Saturday 8/1/26: WEEKEND SKETCHERS- Riverside Park- Locomotive Lawn, Upper West Side

 

Come sketch this beautiful section of Riverside Park featuring a historic train locomotive and views of the Hudson River. The centerpiece of the lawn is B.E.D.T. #25, an Alco S-1 diesel locomotive that worked as a shunter along the Brooklyn waterfront for over three decades, moving boxcars and flatbeds from docks to warehouses. Retired in 2000, the train was restored and repainted in 2007 and now dons the New York Central railroad paint scheme bearing the number “8625.” This locomotive commemorates Riverside Park’s history as part of the New York Central rail yard, connected historically to the elevated High Line Park

HOST: Dan Honig (917) 843-5539
DATE: Saturday 8/1/26
TIME: Sketching 10am-3pm | Show and Tell beginning at 3pm.
SKETCHING LOCATION: Riverside Park on the Upper West Side at 62nd Street.

MEETING SPOT: There will be no official meeting to kick off the day, join your fellow sketchers and just start sketching. If you are new, look for people with sketchbooks and say hello, we are a friendly bunch.
SHOW AND TELL LOCATION: We will meet at 3 generally in front of the locomotive. Check with the host day-of for the exact show-and-tell location.
FOOD, DRINK, RESTROOMS, SEATING: There are restrooms, a cafe, and water fountains in the park at 70th Street. There are some benches, but bring a stool for more options.

About NYC Urban Sketchers Events: All are welcome–no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks at the meeting spot and say hello. If you have trouble finding us, contact the host; their contact info is in the NYC Urban Sketchers blog post for this event. #nycurbansketchers.

FRIDAY, July 31, 2026: WESTCHESTER Sketchers at the Katonah Art Museum Senior Social Afternoon

 

Spend a lively afternoon surrounded by art and conversation. Experience guided exhibition tours of the current Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families exhibition, participate in a painting activity led by our own Judy Aronow, and gather with fellow art enthusiasts over light refreshments. With special focus on New York figures, this exhibition explores the private worlds of America’s founders through furniture, fine art, decorative, and personal objects from their homes—revealing how domestic spaces shaped political life and diplomacy.

HOST: Cathy Gutterman (914) 625-0766

DATE: Friday, July 31, 2026
TIME: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Please arrive before 1:00 PM to start with a tour of the exhibit.

Register here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/senior-social-afternoon-tickets-279181

LOCATION: Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay Street - Route 22, Katonah, NY 10536
DIRECTIONS: https://www.katonahmuseum.org/visit/getting-here.php
From NYC: From Grand Central Terminal, take the Metro-North Harlem Line to Katonah Station. Taxi service is available.

NOTES:

• Admission: Seniors $9, others $12.

• Reciprocal Admission: Fairfield Westchester Museum Alliance (FWMA), North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM), American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Members. Also check check your local Library Pass Program.

• Food, drink, chewing gum and tobacco products are not allowed in the galleries.

• Pencil sketching is allowed in the galleries,

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman at westchester@nycurbansketchers.org.

About NYC Urban Sketchers Events: All are welcome–no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks at the meeting spot and say hello. If you have trouble finding us, contact the host; their contact info is in the NYC Urban Sketchers blog post for this event.  #nycurbansketchers.

Saturday 7/25/26: Weekend Sketchers at Gapstow Bridge in Central Park

 

Looks like beautiful weather this weekend, so let’s have a picnic! Bring your picnic basket filled with goodies, a blanket or beach chair, and your sketching kit. We’ll gather on a grassy knoll on the shores of The Pond in central Park. From there you’ll enjoy amazing views of The Pond, the beautiful Gapstow Bridge, and the Central Park South skyline. If you want more to sketch, nearby is the Hallette Nature Sanctuary hosting one of Central Park’s 5 waterfalls, the Cop Cot rustic wooden structure atop a rocky outcropping, and the Woolman Rink… or venture further afield to Grand Army Plaza or the Pulitzer Fountain. This is a beautiful area of the park and the perfect setting for a social summer gathering.

HOST: Charles Cannizzaro (914) 552-3658
DATE: Saturday 7/25/26
TIME: Sketching 10am - 3pm | Show and Tell beginning at 3pm.
LOCATION: Gapstow Bridge, Central Park

MEETING SPOT: Our home base will be on the west side of the Gapstow Bridge on the lawn of the shore of The Pond. See the map above for the exact location. There will be no official meeting to kick off the day, join your fellow sketchers and just start sketching. We have had some trouble with closures and construction fencing this summer. Should the area indicated above be not accessible for any reason, continue along the path, away from the Gapstow Bridge, and you will come upon a grassy field just past the next fork in the road. This will be our backup location.
SHOW AND TELL LOCATION: Same as the meeting spot.
SEATING: Bring your blankets, stools, or beach chairs.
FOOD, DRINK, RESTROOMS: There are restrooms nearby. Bring a picnic lunch.

About NYC Urban Sketchers Events: All are welcome–no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks at the meeting spot and say hello. If you have trouble finding us, contact the host; their contact info is in the NYC Urban Sketchers blog post for this event. #nycurbansketchers.

 

The Brooklyn Museum offers us limitless opportunities for sketching, whether inside or out.  Inside the permanent  collection offers contemporary and classic opportunities for sketching.  Outside we have the classic building and surrounding garden in front adn back of the museum. Or visit the special exhibit “Iris Van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses” (add additional entrance fee) .  For more information about the museum and the various collections and exhibits, click here: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/

DATE: Wednesday July 29 , 2026

STARTING TIME: 11:00 AM

TRANSPORTATION: 2,3 train to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum

HOST: Marianne Milzoff, 914 355 6507

NOTES: 

Water and bathrooms are available 

Use only dry materials inside

You can only bring a small pack into the museum, which you can borrow at the coat check

There is no food or water allowed in the galleries. 

Food service is available in the cafe

Bring a stool 

THURSDAY, July 23, 2026: WESTCHESTER SKETCHERS at Hudson River Home in Croton-on-Hudson

 

Urban Sketchers are invited to a private home located on the Hudson River overlooking Haverstraw Bay. Come paint the river, garden, and birds on a shady fish-shaped patio overlooking the river, with a tour of the house filled with art and woodwork from a pre-World War 2 Polish synagogue. Hosting the Westchester Urban Sketchers has been a longtime dream of this once-in-a-blue-moon Urban Sketcher. At the end of the street there’s a perch where the train comes around the bend and you can see the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

HOST: Jane H. Cuniffe (917) 697-8819

DATE: Thursday, July 23, 2026

START TIME: 10:30 AM 

LOCATION: 33 Battery Place in Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

DIRECTIONS: To get to the house you have to go through FDR VA Hospital in Montrose off 9A / Old Albany Post Road. (IMPORTANT NOTE: At VA Security, tell them you’re going to Battery Place and they will wave you through). The VA is just across the street from the Cortlandt Metro North Station. The house is ¾ mile through the VA, left and down toward the riverfront, then left over a one-lane bridge. 

 Transportation from NYC: Take the Metro-North Hudson Line to Cortlandt Station. The house is an hour by train from the city and under a mile walk from Cortland station. Or a four-minute drive.  

LUNCH: Bring your own lunch and we can eat at a shaded picnic table or under the trees overlooking the river.  Water and lemonade will be available.

SHOW and TELL: After lunch, we will share our drawings and tell stories. This is the social part of our day and should not be missed.

NOTES:

- Bring drinking water.

- There are chairs and plenty of steps to sit on, but bring a stool for more options.

- Dress for sunshine. Bring a hat and sunscreen.

- Restroom in house available.

- Park along the road on the right before the first house or down the street on the left. (33 is the third house).

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman at westchester@nycurbansketchers.org

About NYC Urban Sketchers Events: All are welcome–no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks at the meeting spot and say hello. If you have trouble finding us, contact the host; their contact info is in the NYC Urban Sketchers blog post for this event. #nycurbansketchers.

WORKSHOP-2nd SESSION ADDED Let It Glow: Finding Sunshine in Shadows with Katie Woodward - August 15

 

Join Katie Woodward, @ramblingsketcher, August 15, to learn about working with shadow and light

August 15, 10-1pm SOLD OUT

A second session has been added, August 15, 2-5pm.

Using a limited palette, this workshop will focus on how to give the viewer more information about the quality of light and atmosphere by varying the color and value within every shadow.

For more information and tickets, see Eventbrite Scroll down to see the new posting.

Paper for this workshop will be generously donated by Legion Paper @legionpaper

NJ Sketchers Schedule