Spring Colors

I knew there would be some trees in bloom at a certain location in Oakdale along Sunrise Highway's service road. There are some corporate buildings and a large grassy area with some pink blossoming trees across the lawn. 

Apparently the lawn is popular among the geese who were enjoying themselves in typical goose style.

 

In Bloom

 While on my walk I came across a tree with white flowers.

The forsythia finally bloomed on Long Island. I love when all the bushes turn that wonderful yellow. This was sketched on tan toned paper in Sayville.

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.

Signs of Spring

 Spring has finally arrived on Long Island. Right now the daffodils and the forsythia are in full bloom. I went into Sayville last week and sketched a few spots where the blooms were.

Forsythia in Bloom

I love seeing the forsythia in bloom. There was a lot of it on a corner in Sayville. 

Yellows in Nature

 Somehow this sketch got forgotten with the more recent work. I was out east and did this sketch in my concertina sketchbook reserved for sketches on the north fork of Long Island. There was forsythia and other yellow flowers in the grass.

Forsythia in Bloom & Watercolor Warmup Patterns

 I have been on high alert watching for forsythia in bloom. I knew the forecast was for rain for a few days this week so I headed out on a dry day to an area where there is usually forsythia in bloom.

I did another lesson from Sketchbook Revival. This one was hosted by Faith Evans-Sills called Watercolor Warmups Gathering Color and Pattern inspiration. She had us find an advertisement or photo and work with patterns of colors found in what we selected. I used a Degas painting of dancers for my inspiration.

Forsythia 2

 For this sketch I pulled onto the edge of an empty field when I saw the forsythia. This was somewhere in Oakdale.

Forsythia 1

 Right now the forsythia is in full bloom here on Long Island. I love seeing all the yellow bushes. Of course it seems the most scenic areas are usually along highways or where you can't stop to sketch. lol I did find a view right around the corner from me with forsythia in front of a house.

Country and City

This was sketched a few days ago when I went out searching for forsythia...there was lots of it, but finding a place to park and sketch it wasn't easy. lol

I joined the Uskvirtual group on Facebook. Every day they pick a new location to sketch and they happened to pick Times Square. I couldn't pass it up.

Forsythia

It is so nice to ride around at this time of year when the forsythia is in bloom. For some reason that pop of yellow really makes me smile. The problem is finding a place that I can sit and paint from my car. There is a lot of forsythia along the service road to the highway, but that isn't usually a good place to pull over and sketch or paint.

House with Pink Trees

I love this time of year when the forsythia are in bloom and the trees are showing their pink colors. This was painted out in Jamesport on the north fork of Long Island.

Forsythia Fence

I'm still enjoying the forsythia in bloom around my area. It brightens everything up. This was sketched in Patchogue.

Tracy is making a new friend again...check it out.

http://tracyattheranch.blogspot.com

Setauket in Bloom

The forsythia is in bloom around here and I just had to get out to paint it. This was done up in Setauket.

There are two posts for "Tracy at the Ranch" today. Somehow I missed posting there yesterday.

Setauket View

I headed up to Ward Melville Park in Setauket one day this week. This is the same park where I was painting the yellow forsythia last year and my photo was taken for one of the NYC newspapers. This time I was there alone except for the people walking their dogs. The yellow forsythia was in bloom again. I painted it with part of the bridge over the water.

My fake journal, "Floral Fantasy" is finished except for the "Wrap Up" post I added today. Here is the link in case you are interested in reading it.

floralfantasybyjoan.blogspot.com

Today is May 1 and I began another challenge, Every Day in May. A list is provided with something to sketch every day of the month. Here is my sketch for today.

"a favorite food"

Yes, pizza is my favorite "food." Chocolate might beat it out as a favorite, but I consider it an indulgence not a food. lol Take a minute and tell me what your favorite food is.

Arboretum in Bloom

On Friday I visited the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale. The forsythia and the tulp magnolias were in bloom and I was able to combine both. This is 5 x 7.

Please come visit my April "fake" journal blog at:

http://www.themagicfeatherbyjoant.blogspot.com

Smithtown Lane

This is my "but my eyes were dialated" painting. I had a eye doctor's appointment on Thursday and he put those wonderful drops in my eyes that made them look like Little Orphan Annie's eyes. He told me I would need to wear sunglasses outside and would have trouble reading for a while. He didn't say I wouldn't be able to see what I was doing in my journal. I couldn't see the pencil lines or make the ink lines match the painted areas correctly. I did as much as I could and just left it as is.

I was parked on a dead end street to paint this next to a wooded lot. As I got started a man came over and tapped on my window asking if I needed help. I told him I was there to paint the view of the house and the forsythia. He lived in the house next to this one. Too bad I wasn't painting his house...maybe I would have had a customer. It is funny that in the many, many times I've sat in front of people's houses to paint, I think someone has come over 3 times to see what I was doing there.

I have started a new journal just for the month of April. It is a "fake journal" like the one I did about Anglina last April. You can visit that blog and see my postings by clicking on this link:

http://www.themagicfeatherbyjoant.blogspot.com