Hopkins Vineyard

Two overlapping Urban Sketchers outings yesterday - one at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and the other at Pierson Park in Tarrytown, NY but neither I could attend. Instead, Anne and I drove up to the Hopkins Vineyard in New Preston, CT.  We loved our visit there last summer and we thought a fall season visit would be perfect and even better.

Hopkins Vineyard is one of the 26 wineries and vineyards on the Connecticut Wine Trail.  An afternoon live music was underway.  We found a nice outdoor picnic table by the barn to enjoy the cool weather, the beautiful scenery, the late afternoon sun, and the live music.  I tried to capture this experience in direct watercolor and added some lines later in a sketch.

Before we left the winery, I approached this guy who I thought has a connection to this vineyard.  We crossed paths earlier so I nicely asked if I can show him my sketch.  He loved it!  Even offered to buy it on the spot!  Jorge, I would later learn, is a superb master mason and did all the stonework at this vineyard place.  Not knowing how to price my work or what to do, Jorge and I finally settled on a barter trade.  He came out of the wine shop with two nice bottles of wine in exchange for my sketch.  Cheers to George and the Hopkins Vineyard!  See the links provided if interested.

Fast Food

This Golden Arches fast food place was in full view from where I got a quick cup of coffee yesterday.   I thought the power and telephone lines also added some character to the scene.

321 W. Putnam Avenue

I really like the architecture of this building at 321 W. Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, CT.  It used to be the site of the old Ruwe Pencil Factory from 1944 until it was purchased by Dixon in 1988.  Six years later, the one company I used to work for rented this building and manufacturing/distribution operations remained here until 2007.

A small sloping driveway separate this building from next door in what used to be the Delco Auto Parts store.  Both of these buildings are now part of the prestigious Miller Motorcars dealership.  Not sure what luxury brand is showcased at 321 W. Putnam Avenue but next door, it's Pagani. 

I must have spent an hour sketching this Tudor style building from across the street.  Good memories kept coming back as I was doing the sketch.  A young couple walked by and asked if they could see what I was doing.  They work at the dealership.  Told them I used to work in that building.  Once I got home, I put the colors and details.  Way too much details!  Oh well, another exercise in knowing when to stop.  

Ebb Tide Business

The Ebb Tide is visible from across the Costco parking lot on the other side of the Byram River that borders Port Chester, NY and Byram, CT.  From my car, I can see what the sign says - Boat Rentals, Bait and Tackle, Gas - except that I had to mentally block out the wire fencing from my view.

I started sketching with the Platinum Carbon Ink pen and then added a watercolor wash.  Then I got carried away in coloring the sky but it wasn't the sky effect I was shooting for.  Once I got home, I masked it with white gouache wash.  Oh well....

Sky with white gouache cover.

Original sky color effect

Uncolored sketch

Just starting to make sense of shapes and shades.

The business across from Byram River.

CT15 - Exit 28 Construction

Construction right off Exit 28 on Merritt Parkway South began before the start of last summer.  Heavy machineries were brought in to make way for a reinforced drainage system on Round Hill Road.  Traffic signals were also temporarily installed at this busy intersection.

I climbed up the stacks of concrete barrier blocks on the south side to get this elevated view of the construction work scene.  It was the Memorial Day Holiday when I sketched it.  Luckily, I filmed two video clips that day that became very useful for color rendering yesterday.

Exit 28 construction scene on CT 15 Parkway.

Dogwood Fruit

There's plenty of cherry fruit coming from this one dogwood tree.  I decided to sketch the fruit and snipped a low hanging twig with one nice sized cherry.   See picture how I staged it in my room for sketching with a multi-colored ballpen.  Notice the border with little dash marks for getting the correct proportions of what I was looking at.  Colors used were mainly green and some light blue for leaves, orange for cherry stem, brown and some black for the twig, and red for the cherry fruit.  Here's the result.

Halogen Desk Lamp

No need to scout for new locations and objects to sketch.  I found one object right here in my room.  The rectangular shape for the CD filing box were drawn first allotting for the halogen desk lamp outline, then the elliptical shape of the chair, then the legs and then the hundreds of fine lines to make up the drawing.  I started this yesterday afternoon, added more lines this morning and decided to call it a done deal.  It will never finish.  I could go on and on to add more lines but there's other things to do.

There's more to see and more lines to add but I'll stop here.

At 10:33am today.

At around 6:24pm yesterday.

At 6:55pm yesterday.

The Conservatory Garden

It was mostly sunny in the morning when the NYC Urban Sketchers took positions inside this beautifully maintained section of Central Park.  Some gathered by the Secret Garden Lily Pool, a few by the Untermyer Fountain, and others in their choice spot.  I found mine right under the shade of the curved wisteria pergola facing the symmetrical lawn and the rear water jet fountain nearby.  A view of the Vanderbilt Gate at Fifth Avenue and some the high rise apartment buildings can be seen in the distance. That was the scene I sketched.  As it turned cloudy and cooler in the afternoon, we saw  groups of wedding guests started arriving in waves.  A wedding was going to take place.

The Payloader

Yesterday, I saw a payloader fit for a sketch just behind a small shopping center in Port Chester, NY.   To get the proportions right and to correctly place it on my sketchbook page,  I sight-measured the height of the rear wheel as the base measurement.  From there I was able to determine the total length and the height of this heavy equipment.  I first used a pencil before switching to the fine liner with the intention of doing a cross hatch drawing on this 80 gsm paper.  In the end, I couldn’t resist using watercolor and white gouache.  Once the washes dried, I used a black and brown colored pencil to highlight certain areas on the now buckled paper.

P.S.  I can’t believe I forgot to turn off the head lights while doing this sketch in my car!  Car battery juice ran out.  Fortunately, a free jump start is covered in my car insurance package.  Got to be very mindful of this in the future.

Pencil sketch, about 35-40 minutes

Adding fine liner ink

Adding watercolor and gouache while waiting for the car roadside assistance.

The payloader equipment.

Practice Sketches

Some practice sketches yesterday.  A few sketches of our dog as she lays undisturbed on her watch, a couple of gesture sketches of the same man working on his computer at the Whole Foods store in Port Chester, NY and two passengers waiting at the bus stop for the right one to come.

Corner Store

Two days ago, an open parking spot facing the corner of Purdy Ave and Don Bosco Place in Port Chester, NY gave me a nice view to sketch the Felix Deli Grocery store.  I initially used a graphite pencil to sketch the building before adding a bit of white gouache and watercolor for the green awning.  I thought that awning was what made it interesting for me to sketch the scene.

Yosemite National Park

Late August of last year, I finally got together with my good friends, Roy and Joh, in NorCal.  Our friendship dates back to the early 1980's but we lost contact and only reconnected a few years ago.  Though I hadn't seen them in 30 years, the concerns I had in meeting them again was immediately replaced by comfort in knowing that our friendship extends through time.  It was as if our friendship was just put on pause and once resumed, it flowed again like nothing has happened.  Except this time, we're a bit older with hints of grey hair here and there.

We took a weekend trip to Monterey and to the Yosemite National Park, both places I've never been to before.  Roy is a terrific photo enthusiast and I like shooting photographs as well.  Here are some of the Yosemite National Park pictures I took last year.

At Glacier Point, trying to catch that last hint of sunlight on El Capitan.

At the meadow with a reindeer grazing cautiously near us visitors.

Haze in the atmosphere due to areas of forest fires within the National Park.

The Waterfall at The Mill

Two hundred years ago, a cotton mill was built along the scenic Byram River and its magnificent waterfall in Glenville, CT.  Long gone is the waterwheel and the site transformed to a commercial/residential use.  I came upon this site by accident last May and visited it again yesterday to sketch it.  It started drizzling just as I was starting to add the waterfall lines.  Finished adding more lines at home.

Salt Water

Seeing the news about flooding in North Carolina brought about by Hurricane Florence,  I looked back at some of the sketches I made in Wilmington, NC when I did several business trips out there two years ago.

USk Outing Yesterday

I joined yesterday's NYC Urban Sketchers group at the Central Park Model Boat Pond.  Lucky to find a parking meter-free spot on 71st Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Didn't have to walk far.  Actually, I rode my Brompton bike from there to Central Park.  Found several sketcher friends near the Hans Christian Andersen statue where I also took notice of the people listening to the story teller.  I wanted to observe and capture their gestures in my sketch.  After lunch, I loosely tried a sketch of the Boat Pond.  It was a good day to be outside.

Parked Car

Back in June, I attempted to do a direct watercolor sketch of my Mazda3 sedan car under direct sunlight. You know how that one turned out.  Yesterday, I came back to sketching my car in pencil with the original intention of just using lines and shading.  Since it was cloudy and grey, there wasn't much contrast so I got ambitious and decided to add watercolor and white gouache.  Here's what came out of it.

The Wienery

On Bridge Street in Stamford, CT there is the Wienery, not like the Famous Nathan's but you can get your order of Hot Dogs, Burgers, etc.  Across this store is the apartment complex parking lot where I found a nice spot to make this sketch.  Pencil line mark then partially colored on site but finished coloring at home two days later.

 

An Evening Sketch

It was after seven in the evening so those off street parking spots on Railroad Avenue became widely available.  Across the street is the Carriage House Motor Cars building and display room.  Never have I done evening sketches before so this was my first.  In the comfort of my car, I made a direct watercolor sketch on toned tan paper 80 lb 118 gsm.  Some fine lines and Gelly Roll white highlights added later at home.

Sunday Subway Sketch! Workshop

Dr. Jeff Levine led a workshop last Sunday on how to sketch in the city subway.  I was very impressed with how he does his art as you can see from his YouTube channel and website.

We started the workshop with a short intro on the basics of Subway Sketching, then a short warm-up sketch on the Q Train with fellow sketchers, Allan and Raylie, as our subjects.  Then we took another train at 14th Street Union Square to Brooklyn and got off at 36th Street Station to see the wonderful mosaic artwork before heading down to Coney Island for a quick lunch at the famous Nathan's Hot Dog.  On the return trip, we got off at the Brighton Beach station and did a quick sketch of the opposite platform.

Jeff's workshop was definitely fun.  How come there never is enough time when you're having fun? 

Here are my workshop sketches.  Line work done on the train but shading was added later at home.  Water soluble graphite and regular graphite pencil on toned paper.  Pen and Ink used on the last two sketches.

A tired looking passenger on the Q Train.  I really like this one best.

The scene inside the next train car as seen from our cab window.

Allan posing as our "unsuspecting" model.  Goda immediately to my right.

Center figures, Raylie and Pat seated next to each other.   This car has an older seating type and configuration.

An older looking Oriental man with an umbrella who refused my offer to take my seat.

Two passengers not having to do with each other.

A happy looking passenger having a call on the train.

Only the seated lady, third from left, was there first, then one by one, more passengers came and got inserted into this scene.