Saturday 5/9/26: City Hall Park

 

As if City Hall, designed on 1802 by architects John McComb Jr. and Joseph-Francois Mangin, weren't sketchable enough, it is surrounded by stunning and historical buildings such as the majestic Manhattan Municipal Building, Tweed Courthouse, The Woolworth Building, Surrogate’s Court, the old NY Times Building, NY County Supreme Court, and even the Brooklyn Bridge and St. Paul’s Chapel are within striking distance.

The weather forecast is calling for rain in the afternoon on Saturday. As a fallback plan, let’s retreat to Brookfield Place if it is raining hard enough to prevent sketching. Check the comment section of the Instagram and Facebook posts for this event on Saturday for “live” updates. We can communicate there.

HOST: Dan Honig (917) 843-5539
DATE: Saturday 5/9/26
TIME: Sketching 10am - 3pm | Show and Tell beginning at 3pm.
SKETCHING LOCATION: City Hall Park- East Side of Broadway @ Park Place- between Broadway and Park Row.

MEETING LOCATION: 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: The benches around the Jacob Wrey Mould Fountain on the south side of the park. If we need to go to Brookfield place, meet on the east side of the Winter Garden Atrium, on the 2nd floor at the top of the giant staircase (there are elevators to get up there). Check with the host day-of for the exact show-and-tell location, and/or check the comment section of the Instagram and Facebook posts for this event for “live” updates.

FOOD, DRINK, RESTROOMS, SEATING: Yes to all.

ABOUT NYC URBAN SKETCHING EVENTS: All are welcome, no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks 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.

Join us for outdoor sketching at the new Davis Center at the Harlem Meer. Opened in April 2025, in the north end of the park, this new public space houses a renovated Lasker swimming pool in the summer and ice skating in the winter. In the spring and fall, the center transforms the pool/rink area into a green space for relaxing. The interior of the pavilion has many tables with a great view of the action outside.

The Davis Center is near the newly restored shoreline of the Harlem Meer Nature Preserve and the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, built in 1933. You’ll find plenty to sketch in this area. 

About the Davis Center 

https://daviscenter.centralparknyc.org/about

The Davis Center was designed by Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture and Design

https://str-architecture.com/project/the-harlem-meer-outdoor-center-in-central-park/

DATE: Wednesday May 13 , 2026

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

TRANSPORTATION: 2, 3 to 110 St-Malcolm X Plaza is the closest subway stop

HOST: Donna David 212 685 2930 (text only)

NOTES: 

-The Davis Center is on the east side of Central Park, between 106th and 108th Streets. Meet at the indoor area with the tables.

-Water, bathrooms and cafe are available on site

-There are many benches nearby, but bring a stool for more options. 

-CAUTION!!!! Be careful when crossing East Drive on the south side of the pavilion (yellow line on map). The south entrance of the Center on the East Drive is at the end of a long down hill. Bikes go extremely fast. Be super careful if you approach from the curve on East Drive. (Raylie- maybe we should say "Don't approach from here"? Bikes fly down that hill, I've done it myself. They will not expect people to be walking across here)

Workshop: Look Up And Sketch Something New with Mel Barranco - May 30, 2026

Have you ever wondered what you’re missing by staring straight ahead at a scene? Learn about a whole range of sketching possibilities by looking up. 

Join Mel Barranco at Manhattan West Plaza, along 9th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, on Saturday, May 30th, 10am - 1pm. 

For information and tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1987085076956?aff=oddtdtcreator

5/9/26 CANCELED NJ Sketchers at Stickley Museum

CANCELED Join the NJ Urban Sketchers at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms! 

We will be participating in their Maker Day Open House.

The event runs from noon to 4pm and we will be on-site sketching from 11:30 am to at least 2:30 pm.

Built by Gustav Stickley between 1908 and 1917 as the most complete expression of his “Craftsman” style, the campus of Craftsman Farms provides an unmatched opportunity to experience Stickley’s ideas about the impact of architecture, design, and landscape on a meaningful life. The museum is situated on the remaining thirty acres of Craftsman Farms’ original 650-acre campus. Its original buildings include the Log House, which was the Stickley family home, and three cottages. The original farm buildings include the horse barn, dairy house, and the remains of the cow barn.

There will also be free museum admission and craft vendors participating in the event. Guests are invited to enjoy free admission to the historic Log House and learn about the history of the museum and its collections items. You can also tour the North Cottage on the property, which features the museum’s collection of rare green ash furniture. 

 

For more information see the website: 

·      Stickley Museum  

 

DATE: Saturday, May 9th

STARTING TIME: 11:30 – we will assemble before the start of the event at noon

FEE: no fee to participate

LOCATION: 2352 State Route 10 Morris Plains, NJ 07950

TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING: there is parking onsite

NOTES

• Please RSVP to Barbara Taylor at bat155155@gmail.com   
• Looking for us? Call or text Barbara at ‪(862) 207-4279
• Bring a stool
• Bring your lunch or a bite to eat  
• We will conclude with a throw down around 2 pm but you are welcome to keep sketching after that

 

There are no fees. All drawing skill levels are welcome.

Due to the rainy forecast, the Weekday Joint meeting will take place INSIDE the main library.  If the weather holds, you can sketch outside the library or Bryant Park but if it is rainy, come indoors and meet the group in the main lobby at 10:30 AM]

DATE: WEDNESDAY May 6, 2026

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: Mian Library

  5th Avenue BTW 40th and 42nd Streets

                      

TRANSPORTATION: B, D, F, M to Bryant Park, 7 to 5th Ave

HOSTS:  Marianne Milzoff 914 355 6507  and Lorraine Smith 928 614 1930

• Marianne will greet sketchers inside the lobby 

• Water and bathrooms are avlailbe

• Plenty of seats and tables throughout the library, but a stool give you more options.

• No food allowed in the galleries. 

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 5/2/26: Central Park: Bandshell Area and CP Dance Skaters

 

The Central Park Bandshell is right in the center of lots of great sketching. The Bethesda Fountain, The Lake, The Central Park Boathouse, etc, are all just north… the Mall and Literary Walk, filled with statues, vendors, and artists, are just south… but the reason for our visit to this area is to sketch the Central Park Dance Skaters. CP Dance Skaters are a legendary, vibrant, long standing skating community that gathers weekly in Skater’s Circle for free open-air roller dance sessions with live DJ music. DJ Kervyn Mark and DJ Monday Blues will be spinning on Saturday starting at 2:45.

Please note that this event has a later time than usual to allow time to capture the skaters. We will sketch around the greater Bandshell area starting around 11am (no formal meeting). At 2:45 we will move over to Skater’s Circle to capture the action, and return back to the Bandshell for a show-and-tell at 4:00. The skaters skate until 6:45 if you would like to return back to continue sketching them.

Bring your skates!!

HOST: Charles Cannizzaro (914) 552-3658
DATE: Saturday 5/2/26
TIME: Sketching 11am - 4pm | Show and Tell beginning at 4pm.
SKETCHING LOCATION: Central Park Bandshell- (center of the park just south of the 72nd street traverse)

MEETING LOCATION: 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: The benches around the Bandshell. Check with the host day-of for the exact show-and-tell location.
FOOD, DRINK, RESTROOMS, SEATING: There are benches and public restrooms. There may be food vendors around the area, but there are no restaurants or shops in the immediate vicinity.

ABOUT NYC URBAN SKETCHING EVENTS: All are welcome, no fee, no registration. Just look for folks with sketchbooks 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 May 2, 2026: WESTCHESTER SKETCHERS Exhibit and Sketch at Union Church of Pocantico Hills in Tarrytown

 

The Westchester NYC Urban Sketchers and Lumina Arts at Union Church of Pocantico Hills present "Lightlines," a show inspired by open drawing sessions held on the Church's grounds. Through these meetups, artists of all skill levels re welcomed to this historic site to draw inspiration from the renowned stained glass windows by Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse -- translating light and color into expressive works on paper. 

Please join us for this unique opportunity to meet the artist in residence and view her studio, to sketch the exterior of the Church, and to view your fellow sketchers interpretations of the beautiful stained glass windows and other inspiration they found at this magical place.

HOST: Cathy Gutterman (914) 625-0766

DATE: Saturday, May 2, 2026

TIME: 11:00 AM to 3 PM

LOCATION: Union Church of Pocantico Hills, 555 Bedford Rd, Tarrytown, NY 10591

DIRECTIONS: https://www.google.com/maps/place/555+Bedford+Rd,+Sleepy+Hollow,+NY+10591

NOTES:

• Please carpool if possible. Parking is free, but limited.

• Bring a stool if you want to sketch outdoors. There will be no sketching in the Chapel.

• Restrooms are available.

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.