We were out of town and relaxing, and there was a furry sheep in the room which just needed to be drawn and painted. I love seeing the huge beds of daffodils that are everywhere in New York City - announcing Spring. This daffodil was one that I couldn't resist. Now we are surrounded by tulips that are just bursting open and the range of colors is eye-candy!
The Notre Dame fire is heartbreaking. As I type this and repost my painting of the rear of Notre Dame, I'm watching the TV coverage of the ongoing fire which has destroyed the spire, and led to the collapse of the roof. We first visited Notre Dame in 1970, and still remember the organ concert from that Day. We almost never visited Paris without entering Notre Dame. On our most recent visit in 2014, I spent an hour on a beautiful sunny October day sketching Notre Dame from the quay on Ile St. Louis. This is heartbreaking. Commentators and city officials are currently describing the role of the ceiling in holding up the stone walls. They are beginning to wonder if the cathedral can be saved.
Last week my husband and I went to the last Juilliard Jazz Orchestra concert of the year at Alice Tully Hall. We love the amazing skills and knowledge of these young musicians, and the quality of the performance is as good as any we've heard. I sketched just the 3 musicians that were directly in front of me - otherwise there were too many music stands blocking my view, and I wanted to sketch them with their instruments. Wynton Marsalis was the Conductor, although he just spoke to the audience before each half, and had the musicians introduce each piece of music and "conduct" themselves.
New York City Urban Sketchers met at Lincoln Center last Saturday. It was a gorgeous day, with hints of Spring, but also with wind blowing early tree pollen around the Plaza. I took a seat at the Met Opera end of the Plaza and enjoyed drawing the David H. Koch theater which is home to the New York City Ballet. This was a double page spread and scanning the image highlights the center of the page.
The Museum of Modern Art has a great Senior Program - a combination of gallery talks and art studio adventures. Last time, in conjunction with the Brancusi exhibit, we created sculptures with Paper Clay. This week we played with liquid watercolor, ink, and vellum to create layered images to explore color. We looked at layered paintings by artists hanging in the museum, and then, with supplies provided for us, played with many types of mark making tools on watercolor paper. We also used various dry media to create designs on vellum, which I cut up and collaged on the watercolor.
