New Year's Eve Day

On this very last day of the year, Anne and I visited the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers, NY.  We were amazed at the beautiful sights and scenery at this location.  Fortunately, the weather was pleasant and not too cold for outdoor sketching.  At the Vista Overlook, I sketched the Ruin Garden and the mighty Hudson River and the Palisades bluffs in the background.  Then we walked over to the Temple of Love.  I was looking straight at it when I did the sketch.  Finally, when it got a bit colder due to the wind, we left for some good Ramen lunch in Hartsdale, NY and an afternoon coffee at Coffee Labs in Tarrytown, NY where I did a sketch of the crowd before me.  The ballpoint pen sketch need a bit more work or some color which I will do on another occasion.

The Blue Ceramic Platter

There's a blue ceramic platter on our dining table we use to hold anything food related.  We usually store the bananas and avocados on it.  This morning, I was looking for something to sketch and this platter attracted my attention.  Two pieces of each were resting on it: bananas, tomatoes, shallots and the individually wrapped mini-Panettone bread. 

The Steam Vent

On the way home Thursday evening, I was looking for something to sketch and noticed the steam coming out of the pipe on Madison Avenue, between 38th and 39th Streets.  I picked a spot on the sidewalk where I could sketch it.  Minutes into my sketching, a passerby asked if I was sketching and if he could see my work.  He noticed the scribbles on my page.  His name was Edmund.  He does watercolor and described his process a little bit.  Shortly, he walked to unlock his bike from the bike rack and we said goodbye.  The following day, I went back to the same spot and took a picture of my sketch.  Better to see it in daylight before adding watercolor to it.  I wanted to depict the steam coming out of the pipe.

 

A Vase of Flowers

It's Sunday.  Between all the house chores and the digital entertainment I busied myself with, finding time to do an activity like walking and sketching became more meaningful.  Had a nice catch-up call with my daughter during my walk late in the afternoon.  After I got home, I was restless to do a sketch.  I saw the vase of flowers on top of the bookshelf along with a candle and a pine cone next to it.  This choice won over the pair of boots I wore during my walk.  I went ahead sketching the vase of flowers using the TWSBI VAC700R EF nib with Platinum Carbon Ink.  Good to practice with that pen I haven't used for quite some time.  

 

At the Philippine Consulate in NYC

The NYC Urban Sketchers were invited to sketch inside the Philippine Embassy on 5th Avenue, New York City on Saturday (12/16/2023) thru an invitation from the Deputy Consul General, Adrian Elmer S. Cruz.  This came about after his artistically inclined daughter joined her first sketching event with the NYC USK sketch meet at the Rockefeller Center the previous week.  

Never mind that I have a previous commitment for the day but I had to show up at this sketch meet even for a couple of hours.  Met a personnel who have family ties with another employee at the consulate in Madrid, Spain.  You see, my late father was an employee there for many years and so the connection.  It's amazing, what a small world it is!  I also had a photo opportunity with the Deputy Consul General, Mr. Cruz, before heading back to Grand Central Terminal to catch my train home.

The Urban Sketchers at work. 

With Deputy Consul General, Mr. Cruz

The Philippine Embassy Main Lobby

  

The Pay Loader Machinery

I got my car back from the repair shop after a long 2 weeks wait.  Clutch repair fixed!  However, my car wouldn't start due to the weak battery.  They had to jump start the car and told me to run it for about 15 minutes so the battery wouldn't discharge.  I did that and took the opportunity to sketch a parked heavy machinery at a nearby corporate plaza parking lot while letting the car idle a little bit.

 

The NYPL Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree at the NYPL Main Library lobby on 5th Avenue is a beauty.  I parked myself toward the left side stairway of the lobby to sketch the scene.  Back in 2019, I did a sketch of the Christmas Tree from the opposite side stairway.

The Bryant Park Christmas Tree

A few weeks ago, before the grand lighting ceremony, I stopped by to check out and sketch the decorated tree on the way home.  I finally found the time to add some color to it last weekend.

 

A Commuter Sketch

It seem to me that doing the initial observation of a commuter scene and locking on an idea what to sketch helps to translate that into a workable and faster sketch time.  The shading process is what takes longer once I have a sketch to work with.  I guess that's the drawback with working with a ballpoint pen.

On this sketch, I know the train conductor will move fast down the aisle checking for passenger tickets but will most likely repeat the same gesture until he reaches the end of the car.  So I quickly noted his body position, referencing it against the rows of seats, before adding the rest of the passengers to the scene.  They don't move as much anyway.