Paper and Threads

The New York City Urban Sketchers met this week on the plaza in front of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue.  The overall plan was to sketch the Truth and Beauty sculptures and/or the Lions Patience and Fortitude.  It was a gorgeous day and I sat on one of the park chairs and sketched Truth, followed by a drawing of the man sitting all afternoon at a small table in front of me.  He said he is Garrett Buhl Robinson, an author who is selling his published books and passing out information about a musical that he wrote that will open in the Fall. 

Our weekday NYC Urban Sketchers Group.  Raylie (on the left) and 3 others from the NYC Group are headed off this week to Singapore for the annual Worldwide Urban Sketchers Symposium. 

100 Day Project:  Drawings From My Imagination 

July 14th was the last day of the 100 Day Project Challenge, and I celebrated with a final drawing of Alex and Alice.  The caption says "Can I take Alice and go home for a visit?"  I asked my 5 year old Grandson Zach for a backstory when he was here this past weekend.  Axel and Alice are from the Moon, and their heads are shaped like that because they were both born during a crescent Moon.  He says they were playing in Axel's Mother's spaceship and accidentally started it! 

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The Weekday Urban Sketchers of New York City met in Arraignments Court a week ago to sketch the proceedings.  The action was fast, with the accused appearing before the judge, with the prosecuting and defending attorneys making brief statements, mainly about setting bail and court dates for their court appearances.  Occasionally a guilty plea was entered and the judge informed the felon about the process and confirmed the decision.  Our small group sat at the back of the courtroom and watched and sketched for almost two hours, without anyone paying attention to us. 

Judge, Lawyers, and the accused:  I grouped several of the felons, most in hoodies, the lawyers, and the judge in one composite drawing.

Near the end of the morning a Mother and Child came in for a few minutes and sat opposite me.  Several minutes after I began my sketch, she departed, and was probably a Wife or  Girlfriend who just was there to hear the Judge and the bail decision.  Many of the accused had family members who were there to confirm that they weren't a flight risk, and had ties to the community.

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The last time I went to Urban Sketchers NYC Weekday Group we met at Washington Square in Greenwich Village.  I sat across from the north side of the park and made a preparatory sketch of the Arch with a watercolor pencil.  It is my new trick for approaching the drawing of famous landmarks that I find intimidating.  Thank you Liz Steel!

After I finished my second bigger sketch I went back and added water to my prep sketch and kind of liked the less defined lines.

Sketch #2 - done with a Tombow marker and watercolor:

A musical duet played under the arch and I make a quick pencil sketch of the male musician/singer of Coyote and Crow.  I intended to paint him later that day, but never got around to it. 

Pat, Benedicte, and I left early to go to Swann Galleries for the auction preview of 19th/20th C. and Modern Drawings and Prints.  They had several hundred prints and drawings and it was hard to choose one to draw.  This is an aquatint print.  I sketched this quickly with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.

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I was meeting the Urban Sketchers Group in Bryant Park, behind the New York City Public Library.  When I arrived, there was a photo shoot in the middle of the lawn, which we assume is a publicity shot for the upcoming revival of On The Town.

When I arrived at our meeting spot, I met Valentina, from Palermo, Sicily - someone who just looked up the NYC USK group and showed up!  I love that the International Urban Sketchers Group provides this level of communication worldwide between artists.  Valentina is the artist on the right.

I am using a new accordion watercolor book - with a cover of paste paper that I made last winter.

I used this for painting the Planetarium from the outside, last Thursday, at the American Museum of Natural History, and for several paintings this week when Urban Sketchers met in Bryant Park. 

Planetarium

These paintings, the Southwest Porch Patio, and the Fountain are from Bryant Park. 

As I was leaving Bryant Park I took a photo of another fascinating NYC site.   Any ideas??

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The Weekday Urban Sketchers in New York met at Union Square last week and I painted on the back side of my accordion watercolor sketchbook  I enjoyed using this book so much that I made another one today!

This is the full spread from Union Square on the back side of the accordion panels.

Here are the individual paintings:

Vegetables and flowers from the Farmer's Market.

A chair, umbrella, and sign from Pavillion - an open restaurant at the north end of Union Square.

The Entrance to the Subway Station and a young woman burning incense and selling crystals and other spiritual items. 

This group will now meet on Thursdays - from 11-3 - at various venues around New York City.  Anyone who is interested in joining the group can follow the Urban Sketchers NY Blog to learn about the weekly site.   

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