A Day at the Muscoot Farm

The Westchester Urban Sketchers group met at the Muscoot Farm in Katonah, NY on Sunday the 21st.  This was my first visit in this early 20th-century interpretative farm museum.  Plenty of interesting farm animals to sketch.  I sketched some curious kids behind the chicken coop fence, a couple of donkeys that wouldn't stay still, this ram with beautiful horns that I couldn't figure out how to sketch, and the Barn Red buildings around this farm.  There are hiking trails, too, that I would like to see when I come back another time.

A Grand Central Terminal Main Concourse sketch

Finally, after three long weeks, I was able to see my Grand Central Terminal sketch entry in person!  It is currently on display at the Main Concourse, West side, opposite tracks 30 & 32.  This was a sketch I originally made in 2019.

This was made possible by the NYC Urban Sketchers leadership, specifically Raylie Dunkel, and in partnership with the Grand Central Terminal administration.  A submission entry call was put out earlier in the year for any sketches of the Grand Central Terminal, or New York City, to decorate the bare white construction walls inside the GCT while it is undergoing a renovation.  So happy to see mine lining the wall along with other fantastic sketches.

A year ago today.

I remember taking the train to work, mask less, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.  My usual Metro North New Haven Line, 8:32am local to Grand Central Terminal from the Harrison, NY station.  Fear of the COVID-19 virus infection was everywhere.  It felt weird yet unsurprising to see only a handful of commuters at the station that morning.  Normally, there would be quite a crowd but not that day.  I sat behind the CAR 9225 driver's cab, facing north, on this south-bound train.  That seat has always provided me a good sketch view for my morning routine.  Sketching has kept my mind off this virus infection fear that was gripping the city.  Especially, when passing by New Rochelle where it was known to have recorded an early virus cluster outbreak at that time.  Thus, I made a conscious effort to count the number of passengers getting on and off my train car as soon as we left Harrison.  I saw lady holding an umbrella and on a phone call stood by the passenger door until she got off at New Rochelle.  

Harrison - 2, Mamaroneck - 1, Larchmont - 3, New Rochelle - 0, Pelham - 2 and a gentleman with an iPad sat across from me started coughing without covering his mouth.  He said "Oh, boy!".  That was enough to tear me out of my seat, fast, and transfer several seats away on this mostly empty car.  At Mt. Vernon East, no passenger boarded our car.  I can't remember what happened next after that last station.  A text message from our department head came through.  Someone in the office got a COVID-19 test the day before.  It was a standing rule that if anyone would get sent for testing, the office will close and everyone will work remotely.  At GCT, it was weird seeing an almost eerily empty hall.  I took some pictures before I boarded the next train to Stamford.  

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On February 21, 2021 I took the train back to the city again.  It was a just month shy of one year since I boarded that CAR 9225 train to GCT.  I have found another job last June that is just 10 minutes away from home so I no longer commute to the city.  One thing I miss though in all of that is the commuter sketching.  Oh well....

The Dining Area at a Winery

A few weeks backs I sketched the upstairs barn dining area of the Hopkins Vineyard in CT.  Not sure how to color the sketch so I made 4 studies. I just finished the DS Lunar Blue WC version (Upper Left) which appeals to me better than the other ones.  The Upper Right version I already posted once before. Let’s see how this color translates onto a bigger sketch version.

A Rainy Sunday

Some light rain falling steady since after midday.  This is the office complex view from across our balcony.  This sketch was inspired by the master, James Gurney, who posted today his sketch of the Route 209 in Kingston.  Nothing fancy here but I was drawn by the foreground birch tree branches and the dark background building.  A light warm wash of Yellow Ochre on the mid section established the scene.  Then the tricky part was the delicate branches and twigs of the foreground tree.  I think it all came together in the end. 

Sketching Theme of the Week: Tools

The NYC Urban Sketcher community I belong to have a weekly suggested theme for sketch practice.  This week's theme is all about tools.  I don't have any of those big tools, or if ever, they are in storage right now.  Instead, I have this pocketable Leatherman Multi-function tool that has been in my possession since 1988.  For this sketch, I selected a pre-marked page out of an old sketchbook from last year and used the PITT Brush pens.  Coming back to this sketching style after not applying it in months is a bit difficult but once I got working, the learned skills slowly started manifesting back.  

A Day in the City

It has been four weeks since I last spent a Sunday outing in the city with Aaron.  I went by train this time instead of driving.  It felt a little funny taking the train as this was my first ever since we had the lockdown last March.   I managed to do one commuter sketch on the way to NYC.  

Emerging out of train platform #15 and onto the main hall of the Grand Central Terminal, there was that weird, lonely and deserted place feeling I felt.  Not scary this time, but almost similar to that feeling I had on that final commute I did last year.  Gone was the energy of the crowd I was accustomed to seeing back in the days of the "Before Times".  I took one picture of the West Side entrance where some construction work is happening.  Perhaps some of those bare construction wall barriers will feature the enlarged sketch prints we submitted to some entity at the GCT exactly for that purpose.  It would be exciting to see which artwork made it.   

On the M1 Bus from Madison and 43rd Street going to 82nd Street, I counted one passenger pickup and a drop off along the way.  Granted that it was a Sunday, it still felt weird, although am relieved in some ways due to Covid-19 precautions.  Note that I came prepared with a double mask on.  

Aaron and I made the earliest available museum visit of the day and what a difference it was.   Because it wasn't crowded, it felt as if we had exclusive access to some of the Salons we visited on the 2nd Floor.  By the time we finished looking, we were ready for lunch downstairs at the Cafeteria.  

We decided to sketch at the same gallery of sculptures like last time.  Soon after we finished, I told Aaron about our USK mini-throw down.  I think Aaron did a very good job of observing and sketching his chosen subject.  With enough patience and practice, he'll soon have the feel for his sketching style.