They thought it was so great that I was sketching the performance. Before I left I showed it to the musician. He was impressed that I did the guitar so well. It is nice to have my work appreciated.

Usk Sketchmas Day 2

The day 2 prompt for Usk Sketchmas was "mode of transport." I was able to find a scene that not only was a mode of transport but was a Christmasy scene too. This was sketched at a tree lot in Oakdale. 

Usk Sketchmas Day 1

Urban Sketchers has come up with a fun list of prompts to keep the members active leading up to Christmas. They posted a calendar of the "24 Days of Sketchmas" with a prompt for every day leading up to Christmas Eve. You know I enjoy things that challenge me. The day 1 prompt is a market stall. This was in front of the South Shore Farm Stand in Oakdale. The previous farm stand closed after Covid so I was surprised the other day when I passed by and it was open under a new name and decorated for the holiday. I sat in my mobile studio to sketch since it was drizzling a bit. They have some foods and local products, so I will definitely have to go back and check out what they have. #usksketchmas

Just in case you are interested in participating here is the calendar of prompts.