Central Park Sketching and Art Meetup - Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sunday morning I headed into the city again, taking an early train so I would have time for breakfast and coffee .  I settled at my usual spot by the window looking out at the station, watching travelers promenade and linger.

I sketched the view straight ahead while I sipped coffee and ate an egg sandwich.  Things are slower early on a Sunday.  

At 10:00 I left the station and started walking in a north easterly, almost two miles, zig zag pattern.  This plan changed when I spotted a street fair/festival at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street.  Lex was closed to traffic all the way to somewhere in the 50's and it wasn't crowded yet so I was able to walk at a good clip and not have to stop for lights.  At 51st I resumed walking east until I reached the meeting place.

 The Central Park Sketching and Art Meetup Group spent a few hours in The Secret Park.  You get to it via some very old, narrow, steep, stone steps.  Lots of them.  Down Down Down.

It's a very nice place.  Something for everyone to sketch -  trees, architectural interest, East River views, dog park, people, even the site of an old leper/smallpox/TB (one of those, not sure which but for some reason leprosy comes to mind) hospital on the island right opposite us.

I took advantage of Francesca who was busy painting something above my head and didn't move  anything except her painting arm.

Jesse, the organizer of this Meetup group, has us disperse and sketch for about an hour or so, and then we all display our drawings, ooh and ahh, and then resume another sketching session, etc.

I switched apps and spent some time on the garbage (not the first time, it seems).  None of the colors are true - palette is very limited in this app so imagination and reality collaborate.  When I finished this I simply pivoted around from where I was standing and spotted my next subject.

At 1:45 we all gathered and displayed our final sketches.  Kimiko and her friend were way at the other end of the line.  I was watching and wasn't disappointed.  Her friend spotted my iPad image and started laughing, gesturing to Kimiko to look.  Massive giggling ensued.  She had no idea I was using her as a model.  "E-mail it to me!", said between giggles.

Reversed zig zag walk back to Penn Station.   While waiting I took advantage of these three.  Someone sat next to me and openly watched but I don't care anymore.  Or, I had such a good day, I didn't care then.

I finished the drawing just before the two on the left got up to catch their train and had time to get a coffee and oatmeal cookie.  Had to get my caffeine quota.  Sketch was done on the train.

iPad drawing, Sketch Club app, Finngr Pro app, Pogo Sketch stylus.

(In the last sketch the app acted up and wouldn't "save" so I took a screen shot.  That's why the unwelcome intrusion shows up on the lower left.  A sporadic glitch.)