The Carnival

Ah, the summer carnival!  I went to check out this week's carnival at St. Catherine of Siena, Riverside, CT.  

Found a parking spot a few blocks away.  A big turnout!  Lots of people, kids of different ages, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, teenagers and young adults.  All of them were there to have a great time.

Of course, sausage, onions and peppers was it for my nourishment!  Found a "quiet" spot by the popcorn vendor truck facing the ticket booth.  Perfect!  That booth would be my sketch view including the ferris wheel behind it.

Later, on my way out, I did a sketch of this group singing the likes of Fleetwood Mac music. 

Color wash added later at home.  Why couldn't I stop adding colors?

After adding the dusk colors.

Before messing it up with the dusk colors.

Initial sketch of the Ticket Booth.

Final sketch of the scene.

The Boathouse in Prospect Park

The weekday NYC Urban Sketchers outing was at the Boathouse in Prospect Park, NY.  I didn't drive to the city.  Just took the 8:31am train.  Since I planned on joining the 5:30PM Pre-Porto meeting later in the day, I thought I'd sketch with my fellow urban sketchers.

I thought the view of the Boathouse from the bridge was really good, I had to sketch it.  From this picture, you'll see a tiny image of me at the far left corner. (Photo credit to Amanda Kavanagh).

A view of the boathouse from the bridge.

Photo credit to Amanda Kavanagh.

Soccer World Cup Semi-Final

I had about 2 hours to kill before my Pre-Porto group meet up and introduction here at Brookfield Place.  Found an empty chair where I thought of doing some people sketching practice.  It was a perfect scenario since the attention was all about the soccer game.

The setting was loose and informal.  Two large flat screen TV sets back to back against each other.  Two opposite crowds gathered and watched at the "le Bar" terrace in Manhattan for the semi-final game between Croatia and England.  The eventual winner would face France in the World Cup Finals.

I think Croatia just scored the tying goal at the 68th minute when I finished sketching this scene.  Croatia won over England at the extra-time with a score of 2-1.

A stunner for England late in the game at regular time.

The terrace crowd watching the semi-finals game.

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

Last week's Fourth of July holiday took us for a day drive north near Mystic, CT and its neighboring town of Noank where the famous 
Abbott's lobster restaurant is located.  Here I thought we came early but people were already lined up deep to order their favorite dish.  I ordered the Hot Lobster Roll while she ordered a Salad Lobster Roll.  Hot & Cold.  Hmmm...

I took the opportunity to sketch the view of the deck and the marina beyond.  A sailing ship was leaving the harbor.  Once our sandwich rolls arrived, I had to quickly sketch mine before feasting on it.  Yum!

Lettering and color added later at home.  A video clip at the end of this entry. 

The famous Hot Lobster Roll came with some pickles on the side and a bag of chips. 

You have to draw it first before you can eat it!

Deck view and marina.

The Hearst Tower

Back in February, for the second year in a row, the NYC Urban Sketchers group were invited and given special access to sketch inside the Hearst Tower building in Manhattan through a special invitation from a fellow USK'er, Leslie Gordon-Sim.

I made two sketches that day.  One of the exterior view of the building at the street level while I was positioned next to the Subway Metro entrance at 58th Street.  Second was inside this Norman Foster (architect) designed building from the right mezzanine level looking east toward the 8th Avenue direction.  

Exterior view of the Hearst Tower.

Interior view, right mezzanine level, looking east toward 8th Avenue.

The Stamford Asphalt Plant

The area along Canal Street in Stamford must have been designated as an industrial section at one time.  I spotted this Stamford Asphalt Plant the other day and decided it would be my sketch exercise today (Saturday) from my mobile studio.  

Fairway supermarket is across the street where I found the perfect spot in their parking area.  To make the sketch view even better, I moved over and occupied the passenger side seat.  I started at 4:04PM and ended at 6:24PM.  It was easy to get lost in time while sketching.

The final sketch with a partial look of my head on the side view mirror.

Preliminary Sketch.

Light Watercolor wash added.

Car Repair

Great weather today to do something outside!   My car mechanic scheduled a weekend (Saturday) work on my car.  There's a rattling noise coming from rear driver's side and I thought of replacing the rear shock absorbers.  He said the noise problem was coming from the rear stabilizer link and should be replaced. 

As he worked on my car, I tried to sketch him.  Later, I realized the missed opportunity of sketching him in several different action poses because I was focused on making this one image I have initially created in mind.

Lesson:  Be aware. Be open-minded. Be ready to make a quick change-of-plan.

Pentel Slicci Pen 0.25
Light Watercolor wash

My final sketch.

The initial sketch capture formed in mind.

Adding color wash.