Old Barn

There is a spot in Center Moriches that is posted as preserved land belonging to Brookhaven town. On the property are several barns in various states of disrepair, like this red one. It looks like it needs a little love. Of course you know I love things like this to sketch! 

Suffolk County Barns

Last Tuesday my plein air group, PALS, went to the Suffolk County Farm to paint. It was windy and cold so my goal was to find someplace to sit where the wind was blocked. I ended up sitting next to one of the small barns and I had this view in front of me. I wasn't crazy about it until the sun came out and it lit up the area and created great shadows. I was really happy with the way it came out.

 

Meadow Croft

 I haven't been over to Meadowcroft in Sayville to sketch in a while, so it was fun to find a view to sketch. I've always liked the barn there.

At the Grange

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.

 

Main Road, Laurel

This is the next page in my concertina sketchbook that is focusing on the main road that runs through the North Fork of Long Island (Route 25). I had planned to go a little farther east today, but there must have been an accident because I reached a certain point and the traffic was at a standstill. After sitting in the same place for about 10 minutes I just turned around. This little barn was tucked in off Main Street in Laurel.

Concertina Sketchbook Part 3

I took a ride back to the North Fork yesterday to continue the sketches in the concertina sketchbook. I had two pages left, but I came across this scene near Mattituck that just wouldn't have worked on only one page so I did it across two pages. It probably would have worked across 3 pages too because to the left of the barn was a really open field with absolutely nothing except the foliage in the background. But I had only two pages left yesterday. I am now in the process of adding another strip that will give me 4 more sketches...but that may not be enough to go all the way to the end of Route 25. lol

Concertina Sketchbook Part 2 & Exhibit

Yesterday I went back out to the North Fork along Route 25 with my concertina sketchbook. I saw this yellow barn along the roadway and of course I pulled over to sketch it. I did think yellow was an odd color for a barn and was tempted to change the color...but didn't.

Riding through Mattituck I noticed this taco restaurant but had already passed it. I did a u-turn and went back and parked outside. I was originally attracted to the building but then I saw that airstream on the side and couldn't resist. It looks like the airstream is used in warmer weather as part of the restaurant. I also loved the name of the restaurant..."Mattitaco" for a taco place in Mattituck. lol The sign wasn't in front of the planter. It was higher up on the building, but I wanted to include it.

There are two more pages in the double strip in this sketchbook. I may add an additional strip to give me four more pages so I can keep driving and sketching.

I have an exhibit of 12 of my framed sketches that I did on my trip to Venice back in April. The sketches are in a shop in Patchogue called The Cheese Patch and they will be hanging there for the entire month. Yesterday there was a reception for the show. Here are a few photos.

The painting on the bottom right, of St Mark's Cathedral sold at the reception.

30 Day Challenge - Day 19 - Barn View

I drive around a lot always looking for new scenes to paint here on Long Island. Yesterday I was going from a friend's house headed to a particular spot to paint and was using the GPS on my phone for the best route. On the way I passed this awesome barn and just had to stop. I had never seen it before. So the barn became the subject for my Day 19 gouache painting for the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge. I sat along the side of the road to paint this.

Barn in Autumn

This was painted near the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank the other day. I'm trying to capture all those leaves before they are gone.

Upstate Barn 2

Each of the upstate barns and farms have their own character. We found a cluster of farm buildings and silos that we hadn't seen before, so I looked for a spot where we could park and have a view from the car while we sketched.

Please stop by and view the next entry in "Alicia's Aquarium Journal."

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-6.html

Upstate Barn 1

Last week my sister, Mickey and I had paintings to pick up from an exhibition in Middletown. We always go out and sketch some barns afterwards. This barn is a favorite of ours and we sat in the car to sketch it. Usually there are cows either in the field or with their butts to us as they feed from the trough. This time there were no cows!!! I hope they were grazing somewhere else and haven't been sold. So many of these farms and barns have been disappearing up there.

Here is the link to the day 5 page in "Alicia's Aquarium Journal" that I have been doing.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-5.html

Red Barn

I seem to have a thing about red barns, but maybe that's because so many of them here are red. This was on the grounds of the Smithton Historical Society. 

Upstate Barn

On Thursday my sister, Mickey, and I headed upstate to pick up our paintings from the North East Watercolor Society show in Middletown. When we drive up there we usually stop and paint a scenic barn along the way. This one was in Florida, NY. 

Tucked Away

The east end of Long Island still has quite a bit of farmland but usually the barns are too far away or too modern so I don't want to sketch them. Sometimes you can find little hidden gems like this one.

This is 5 x 7.

Red Barns and Tractor

On Monday I took a trip to the Smithtown Historical Society. I've been there before but haven't come close to painting all the views. I did like this one. This is 5 x 7.

Red Barn

On Saturday I had to drive up to Orange County to pick up paintings, and I love finding barns up there. The scenery is so great, but usually there is no place to park that has a good view. Luckily when we were driving through Chester we saw this barn and there was a spot along the side of the road just big enough to park the car.

This is 5 x 7.

Riverhead Farm

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day so I headed out east near Riverhead. It was too windy to sit outside so I sat in the car to paint. This is about 5 x 7.