Bethesda Fountain

I don't usually go in and meet the NYC Urban Sketchers during the week, but my friend, Wendy (from Australia) and I wanted to sketch in Central Park, especially at Bethesda Fountain. It is a lively spot with beautiful scenery, lots of people, and usually music.

 Wendy and I selected the fountain for our first sketch. Here is my sketch.

Here are Wendy and Toi sketching.

Then I did a sketch of the staircase and some of the flowers in bloom.

Here are Wendy and I together by the fountain.

Wendy did some great sketches too. If you would like to see more of Wendy's work, here is a link: http://wendybarrettpainting.blogspot.com

Wendy has also written a book about her challenge to return to sketching and painting. I think most of you would enjoy reading it. The book is available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Grabbing-Muse-Throat-Wendy-Barrett/dp/0994366000/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1463177376&sr=8-8&keywords=wendy+barrett

Fountain sketch by Wendy Barrett.

Fountain sketch by Wendy Barrett.

After lunch I did a sketch of some of the people sitting on the edge of the fountain.

It was a great day to be in Central Park, especially with friends. It was a lot of fun spending time with Wendy while she was here. She leaves tomorrow morning for Massachusetts and will be meeting up one afternoon with another blogging artist friend of ours, Michael Perchard.

NYC Tourism

On Saturday the NYC Urban Sketchers met at Grand Central Terminal. One of the locations I sketched was the NYC Tourism counter which had a constant stream of visitors.

Train Travel

Going into the city to sketch at Grand Central required taking the Long Island Railroad from Ronkonkoma. The trip to Penn Station takes about 1 hr 20 min, but there are usually some models on the train to sketch. This was done with ArtRage on my iPad.

Here are my next few sketches for Every Day in May.

EDM April 9 - someone I love (my mom in her younger years)

EDM April 10 - candy 

EDM Day 11 - a bucket

Sketching in Grand Central Terminal

While my friend, Wendy Barrett was still in NYC I made plans to head into the city to sketch with her again on Saturday. I had wanted to take her up to Central Park so my plan was to organizing an event for the NYC Urban Sketchers. Mother Nature didn't want to cooperate. The forecast for Saturday was for rain, so we changed locations to an indoor one...Grand Central Terminal. Wendy hadn't been there yet so it was a good choice...and dry.

The group met at the clock in the main hall. Then we headed to our respective desired locations around the huge room. Wendy and I went up one of the staircases opposite the Apple Store. There are good views no matter where you are. 

I was drawn to the tourist information window. There was a constant stream of people stopping there.

Then I found a spot downstairs where I could sketch the clock and some travelers. I tucked myself against the wall and sketched away.

Here is a photo of me and Wendy that some kind traveler took for us.

Wendy really liked the windows...they are impressive!

We regrouped with the other sketchers downstairs for lunch to share sketches and chat. We had several new people join us, and a few people apparently were sketching in the building but we didn't see them. It is always fun to see everyone's sketches of the day and anything else in their sketchbooks that they want to share.

After lunch I wanted to sketch a train on one of the tracks. I searched the departure board for a train that would be sitting there for a while, so it wouldn't leave as soon as I started. But of course it departed before I was completely done. LOL The good thing was that another train pulled in soon after which looked similar. At one point when the train on the left side of the track pulled in I was all of a sudden confronted with a swarm of people exiting the train and heading straight at me sitting on my stool. I wasn't sure if I would survive without being knocked over. Luckily they veered around me!

I think Wendy enjoyed the Grand Central experience. We made plans to do another sketching location during the week. 

Flowers

A second digital sketch of a floral arrangement we received.

Digital Flower Sketch

Here is a sketch I did with ArtRage on my iPad of one of the floral arrangements we received after my FIL's funeral.

At the Food Court

On Wednesday we had another dreary, damp day. I used my time to do some shopping and then stopped at the food court at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove to sketch some people. This guy looked like he would stay put for a while...at least until his samples ran out. lol

Here are a few more sketches for Every Day in May.

This is a sketch of an alarm clock that was among my FIL's possessions. He would set it when he took a nap in the afternoon and it would ring to remind him to go down to the dining room for dinner.

These boots belong to my husband. I think he has had them for about 30 years, although I probably haven't seen them on his feet in 25 years. They are very worn, but I spiffed them up a lot. He won't let me get rid of them because they are his "lucky boots" from when he lived in Texas.