A Ceiling View inside the GCT

The previous post I made was of a man looking up the magnificent ceiling of the Grand Central Terminal.  It gave me an idea to sketch one of the tall windows facing north and the ceiling arch opening above it.  I admit, it was intimidating to even try it but I did some yesterday and some more today.  I realized my mistake after I hurried adding the arches at the bottom.

The East Side Staircase

The landing on the East Side staircase just before you get to the Apple Store inside the Grand Central Terminal is a very popular spot for taking pictures.  You can get a good view of the iconic clock on top of the information booth at the center of the Main Concourse as well as the opposite staircase leading to the West Side Vanderbilt Street.  I sketched this visitor admiring the beauty of the constellation painted up on the ceiling.   

The Kneaded Bread

The Kneaded Bread in Port Chester, NY make the best bread, cookies, cakes, etc!  There are plenty to choose from and today, I decided to order the seasonal Hot Cross Buns to go with a cup of coffee.  Glad to see they partially open up tables for eat-in customers.  I used to come by here early every weekend to get the fresh baked donuts and in other instances, just to hang out and sketch.  Today, I made a sketch and gifted it to Fernando.  He's the nicest guy managing this store.  About four years ago, I made a small sketch of the store on a paper coffee cup.  He put it up on a shelf by the window.  It's still there to this day.  As I tore this page from my sketchbook and before handing it over to him, he said with a smile, "I was looking at you and wondering what you were doing.  Glad to see you back!"  Then he noticed my little note on the bottom left that says, " To Fernando, Have a great day!, Mel"

Commuter sketch on Car 9576

It's mid-week and here are some of the sketches done on the way to work this morning.  A couple of commuters on the train; A few heads for figuring out the hairline flow; a man with a rolling bag and a team of construction personnel at Grand Central Terminal.

A Commuter Sketch on Car 9397

It felt like the ridership on the 8:19am train to Grand Central Terminal from Harrison has gotten busier these days.  I found an aisle seat spot on a three seater row toward the middle of the car.  A brief bag of the passenger by the window seat separate us.  At the next station, a commuter got on board and signaled to us he wants the middle seat.  I like the aisle seat since it offers a good view of the commuters to sketch so I got up and let this guy in to seat with us.  On this sketch, I used a brush pen and the Kakuno fountain pen for line variety.  This sketch started with the seated guy in the center, then the lady on the left reading the paper, followed by the two guys behind them and lastly, the guy working on his laptop.

The ConEd truck on Elm Place

After having coffee in Rye Starbucks, I headed back to my parked car on Elm Street.  Across the street, I saw the Con Edison truck idling, not knowing when it would leave but I took a chance and sketched it first before branching out to the right of the scene before me.  A family walked by as was this man with a cup of Starbucks coffee in hand.

  

The Avon Theater

Four years ago, I made a sketch of this nostalgic and historic building.   Since I was in the Stamford area the first weekend in March, I thought I'd sketch it again.  And I didn't have to worry about the parking meter this time. 

 

 

Day 5: One Week 100 People

On the last day of this week's challenge, I only needed 7 more figures to complete the challenge.  Found a construction worker, a reader on the train, and the eager commuters ready to de-train once the train came to a stop at the GCT end-of-line.  Over a week ago, on Ash Wednesday, I quickly sketched a family of four which I also included here. 

Day 4: One Week 100 People

I think this page is what I call the " Bold Page" like a friend said about the entries. I finished 8 figures on the train commute this morning. After work, I added 20 more on the same page. I stopped by the Public Library on 5th Ave and managed one sketch of a guy working on his computer. Outside the library, I quickly sketched three small figures. At the street corners on the way to GCT, I saw this couple waiting to cross (guy with hat in finely tailored light grey suit) and a mother with two youngsters in tow. Inside the GCT, off the ramp near the Subway Shuttle entrance, I observed these people from high above them and made these very quick sketches. On the last few minutes I had, I followed a person on the escalator going up to the Met Life Building and the last sketch was this sleeper on the train ride home. 28 figures done today!

Day 3: One Week 100 People

Day 3: I combined my commuter sketching with the #oneweek100people challenge. The smaller figures were captured on the Main Concourse inside the Grand Central Terminal. All together about 18 figures today. Still on track to make the 100.

Day 2: One Week 100 People

A busy day overall but I managed to make several sketches.  A commuter sketch this morning; three sketches while walking to the office, mostly back views;  a sketch of patrons inside the Tartinery shop  I passed by on Park Avenue near 41st Street; a small batch of randomly selected people on the Main Concourse level in Grand Central Terminal; the last one was this guy pumping gas at the station near us.

 

One Week 100 People

I'm participating again in this year's event and today, I accumulated a total of 23 images.  If I can draw 20 images in one day then I'll be able to finish the goal of 100 people in just five days!

The Metcha Noodle Bar

We had a noodle craving for Saturday lunch so off we dined at Metcha Noodle Bar in South Norwalk, CT.  Once we got shown our table at a corner spot, I took out my sketchbook and worked on what was before me.  It turned out that the one of the staff noticed what I was doing because he also like to draw.  Tyler has never heard of the Urban Sketchers but has some art background.  Eventually, our hostess came around and asked if she could take a picture.  How can you say no to that?

A new month

Today is March 1st, another new month to start.  This morning, I biked to the train station in a hurry but still came up short to be on the 8:35 am train.  The next one arrived some 15 minutes later.  On car 9323, on the opposite side of the aisle, I noticed another Brompton bike of the same color and configuration as mine.  I figured it must have been fairly new.  Since I forgot my sketchbook and I have my iPad, it would be a good opportunity to practice sketching with the Procreate app.  My planned sketch idea was to include the other bike in the scene the but the train eventually got crowded and it limited what I could see.  It seem to me that there is this unspoken friendly connection between us Brompton bike owners.  This young lady owner saw me sketching and minutes before we detrained, we had a quick conversation.  She asked if she could see the sketch and Airdrop a copy to her phone which I gladly did.  In the end, I think it was the sketch that made the connection, not the bike, really.