Inktober Day 31 - Goose

Happy Halloween!!!

Today is Day 31 for Inktober 2019. This sketch was done with my Elegant Writer pen. I was sitting and painting a larger autumn painting at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge and there was a hay bale nearby where about 5 geese were happily feeding. They were staying put so I pulled out a small piece of paper to capture one of them. 

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Inktober Day 30 - Bell Church

I was driving through the Moriches and this church caught my eye. It didn't really have a name on it so I checked where I was on googlemaps and it said this was Bell Church. So here is my Inktober Day 30 sketch...just one more to go.

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Inktober Day 29 - Lenny Bruno Farms

For Day 29 of Inktober I did a sketch of pumpkins spilling out of their baskets. This was done at Lenny Bruno Farms in Manorville.

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I also liked this red barn that I could see across the field, so I sat there and did a painting of it. I only had 8 x 10 watercolor paper with me and I knew that this called for a panoramic size so I taped off part of the paper. This is about 4 x 10.

Inktober Day 28 - Day of the Dead Character

One of my art groups, the South Bay Art Association was supposed to have a demo the other night but due to illness the woman had to cancel, so the group had a "creative night" instead. It coincided with my Wednesday night Patchogue Sketch Group so we had a number of people show up with art materials. The husband of one of the members dressed first as a ghost (I missed that pose.) and then in his Day of the Dead mask. I was late to the meeting because I was at a political fundraiser for a friend. By the time I chatted with everyone I only caught the last pose. Here is Rob posing for my Inktober Day 28 sketch.

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Inktober Day 27 - Around Tudor City Part 2

My Day 27 Inktober Sketch or sketches were done on the Long Island Railroad going into the city. Usually I don't sketch on the LIRR in ink because the vibration of the train is too jerky, but I figured for Inktober I would give it a go. These two people were sitting in the same row but came on the train at different stops and didn't know each other.

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Once the Halloween Doggie Parade was over (see yesterday's post), we met in the park and had lunch and talked a bit. Then I went out of the park and back on the street. We were a bit elevated on Tudor City Lane which gave us a great view of the Chrysler Building. I could only fit a small part of it on my paper.

I finished the above sketch and had about 30 minutes before we were meeting for our "show and tell." I ended up doing a quick watercolor sketch of the view out of one side of the park. Using just a few pencil lines for placement I did most of the sketch directly in watercolors. I finished just in time.

Inktober Day 26 - Around Tudor City Part I

The NYC Urban Sketchers met around the area of Tudor City which is the area near 42nd Street and 2nd Ave. There is a view of the UN Building in one direction and the Chrysler Building in the other. When we got there we found out that Tudor City Greens, the local park, was having a Halloween Doggie Parade. There was a big crowd of dogs (many in costume) as well as humans (some in costume) but the volume of animals and people made it very hard to sketch since the animals were so active and the people were blocking the views. I did manage to sketch a few dogs including the Rambo dog and a chihuahua dressed as a shark. This is my Inktober Day 26 sketch.
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One of my sketches for the day was of the view looking down Tudor City Lane toward 43rd Street. In order to see this view I sat between two cars right by the back right bumper of one of them. Luckily most cars in NYC stay put if they have a good parking space. lol

Inktober Day 25 - Bellport Scarecrow

I was in Bellport picking up something the other day and decided to stay a little while and do my Day 25 Inktober sketch. I picked "Lelani the Ho-Hum Mermaid" to sketch. "Ho-Hum" is the name of the beach across the Great South Bay on Fire Island that is open to Bellport residents.
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Inktober Day 24 - Setauket

Since I was already in Setauket for my Day 24 Inktober sketch I stopped at the Emma S Clark Memorial Library. It was misty outside so having an indoor location was a good thing. I've seen their reading room several times and thought it would make an interesting place to sketch with the fireplace, interesting windows and high-back chairs.
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The reason I had been in Setauket is that my plein air group, PALS, had been at Ward Melville Memorial Park to paint in the morning. We were hoping to see some colorful trees, but things are coming into color here much later than usual since we had warm weather for so long. The sky was overcast and from time to time it was misty and I was afraid it might rain. I used a bit of artistic license to make the trees more colorful than they were. This still needs a bit of work.

Inktober Day 23 - Throgs Neck Bridge

Returning to Long Island always involves a bridge or a ferry. Coming back from my sister's house in NJ meant a trip across the Throgs Neck Bridge which spans from the Bronx on one side to Queens on my side. I've wanted to sketch the bridge for a while but am usually in a hurry. This time I was determined to find a spot to see it and sketch it...easier said than done. I know there is a parking area along the north side of the Cross Island Parkway but I wasn't sure it had a view and besides I was heading south. I ended up going really out of my way and hitting construction on the local streets but I was fairly certain that the Bay Terrace Shopping Center parking lot in Bayside had views facing the bridge. Once I was able to get to the parking lot it was a breeze, so here is my Day 23 Inktober sketch.

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Inktober Day 22 - Elberton Part II

While I was out on Elberton's square sketching the mercantile, I also did a small sketch of the top of the Elberton Courthouse for my Day 22 Inktober sketch.

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Of course I can't resist color for too long, so I had to do a sketch of part of the square. One of the trees had such great color...sort of autumnal although there wasn't much color down there yet. This was done on a pad of Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media paper that is 3.1 x 4.1 inches that I got as a goodie bag gift at the Amsterdam Urban Sketching Symposium.

One of my nephews and his wife who actually live in Elberton loved the little sketches and wanted them to hang in their house. Of course I couldn't resist giving them to them. They also want me to do a sketch of their house, but I'll have to do that from photos when they send me some.

Elberton is the granite capital of the world...that is it's claim to fame. It is a cute town that is a throwback in time. My nephew's house is from the 1920s and is adorable. He renovated it but kept a lot of the charm of the original house...no open floor concept for them.

I took a few photos of signs in the town.

Inktober Day 20 & 21 - Out of Town

I am behind a day even though I scheduled a few posts. I was out of town for the last few days attending my nephew's wedding in Elberton, GA. I flew down with my sister, Mickey on Thursday morning. Of course I did an obligatory sketch at the airport. Even though I added color I am counting this as my Day 20 Inktober sketch.
Since I was carrying on my luggage and planned on not bringing my backpack, I took very little in sketching supplies...a "Pen & Ink" brand sketchbook that is 3 1/2 x 5 1/2, a Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media pad that is 3.1 x 4.1 inches, my Lamy pen, a few assorted pens and a tiny water brush. The sketchbook paper was very thin and not the best for wet media but I used it anyway.

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The wedding itself was Friday night, but I had time in the morning to go out into the square and sketch this view of Begley Mercantile for my Day 21 Inktober sketch. Elberton had some interesting buildings to sketch but being with family that I haven't seen in quite a while kept me from having much free time and on Saturday it rained the entire day. 

More to come tomorrow.

Here are a few photos of the happy couple, Patrick and Cayla.

And a photo of me and my siblings. It has been over 2 years since we were all together.

That's me on the left, my sister, Tina (Maine), my brother, Joe (father of the groom and lives in GA) and my sister, Mickey (from NJ).

Inktober Day 19 - Ink Bottle

What could be better drawn in ink than a bottle of ink? I used my Platinum Carbon water soluble ink for this sketch, which was the ink inside this bottle.

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Inktober Day 18 - Adventureland

Advenureland is a colorful amusement spot located in Farmingdale. This ink sketch doesn't show the lively look of this...so imagine a bright pink elephant and a pastel striped balloon ride and pastel colored swings. I sat in the parking lot to sketch this view.

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Inktober Day 17 - Bicycle

You would think that after being in Amsterdam this summer I would have gotten over my love-hate relationship with bicycles...but apparently not. To me they are like sketching cars. I have to put a lot of thought into what I am seeing and sketching. This was outside one of the Long Island Railroad train stations.

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Inktober Day 16 - Olish Farm Display

I love that there are so many Halloween and fall displays everywhere. They are such fun. This was done on location at Olish Farm.

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Inktober Day 15 - Waterdrinker Family Farm

Today my plein air group, PALS, met at Waterdrinker Family Farm in Manorville. There were animals and a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a sunflower field, and assorted other autumn decorations. I did an actual painting first facing the farm building and then did an Inktober Day 15 sketch of one of the arrangements of hay bales, flowers, etc. The painting is 8 x 10 and is nearly finished...just a bit more tweaking.

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I will be out of town for a wedding for the next few days but have scheduled Inktober posts for the days I will be gone. I may not be able to get to visit your blogs but I will catch up on all of your posts when I get back.

Inktober Day 14 - Hidden Buildings

When my FIL was alive he loved going to this restaurant called the 56th Fighter Squadron at Republic Airport in Farmingdale. It was designed like a French Style Allied Headquarters Farmhouse and transported you back to the era of big band music and the military. My FIL was in the Air Force during WW II and really enjoyed the place. It closed back in 2013 and the buildings sit there in some disrepair hidden by foliage that has pretty much taken over. I was in the area today and took a drive to see if it was still standing. I guess eventually it will be knocked down but at the present time it is still standing (almost), so I used it for the location of my Inktober Day 14 sketch.

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Inktober Day 13 - Fall Decorations

Today I sketched the fall decorations at Olish's Farm in Eastport. There were pumpkins everywhere! I was definitely feeling the spirit of autumn. This little girl was all set with her pumpkin.

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Inktober Day 12 - Port Jeff Views

My friend, Suzala and I met in Port Jeff today to paint, but before I did any painting I made sure to get my Inktober Day 12 sketch done. It was a cold day and we walked all the way out to the end of a dock near the ferry terminal. It gave us this view and the building we sat in front of blocked the wind for us so it wasn't too cold...but we were both wearing several layers of clothes.

I used my Elegant Writer pen and my Lamy filled with permanent ink for this one. My white gel pen came in handy too.

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Of course my fingers were itching to do the scene in color so I did a small painting that was about 4 x 5.

Inktober Day 11 - Ticket Booth

 I was heading home yesterday after visiting my friends upstate and then in Massachusetts and hadn't done an Inktober sketch yet. I only had a short time to stop somewhere. My plan was to stop at the Milleridge Inn Restaurant and see if any of the chickens were loose in the parking lot...but they weren't cooperating. They were too busy eating. I did notice that the buildings and area behind the restaurant were being decorated for some kind of fall festival. There were workmen putting up decorations so I sat in my mobile studio facing one of the ticket booths they had already set up. I used my Elegant Writer pen and some diluted ink to shade this.

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Inktober Day 10 - Buddha

I spent the last two days visiting friends north of me. When I was going up to visit the closer friend she wasn't going to be available until after 4:00 so I decided to google her town and find a place where I could sketch earlier in the day and avoid the traffic in the afternoon. The Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, NY popped up. It sounded interesting. The monastery supposedly has the largest indoor statue of a Buddha in the Western Hemisphere. It was big!

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Inktober Day 9 - Bellport Dock View

I stopped by the Bellport dock the other day and decided to sketch the gazebo and the sailboat on the beach for my Inktober Day 9 sketch.

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Inktober Day 8 - Fruit and Veggies

One good thing about liking to eat fruit and veggies is that it always provides sketching materials.

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Inktober Day 7 - Bellport Scarecrow

For the last few years I have enjoyed being able to sketch some of the scarecrows hanging on the trees and lamp posts in Bellport. When I passed through the town yesterday they were being put up, so today I headed back there for my Inktober Day 7 sketch. Each scarecrow is decorated differently and a contest is held to see which is the popular favorite. Today I sketched Scarecrow #3, "The Ghost of Bob Ross." I used my Elegant Writer Pen, my Lamy Safari pen, an orange micron pen, and some colored fountain pens from Zebra. I am sure I will get to sketch a few more this month.

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Inktober Day 6 - Weeks Boatyard

My Day 6 Inktober sketch was done at Weeks Boatyard in Patchogue, one of my favorite sketching places in the town. The boats and rustic buildings are a favorite of mine.

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Inktober Day 5 - At Domino Park

Today the NYC Urban Sketchers met at Domino Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was built on the grounds of the former Domino Sugar Refinery. Some of the buildings and structures were renovated and incorporated into the design of the park.

Of course I had to do one sketch for Inktober, so I focused on these tanks that once contained syrup. In the background is the actual building that housed the Domino Sugar Factory. It is being restored and converted into apartments/condos. I used my Elegant Writer pen, my Lamy filled with permanent platinum carbon black ink, and an orange micron pen.

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At the end of the promenade under the Brooklyn Bridge there was a view of a restaurant, the skyline, and an area with some utility trucks and equipment. How could I resist those yellow trucks?

For my third sketch I focused on what I think are cranes and conveyors that must have been used to load and unload the sugar or the raw materials off boats that came up the river. In the back is a tank used in the refining process.

Inktober Day 4 - Gourds

My evening sketch group has started meeting inside now that it is getting dark so early. Our theme for the night was gourds, squash, pumpkins, etc. I did some of the gourds for my Inktober Day 4 sketch but also had to paint them in color too. How could I resist that orange? Here are both pieces.

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Inktober Day 3 - Dunes and Beach

For Day 4 of Inktober I headed over to Captree State Park. This is the same area where we took the boat over to the oyster farm, but I stayed in the park area. The dunes are always interesting and there is a view of the bridge on the Robert Moses Causeway that goes over to Robert Moses State Park and the Fire Island Lighthouse. I did this sketch with the Elegant Writer Pen.

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Inktober Day 2 at the Peconic Herb Farm

Yesterday my plein air group, PALS, met at the Peconic Herb Farm to paint. I did a view of one of the flower arrangements outside one of the greenhouses. It isn't quite finished yet, but it is close. 

I was happy we were there because for a long time I have wanted to sketch/paint this window filled with glass bottles that is inside one of the small buildings. I used my Elegant Writer Pen to sketch this for Inktober Day 2.

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Inktober Day 1 & Beach Sketches

October has arrived and that means Inktober is here too. For day 1 I sketched the sign and part of the building at the Modern Snack Bar in Riverhead. I have passed this place so many, many times but have never eaten here. I decided to sketch it and sat in the parking lot to sketch the sign. In case you are wondering, the other sign says: "Fresh crabs and Mojitos are here!"

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The other day I went down to a mall beach in Sayville which was being presided over by a swan who didn't want any humans there...unless you had food for him. I sketched him instead.

At another beach I found a couple happily seated and enjoying the view. They brought along a lot with them...umbrella, chairs, a table, and beverages.

This was done facing the dunes at Robert Moses State Park. For some reason I didn't have a regular watercolor brush...only a water brush, so I couldn't paint any thin blades of grass on the dune.