Last Sunday the NYC Urban Sketchers were meeting at Rockefeller Center to sketch the tree and the assorted decorations and activities there. I thought Mark, our organizer was crazy...Rockefeller Center on a Sunday in December??? I couldn't imagine sketching in the crowd that would be there. I went in with my friend, Suzala on the Long Island Railroad. She has trouble walking any distance so we took a taxi from Penn Station (34th St) up to Rockefeller Center (50th St). When we got there we found a bench with a so-so view. I left her there and went to walk around the promenade and see if anyone else from the group was there. By the time I got back she had been chatting with the security guards. When they saw that we were sketching they told us that we could move to a special section where there wouldn't be crowds and we would have a pretty unobstructed view of the statue of Promethius and the tree. The area was fenced off from the general public so we wouldn't have to worry about people banging into us. It was perfect!
I had already started my sketch including one of the security guards but moved as soon as the offer was made. They were even nice enough to allow any of the other sketchers who came along to join us there. Here is my first sketch with one of the guards. He stayed nearby so I was able to finish him easily.
For my next sketch I simply turned around and faced the opposite way toward 5th Ave. This view is one of my favorites during the Christmas season. There are angels with lights tucked into all the greenery all the way up the promenade. It is pretty during the day and just wonderful at night!
Doing a white angel wasn't easy. I moved one of the trees so it was behind the angel and did some negative painting in her dress and wings. Then I used a white gel pen to add some texture. I'm really happy with the way it came out.
Two more quick stories about the morning. Suzala had on a foot brace so she can't wear her regular shoes. She was wearing sandals with heavy socks, but it was a pretty cold day and her feet were cold. There was a security woman there with a bomb sniffing dog named Sammy. Suzala of course made friends with the woman and the dog. The dog came and sat on her feet for a while to keep them warm. Also while we were sitting there a young couple came in to take a photo and the guy got down on one knee and proposed. I wasn't fast enough to sketch them. lol
