Blue Point Diner

 I am always looking for someplace different to sketch. I've passed the Blue Point Diner many times but couldn't find a good spot to sit in my car. I saw it the other day and made several u-turns to find a spot where I could see. Where the plants and steps are on the left a car was parked. Of course as soon as I started sketching the car, which belongs to the owner/manager, it backed out of the space and was gone. So I erased the car and continued sketching. I was happy with the way it came out.

Bohdi's

Yesterday afternoon was beautiful and warm. I had a little free time and decided to head down to Corey Beach which is on the Great South Bay in Bayport. I was planning to actually sit on the beach when I noticed the colorful umbrellas at the refreshment stand which happened to be open. How could I resist this colorful scene. I hadn't been down there all summer long so I hadn't seen Bohdi's before. As I was sketching several people working at the stand came over to look and compliment me on the job I was doing.

Prague Sketch 1

The NYC Urban Sketchers had a virtual sketch event today going to Prague. I probably picked one of the most iconic spots in Prague...the Astronomic Clock in the old town. The clock is beautiful but has numerous statues and a lot of decorative gold in the face of the clock surrounding the colorful areas. I hope I did it justice.

Tuesday Night with Lefty Lucy

Tuesday night was another free drawing session with Lefty Lucy "Costumed in Quarantine." This week she was in costume with a firefly's wings. The dramatic red was a lot of fun to draw and then make it come alive with red watercolors. Many thanks to Lefty Lucy for modeling again!

These were 10 minute sketches.

This was her final pose which was 20 minutes.

Collioure, France - Sketch 2

When I was looking for a reference to use for Collioure I found several that I thought would make good sketches. Who could resist this building with the turquoise door? My thanks to Patricia Chow for bringing us to such a great location this past weekend.

Flo's Summer 2020

I have sketched Flo's many, many times in the past. This is the first time I've sketched in this summer.  It is a beach snack shack up the street from Corey Beach in Bayport.  It serves hot dogs, burgers, fried clams, etc.  Usually there are lots of umbrellas and picnic tables, but due to the restrictions from Covid 19 there are just a few tables so people can be socially distant. I sat across the street to sketch this so that I could fit the building as well as some of the customers since they are so important to the scene.

Back to Latvia

Two years ago at this time I was in Riga, Latvia for my nephew and his wife's wedding that took place after I attended the Porto Symposium. Thinking about that time I looked through my photos from Riga to find something to sketch tonight. Doesn't this restaurant look fun with the cows on the building and the floral decorations?

And here is the happy couple, Joe and Angela who got married then. Their wedding ceremony and reception was on the beach.

Sunflowers 2

I didn't want the sunflowers from the other day to feel neglected so I am doing a series of sketches of them in various media. This version was done with assorted ink pens, including an Elegant Writer as well as watercolors. I kept them in the same glass pitcher which sort of got lost in the flowers.

Rooftops

I was looking thru some of my photos and came across one of rooftops in Italy. I love all those tiles that give the rooftops such color. This was done with black ink, sanguine ink, and watercolors.

Grand Central Part II

The NYC Urban Sketchers had an afternoon session virtually sketching Grand Central Terminal. This time I used one of the links that Judy provided. I have tried sketching the trains as they sit at the tracks before but they usually pull out mid-sketch. This worked out well because nothing moved. lol

Grand Central Part I

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers sketched Grand Central Terminal. The goal was to sketch some of the architecture in the morning. Sketchers used a variety of online references for images. I used a photo I had from when my friend Ai Nukoolkit visited from Thailand in 2012. She was in Connecticut visiting people and came down to meet me to sketch for the day. Of course we met at the famous clock by the information booth in the great hall. We had an interesting morning today with the sketchers because the woman who organized the day is a docent and gives tours of Grand Central. She knew a lot about it.

Brownstone Update

Last night I worked on the brownstone piece. I decided to add some print underneath and covered it with gesso. The next two I did the ink first and then added watercolor. The last section I only added paint on top.

Socially Distancing at Lunch

The other day I had enough time to head down near the water for a while. I was hoping to sketch some people and found this trio of men sitting in the parking lot at the Sayville Marina sharing their lunch. What a perfect view!

Making Chowder

Like many artists who are practicing social distancing, I decided to sketch something around my home today. I decided to make some soup...New England Clam Chowder to be specific. Before I started cooking it, I got all the ingredients together for a sketch of them. 

My sketches for this weekend will also meet the theme for Moment Sketchers which takes place on the first weekend of the month. This month Candace Rardon gave us a theme of "Moments From Home."

#momentsketchers #uskathome

Arboretum Blooms

Since I was not at the rehab facility all day I had some time to sketch outdoors. I dropped off laundry for Jerry and was near the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. I had about an hour before it closed so I looked for something in bloom. This pink tree (I don't know the species.) had lovely little flowers and right around it there were hellebores in bloom too. It was a mild day so I sat there comfortably sketching until closing time. I did the sketches all on the same page which makes the hellebores look bigger than the blooms on the tree. I cropped it into two sections so it looks a bit better.

The corona virus is affecting other things here too. My sketch group that meets on Wednesday evening decided to cancel tonight and the NYC Urban Sketchers (as well as most of the Urban Sketching groups) are canceling their weekend sketch events. Luckily I don't mind sketching solo and often sketch from my mobile studio. I hope that you aren't affected too much. The virus seems to be spreading rather quickly so I guess curtailing exposure in groups is a sensible thing. Be careful out there!

Roommate

I've been wanting to sketch Jerry's roommate, Roger, since he came in and occupied the bed next to Jerry, but he wasn't usually in a good position to sketch him where he wouldn't notice what I was doing. Today he seemed engrossed in what he was watching on TV or else was sleeping with his eyes closed. Since this week is the OneWeek100 People challenge I figured I had better at least get a sketch of one person done. lol The other 99 probably will have to wait for another time.

Mossy Tree

This tree is located in the parking lot of the rehab facility in East Islip and every time I look at it I would think about sketching it...and finally did it. 

Santa at the Library

I was at the South Country Library in Bellport earlier this evening to do something with one of my art groups. While I was there Santa happened to be in the children's section meeting the kids. Once I finished my task there I headed inside to see what was going on. Santa was sitting there talking with the kids and asking them questions. I stood in a corner and sketched him and a few of the kids sitting on the floor in front of him. Yay...finally a Santa sighting!!! Unfortunately I had remembered my sketchbook, my pen, my watercolors and a brush...but not any water. lol So I did the ink sketch there and added watercolors when I got home.

Snowy Woods

We had a bit of snow this morning and it made things look so pretty. I didn't get out until this afternoon and I had errands to run. This was the view in front of where I parked at the post office in Holbrook.

A Trip to the Met - Part 2

A friend from Long Island had joined us at the Met on Saturday so after lunch I asked her where she wanted to sketch. I suggested either we do more armor or go to the Temple of Dendur which is one of my favorite places in the museum. It was crowded but we were able to sit comfortably on the wall around the room and there was a lovely view out the window. Robin was very happy there. I was working in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook which is 8 x 10...so open across two pages it was 10 x 16 and I filled most of the two pages. Robin had to leave early but I sat there with my watercolors and ink and sketched until the group was meeting at 3:00. I was happy with the way the sketch turned out.