Farm

I like riding out east on Long Island and coming across farms. So many of them have been sold and turned into housing developments, so I am happy to see the ones that are still producing, like this one.

Brookhaven Field

I was searching for autumn colors but didn't have much success the other day. Instead I found a field near the marina in Brookhaven. I was there for over an hour sitting and working from my car. Finally a woman came over and asked it there was a reason I was sitting there for so long, so I showed her the small painting. She smiled and said to stay as long as I needed.

Workers

I'm not quite sure what these National Grid workers were up to. They were digging right outside my development. I only sketched the ones that were working...not the ones that were supervising. lol The next day I came out and there were 9 workers in another spot. Two were digging and the other 7 were just standing and watching. Who knows how many I will find tomorrow. lol

Bond Street Views

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers met at Bond Street in Manhattan. This cobblestone street is only a few blocks long but is filled with interesting views of the buildings, both old and new, restaurants, water towers, skyscrapers...and a branch of the Dick Blick art store. It was our first cold outing in a very long time, so I'm glad I was prepared with layers of clothing, fingerless gloves, and a hat just in case. I didn't wear the gloves or the hat, but when I got cold it was nice to take a break and shop in the cosy warmth of Dick Blick.

#momentsketchers

For those of you who haven't heard of Moment Sketchers, the group was started by Candace Rose Rardon, who has organized an opportunity for artists to share sketches of moments that show what we have seen or done on the first weekend of each month. She collects all the posts that have the #momentsketchers and posts them together on her blog when the weekend is over. People from all over the world take part.

There is really a contrast of old and new on Bond Street. There are some businesses that look closed alongside new shops and restaurants in the old buildings.

This little spot was a below-ground cafe.

Water towers on the tops of buildings in NYC are great contrasted against some of the new construction that has gone up recently.

Bond Street had a lot of treasures to sketch today.

A Bit of Color

My plein air group went to a private residence in Brookhaven the other day to paint. I did an Inktober sketch there first so I didn't have a lot of time left to paint, so I did a 5 x 7 small painting. Finally, a little color.

Saturday - Part II - Hastings-on-Hudson

After lunch in Dobbs Ferry on Saturday we decided to drive over to Hastings-on-Hudson. We went down by the water to paint the view across the Hudson River, but it was too windy to sit there. We had stopped at a really cute coffee shop in the morning that was actually in the Hastings-on-Hudson train station. Susan and I sat there to paint and JoAnn went to do the water view from the railroad platform. I liked the look of this with the tile roof and potted plants.

Slightly up the hill (everything was either up the hill or down the hill) was Maude's Pub. There was a group of people eating at the tables outside and I could hear them laughing from where I was sitting across the street. I found a view on the sidewalk between two parked cars. JoAnn finished her painting and told us she was going to sit at Maude's and have a drink while she sketched, and we should meet her there. So when I finished that's what Susan and I did.

It was a nice change of pace to go to two new places.

Saturday - Part I - Dobbs Ferry

Although the NYC Urban Sketchers were meeting in Queens on Saturday, two friends and I decided to escape Long Island and head a bit north. We were hoping for some hills, quaint towns, and maybe more color on the trees than we had here. Our destination was Westchester County and the towns of Dobbs Ferry and Hastings-on-Hudson. Both are overlooking the Hudson River. We had never been to either town. We drove through Hastings-on-Hudson first to see what was there and grab a coffee before we went to check out Dobbs Ferry.

We decided Dobbs Ferry would be our first sketch location. After driving around a bit I parked at the top of a hill overlooking the water. The only way I could get a good sketch of the whole street was by standing in the middle of the street...so that's what I did to sketch the view. When cars came along I just moved out of the way. (It was a quiet street so there wasn't much traffic.) Then I sat in my chair to the side of the street to add ink and watercolors. 

Next, from the same spot I looked to my right and  I painted a building that was part of either a church or group of community buildings. I know that right behind the rock wall was a community garden where people were working to clean up the garden for the end of the season. I didn't venture over there. I wanted to finish the painting.

Then JoAnn and I walked down the hill to meet Susan in the center of town for lunch. For the afternoon we headed to the neighboring town, Hastings-on-Hudson. More on that tomorrow.