Roosevelt Island Colors

Last weekend the NYC Urban Sketchers met on Roosevelt Island which is located in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. The plan was to sketch the cherry trees there. After having a few days of very mild temperatures, things changed. It was windy and cold on Roosevelt Island. Luckily I was prepared for the cold, but the wind was a problem. I did my first sketch trying to sit where the wind was locked a bit, but not really enough.

You can reach Roosevelt Island several ways. The one that is the most fun is by the tram from Manhattan. There is also a ferry and a small bridge that connects the island to Queens. I wanted to sketch the tram but it didn't stay close enough for long enouh.

For my second sketch I decided to join some of the other sketchers in a courtyard area where most of the wind was blocked. The earlier sketchers were lucky enough to get a large table were a big group of us were able to sit and sketch...and we were pretty much sheltered from the wind.

Show and tell was back over by the tram where I met up with a few other sketchers who were there early. I sketched two of them in a tiny sketchbook I had with me.

It was a full day of sketching.

Procreate at the Beach

 I get rusty when I haven't used Procreate in a while. The Creative Spark Scavenger Hunt item was "calming" and since the beach is my refuge when I want to feel calm that's where I headed. Luckily there is a small local town beach in Sayville that I go to a lot. The weather was warm so I happily sat on a bench while I created.

Seashells

 I still haven't done too many of the art lessons for Sketchbook Revival this year, but I have watched quite a few of the lessons. I follow Koosje Koene on Facebook and Instagram so I definitely had to do something to go with her lesson. Basically you pick an item and draw it repeatedly from different views. She uses black for shadows to make them more dramatic. I decided to use a shell for my subject and I'm really happy with the way the page came out.

Planting Fields Arboretum

A friend has been watching the trees here on Long Island and also at the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx to see when the cherry trees would be at their peak. She checked the website for the NY Botanical Gardens (which are beautiful) and the admission price is now up to $39 per adult. We decided to skip that location and stay more local.

The forecast was for 80° on Wednesday so Susan contacted a few of the local artists that are all part of the NYC Urban Sketchers. We decided to head to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay for the day. The trees were beautiful...full and amazing.

From the same area of the park I turned toward two more cherry trees with a bit of a building behind them. Here is subject #2.

One of our friends was in another area of the park and there were 6 women in traditional Korean outfits dancing near the cherry trees. She was lucky enough to be able to include them in her painting.

When we finished painting we sat and just enjoyed the rest of the day. It was a nice way to relax and catch up with each other before heading back to our respective homes.

Left to right: Myself, Susan, Suzala and Leslie under one of the beautiful trees.

Wobbly House

 Right now Sketchbook Revival is taking place on line. I've done it several times, and each day for a week there are three video lessons that can be done. I decided that I would watch the videos if they seemed like they would interest me or were different. Irene Ruby's workshop was "Wobbly Fantasy Houses" and was fun to do...a change from what I normally do, especially since it isn't from life. Maybe I'll get to watch a few more today or over the weekend. I'm really behind watching them...never mind actually doing the lesson. lol The lessons are only available for a limited time. 

Balloon Clown

 Last Sunday was Spring Fest in Sayville. It is a typical festival with booths with merchandise, food trucks, a petting pen, and assorted entertainment like face painting, music, and this balloon clown. She had a continuous line the entire time I was there. I stood fairly close to her and sketched in pencil. Then I moved behind her on the sidewalk and set up my stool so I could sit and add the watercolors and the background. When I was finished I stopped and showed it to her. She was amazed that I could sketch her and she hadn't even noticed. She loved it.

Spring at The Met Cloisters - Part 3

 I headed back upstairs to the first courtyard garden for my third sketch. There were so many sketchers from our group working there that a good part of the time was used for socializing rather than sketching. It is always fun to meet up with friends that I hadn't see in a while, like my friend Julie who hadn't joined the weekend group in over a year. She has been the caretaker for her mom and that weekend her sister was helping out instead of Julie. Another sketcher had moved back to Athens, Greece, but was in NYC to visit her son and daughter who live there. It was great to see her and hear how she had started the first official Urban Sketchers group in Greece. I would love to go there and join in with her group.

I sketched the courtyard again, but this time I didn't have a lot of time. To speed things up I sketched with ink as well as the colored pencils. These two guys were good models and sat there for quite a while.

Our show and tell was held in one of the interior galleries off the courtyard. Here is a photo of the group from the day.

The trip home wasn't as easy as getting there since there was no internet reception to get the GPS started for the return trip. It took a while for the reception to kick in and give me directions. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to make my way home the old fashioned way. lol