Pinks Again

 I'm about a week or so behind in my posting. The pink blossoms on the trees are now pretty much all gone, so I'm glad I captured this one.

Port Jeff Blooms

For a while I was able to find cherry trees in bloom almost everywhere. This one was up in Port Jeff on a hilly street. 

Pinks!

 It is hard to resist the cherry trees when they are in bloom because the time is so short. Here is another tree sighted in Sayville.

Cherry Tree

It took a while but the cherry trees here finally started blooming. This one was in Setauket. I used a combination of watercolors, watercolor pencils, and watercolor crayons to try to get some of the texture of the blooms on the tree. 

Last of My Pinks

I'm pretty sure this is the last of the pink cherry trees that I painted this spring. I miss seeing their colors. Now everything is back to green.

Twin Cherry Trees

 Two more cherry trees in Yaphank.

Blue Point Pinks

I still have a few paintings of cherry blossoms to post even though the blossoms are pretty much gone here. The greens have taken over. This was painted down by Corey Beach in Blue Point. 

Planting Fields Arboretum #2

There were so many views with the cherry trees at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. These were flanking the trellises that will be covered with roses soon.

 

Between the Houses

I love the pinks and purples that separate these two houses... 

Cherry Tree & Fence

I'm still coming across cherry trees in bloom. I just can't help myself. 

Bellport Pink

 I have been searching out cherry trees in the area. This one is on Bellport Lane in Bellport. It is at its best at this time of year and in the fall. You can barely see the beautiful house behind it.

Planting Fields Arboretum - Day 1

My friend, Suzala wanted to go painting last Monday because it was supposed to be such a wonderful day weather-wise. She suggested going back to Camusett Park, but I thought that was too far. I get caught in too much traffic heading east after 3:00 so I prefer to be closer. I suggested going to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. I told her there should be cherry trees in bloom and buildings too. It was spectacular! I painted this cherry tree with the greenhouse behind it. In addition to my regular watercolors I used watercolor crayons to give this a little more texture.

I moved on to another part of the park after finishing the first painting. This section is a huge open field with several cherry trees at the top. There were so many people who came just to take photos with the cherry trees. There was a bride and groom, several ladies in gowns, and other people dressed nicely and wearing big hats like the woman in this painting.

I finished painting around 3:15 and by the time I left the park I got stuck in traffic heading east. That is a problem I encounter a lot. I didn't get home until nearly 5:30. That's rush hour on Long Island.

Suzala said she was free the next day until about 5 when her first art student arrives and was planning on going back to paint again. I told her I didn't think I was planning to go back to the Arboretum but if I changed my mind I would let her know.

 

Cherry Blossoms and Forsythia

 When the first cherry blossoms started appearing I would pull over and sketch them, like these blossoms and the yellow forsythia in Oakdale.

Happy Easter & Sketches from the Central Park Area

Happy Easter to those who are celebrating. 

Yesterday I sketched with the NYC Urban Sketchers.  Our destination was Salon 94 on 89th Street near Central Park. There was a bit of a mixup, and we were told we couldn't sketch in the gallery, although some of the sketchers weren't noticed and managed to sketch for a while. Since the weather seemed promising most of the sketchers headed up to 5th Ave and Central Park. Many of us sat outside of the park to sketch, some sketchers went into the park, and some sketchers went into the Metropolitan Museum. The view that the group I stayed with was 89th St and the Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue. I couldn't decide what I wanted to sketch, so I did some small sketches of what was in front of  me.

I started with a sketch of the Guggenheim on the left and then the streetlight, signs, and birds right in front of us. Then I sketched looking down 89th Street with the buildings, cars, and foliage that I could see.

My final sketch on the page was of some of the other sketchers sketching while sitting in front of the wall enclosing Central Park. I had a bit of lunch and then headed into Central Park. I didn't go far. The cherry blossoms had started to bloom so I sat in a spot where I was out of traffic but could see the blossoms. That is the painting I posted at the top of this page. 

At 3:00 we had our "show and tell." It was interesting to see what everyone had painted since so many of us had wandered to different locations. The Guggenheim Museum was a popular subject, but there were some other good locations and some sketches that had be done in Salon 94. People started to leave but a group of about 8 of us decided to go back into Central Park and do one more sketch. The spot we picked included a blooming cherry tree with the Guggenheim Museum behind it.

Pretty In Pink

 Our pink trees are finally blooming and seem to be everywhere! They can stop you in your tracks.

Pink Tree

 The signs of spring are slowly showing up. I've been watching for the tiny pink and white buds on the trees. It seems once you see them they are in nearly full bloom overnight. I found this beautiful lonely pink tree on Bellport Lane in Bellport. Hopefully I will find more trees in bloom. 

More Blooming Trees

I love seeing all the trees and plants that are in bloom right now. The contrasts in color make things so great looking. I think this is a weeping cherry tree.

Cherry Tree

I visited the Planting Fields Arboretum with a few artist friends last weekend and we were able to sit outside for a while to do the trees like this one that was in bloom. Between the blossoms and the texture of the trunk I was a happy sketcher.

Here is the link to my next page in the "fake" journal about the aquarium.

http://aliciasaquariumjournal.blogspot.com/2016/04/alicias-aquarium-journal-april-18.html

A Day in Brooklyn

The NYC Urban Sketchers met at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens this morning because it is cherry blossom time there. Our first stop was at the Japanese Pond. I did a painting of the pond with the orange Torii (gateway),  with the wonderful cherry blossoms in bloom in the background.

This is about 5 x 7.

I also sketched the crowd of visitors on the viewing platform across the pond.

This is about 3 x5 and was done directly in ink.

After lunch I painted a view of one of the staircases with the flowering trees and a few people.

This is 3 x 5 and done directly in paint.

Lastly I painted a view of a fountain with the greenhouse behind it.

This is 3 x 5 and done directly in paint.

After the gardens a few of us headed over to the Brooklyn Museum which was having some wonderful special exhibits. One was "Fine Lines - American Drawings from the Brooklyn Museum" which included drawings of Homer, Eakin, Sargent, Hopper and Hartley among others. There were even sketchbooks belonging to some of the artists.

Next we saw the John Singer Sargent Watercolors. That was great!

The last exhibit we saw was by Anatsui and was hanging sculptures that looked like fabric but really made from metal caps that were flattened and connected with wire. They looked almost like soft, draped fabric hanging. Here is a photo of one of the sculptures.

Isn't this gorgeous?

Due to the length of this post I will save the entry of the "fake journal" until tomorrow.

Arboretum Path

Yesterday I went to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. It was a surprisingly warm day and I was able to sit out for a plein air painting. This is the path leading to the manor house.

The daffodils were along the path.

This is 5 x 7.

Here is the next entry in my fake journal.

April 5 - Washington, DC