Paper and Threads

Our Grand daughter is visiting us for a week from DC, and she has time alone with us and liberal doses of her cousins who live in the City. 

We took a trip to Roosevelt Island (which is in the middle of the East River) on Monday to show my husband and grand daughter the Tram to the island and the FDR Memorial.  We stopped for what seemed like only 5 minutes to sketch a building on the Manhattan skyline while walking on the Memorial grounds, then had lunch, and took the tram back.  Annabelle loved the tram as much as I do.  I chose to sketch this portion of the skyline to capture the new mega skyscraper which is near the Citicorps building (slanted roof).

On Tuesday Annabelle's cousin, one of our grandsons, joined us for the day in Battery Park and Battery Park City.  Zach requested a ride on the SeaGlass Carousel and while they each had two rides, I finally sketched a few of the iridescent fish that you sit in.   This is the Carousel, inside a nautilus shell. 

Here is Annabelle sitting inside a fish. 

Here are two sketchbook pages. 

Today Annabelle and I will go to Broadway to see the musical Cats which just reopened after a 15 year hiatus.  We saw it in the Summer of 1983 with our children and when Annabelle's Father was 10 years old.   

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I had two wonderful days with NYC art groups this week - summer is definitely special as we meet and draw outside.  Fortunately our big heat wave ended and it is comfortable if you can stay out of the direct sun.  On Wednesday morning I went down to the tip of Manhattan and as I was walking along Battery Place, couldn't resist this view of the Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center) as I looked north on Greenwich St.  It is a beautiful tower that dwarfs the surrounding buildings. 

In the afternoon, John was again our model.  This is my final drawing of him - done in 10 minutes during a 20 minute pose.  I got bored and then sketched a visiting Peruvian artist/architect, Joel Guevara, as he was drawing John too.

The NYC Weekday Urban Sketchers met in Bryant Park on Thursday.  The Park is behind the New York Public Library between 40th and 42nd Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues.  On Thursdays the Park sponsors "Broadway in Bryant Park" and as we were sketching we listened to Broadway actors from "American in Paris" and "Beautiful" sing songs from their shows.  This is a very popular program and here are a few photos I took of the crowd on the lawn.

I like sketching buildings and pieces of buildings while trying to better understand perspective.  I sketched the very top of the building on W.40th St that you can see in the above photo. 

Next week my 8 year old grand daughter from DC will be here with us, and I can't even imagine how many places we will be in the City. 

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Last week I used the daily camp photos to determine the subject of my Axel drawings on the envelopes of my letters.  My two grandsons seemed to be photographed most frequently with a football, and my grand daughter, a passionate soccer player throughout the year, was photographed playing a soccer game.  These are the drawings I created.  I'm enjoying figuring out how to draw Axel in many different poses - which is something good for my practice of drawing from my imagination. 

I'm writing my last letter to the 3 of them before they return to NYC.  This week, the drawing is the same on each envelope - Axel asking them how many days until they come home.   

This is the left half of each envelope - and 3 original drawings.  I hope they enjoyed their summer sleep-away camp enormously!  I for one can't wait until they return.

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I have a variety of sketchbook pages from recent days.  This month I quickly sketched my husband's portrait when we were out for coffee.  I do this periodically and he doesn't think any of them look like him.  Here he is in his Mets baseball cap.

This week I met a virtual friend from Sketchbook Skool in person when Andrea Rubenstein joined our Weekday NYC Urban Sketchers Group at an air conditioned atrium in Midtown Manhattan.  Several members sketched Winston Churchill from an exhibit at Chartwell Book Store.  I tried to sketch Andrea as we talked. 

Earlier in July I sketched a beautiful pink hibiscus flower, and then painted it while our group was talking to Andrea.   Without thinking, I mistakenly added the stamen from day lilies - and unintentionally made it a rare hybrid! 

This morning the Central Park Drawing and Art Meet Up group met at the Conservatory Water and I sketched several people sitting at the Café. 

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Battery Park City Conservancy has 3 adult art programs each week.  I usually will go Wed AM for an hour to sketch flowers in Wagner Park, but I almost always go to the Figure Al Fresco sessions in the afternoon.  In a lovely spot in South Cove, with river breezes even on hot days, clothed models are scheduled for 2 hours.  These 4 drawings are of Regina - 3 five minute poses and 1 twenty minute pose.

Five Minutes:

Twenty Minutes:

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