East Quogue Shop

Going back to the 70s I rented a summer house with friends in the town of East Quogue which is part of the Hamptons. I have very fond memories of that time and every once in a while I take a ride out there and see what is still around that I remember and what is new. There are a number of new shops (even bagels...yay!) and this is one of them. I like that they have retained the original buildings and have not gutted them and turned them into a strip mall. 

Port Jeff Water View

 I like wandering in the towns out here that are along the water. Port Jeff (Port Jefferson) has a lot of old, quaint houses in the town and overlooking the water like this one. I sat in the empty parking lot of one of the town marinas to get this view looking up into the hills. 

Converse All Stars

Last night the Patchogue Sketch Club met and our theme was "shoes." Another member, Christina brought in her son's red Converse All Stars. I saw the red and just had to do them!

 

Odd Couple

 Yesterday was a damp day with showers most of the day. I had a few errands to run and then looked for something outdoors to sketch. I've been to Bello Poultry Market in Holbrook to sketch before...but only from the outside. On the side of the parking lot there were two statues, one of a rooster and one of a cow. Now how could I pass that up? I angled my car a bit and needed to use the wipers so I could see, but I did sketch both of them. Some day I will go inside the market and check that out too.

Wildlife Center

 Yesterday I took a ride to visit my sister, Mickey in NJ. It was a fairly nice day so we headed over to the James A. McFaul Wildlife Center in Wycoff, NJ to sketch and to take a walk. It was nice to be able to enjoy an outdoor art day together.

Mickey took a photo of me sketching. It was nice to have a table to spread out on.

Catching Up

 With the holiday excitement there are a few sketches that never got posted.

Avocados in a Mexican-American Grill in Bayport. It was a cold day for sketching so my mobile studio came in very handy. Haven't tried the restaurant yet.

Here are two sketches done for the Scavenger Hunt at Creativespark.art...

an angel

and a poinsettia done in red ballpoint pen.

Out With the Old - In With the New

 Yesterday was New Year's Eve and although it was a dreary, wet day I had to go out to pick up a painting from an exhibit in Patchogue. While I was out I decided to do a sketch. I found this view of the back of some buildings and sat in my "mobile studio" to sketch. At times I did have to put the wipers on to see the view. So here is my last painting of 2022.

2023 arrived today and luckily the weather was much more cooperative. It was sunny and mild (somewhere around 55 degrees) and I headed to one of my favorite places...Robert Moses State Park where the Fire Island Lighthouse is located. It is amazing to me to see the number of people who come here on January 1 each year. The boardwalk to the lighthouse was crowded with people and many of them had their dogs with them. I walked to the lighthouse which I believe is just under a mile. There were a lot of people outside, a long line to climb to the top (no way for me) and they were giving out free hot cocoa and cookies to the visitors. I parked myself against the railing in front of the lighthouse and sketched some of the people. I was able to sit down for a while when someone vacated a bench, so I was able to comfortably add watercolors. This is my first sketch of 2023. When I walked up to the window to get some cocoa the ladies there wanted to see what I had sketched and asked me to post it to their FB page.

On the walk back to the parking area I found a bench facing the lighthouse and did a small painting. This is the last page in this particular sketchbook which I started back in 2014. The paper is definitely not meant for wet media, but it is small and fit in my bag. A family came along and the kids were really interested in watching me paint. The parents asked if I minded and I said no. It was really nice talking to all of them. One little girl loves art and asked if she could see the other sketches in the book. The mom had majored in art in college but hasn't sketched or painted anything in a long time since she's so busy raising her family. I told her to find time, even if it is only a few minutes, and do something art related for herself. It was a nice way to spend the day and share my art on the 1st day of the year.