NYC Urban Sketchers Blog

 

Weekly Theme

Instead of a Weekday, Weekend and Westchester Sketching group events while we are all under lockdown, NYC USK will be holding a Weekend Virtual Event hosted my Mark Liebowitz and a Weekly Theme alternated between Raylie Dunkel and Cathy Gutterman.  Watch this space for the prompts on Monday mornings.

Cherry Blossoms on Roosevelt Island

If we were in our normal world we would have been out someplace in the city sketching the cherry blossoms which are in full bloom right now.  Given that we can't do it as a group on site, we can still do it as a virtual group (as we are learning to do so much else virtually these days).  

The theme this week is Cherry Blossoms: up close, at a distance, in the background or as the foreground focus:.any way you want them, as often as you want them, in as many places as you can manage.

 Here are some resources to use in finding sites with cherry blossoms:  

• The attached article has 10 places in NYC to view cherry blossoms.   While most are closed right now you can Google the name of the garden or location and see pictures of those places. Just hit "images" and you will have many options to choose from. 

 https://ny.curbed.com/maps/new-york-parks-cherry-blossom-trees-brooklyn-botanic-garden

• Or look up one of the other cities famous for cherry blossoms (Tokyo, Washington DC, etc)  and do the same

• Famous site not of interest? Take a walk around your neighborhood, nearby park or garden.  You should be able to spot the trees easily in the landscape devoid of leaves this time of year.

• Cut some branches and set them on your holiday table and sketch the event as you celebrate this seasons events. 

Complete your sketches and post them to the Facebook Page.  Use as many different media as you can, use different color papers, try adding figures, try a perspective you ordinarily wouldn't attempt.  You have a whole week to do it.   By the end of the week it should be awash with pink and white blossoms.  

Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Holiday, whatever you are celebrating.  Make it joyous, fun and delicious.  We are all in this together.  The time of isolation will pass, we will be safe and we will all be together again on the streets and in the parks sketching to our hearts content.