SATURDAY - June 4 - Waterfront Amusement Parks

Join us for an unguided virtual sketch event inspired by waterfront amusement parks. Choose from rides, entertainment, people, and vistas. Enjoy a roller coaster. How about a merry-go-round. 

There are no fees. All skill levels are welcome.

Registration is required. Click on the Eventbrite link below:
Waterfront Amusement Park-Inspired Sketching! Tickets, Sat, Jun 4, 2022 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

Photographic references for this event are below:
628a635ab4061.site123.me

What’s Coming Up Next
June 11 - African Safaris
June 18 - Sequential Art, Comics, Cartoons and Graphic Novels
June 25 - Cuba and Dadaism

NYC Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization (EIN 84-3937060). Tax deductible donations by check may be sent to NYC Urban Sketchers, P.O.Box 1083, James A. Farley Post Office, New York, NY 10116. 

REMINDER - LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES - NYC Urban Sketchers ART Exhibit - “Virtual Sketching in the Time of Covid"

Where: New Amsterdam Library, 9 Murray Street, New York, NY 10007

When: August 15 - October 7, 2022

Submission Deadline: June 15, 2022

Eligibility: NYC Urban Sketcher virtual art, i.e. artwork created from photographs or digital references, between March 2020 and the present.

For this exhibit, digital photographs of all work will be submitted electronically to a Google Forms site. Technical specifications for the digital submissions are contained in the Google Forms links below. There are no entry fees and a limit of two submissions per person. A jury of three people independent of NYC Urban Sketchers will select the work. Like the exhibit at Grand Central Terminal in 2021, the art selected will be reproduced in large format and printed on paper for exhibit at the library. Please be sure to select images carefully. After submission, you cannot replace them. 

For more information and to enter your submission:

(a.) for gmail accountholders, use this link:    https://forms.gle/EuZG8N8v5b8oykkr6

(b) for non-gmail accountholders, use this link:     https://forms.gle/wkFN2ppmN5r4AHqQ7

Please note: a second exhibit of NYC Urban Sketcher art will take place at the New Amsterdam Library, January 9 - February 27, 2023, featuring work created in 2022 on location (not from photographs), below 14th Street in Manhattan. A similar submission and reproduction process will be followed. Be sure to check out upcoming sketch locations by the weekend and weekday sketch groups. They will be visiting many sites below 14th Street in the next six months. Stay tuned for more information. 

 Weekday Sketchers at Trinity and St Paul's Cemeteries 

Trinity Church 

For the next few weeks, we will be meeting in lower Manhattan to prepare for our winter "Art Exhibit "Below 14th Street"

Join us this week as we move back in time to Colonial New York.  Come and explore the two (of three) ancient cemeteries in lower Manhattan at Trinity and St. Paul's Churches.  Sit in these churchyards and try to imagine when there was a rolling landscape of trees and small houses. Try to erase the giant buildings from the landscape and imagine when this was farmland and animals, not cars, trucks, and busses moved up and down the streets. Come find and sketch Alexander Hamilton's grave, look for the oldest gravestone and enjoy sitting under the beautiful trees that grace these graveyards. 

For more information about both churches click here: https://trinitywallstreet.org\

EXTRA CREDIT: Can you name the third ancient cemetery in lower Manhattan? 

St Paul's Church

DATE: WEDNESDAY JUNE 1, 2022

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

STARTING LOCATION: TRINITY CHURCH 

                                            Broadway and Wall Street

                                            We will meet in the churchyard on the north side of the church

TRANSPORTATION: 4,5 train to Wall Street

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call/text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• Bring a stool for capturing the best views
• Bathrooms available inside the churches
• We will start at Trinity Church.  At 12:30 we will move up Broadway to St. Paul's Church for lunch, more sketching, and a show and tell

Weekday Sketchers at City Hall Park

Join us this week at City Hall Park and help us accomplish three things at once! 

City Hall 

First Thing:  Spend the morning with other sketchers capturing the beautiful facade of City Hall, the incredible fountain with gas lights and the mix of people enjoying a break from work or sightseeing. Not happy with those?  Here are some suggestions for sketching right nearby: Brooklyn Bridge, St Paul's Church, The Manhattan Municipal Building, Manhattan Surrogates Court 

Second Thing: This is one of the sites we will be sketching in preparation for our winter Art Exhibit "Below 14th Street"

City Hall Park Fountain

Third Thing:  Help us fulfill our commitment to the NY Public Library, for hosting both of the Art Exhibits we will be mounting this year, by assisting new urban sketchers to become familiar with the urban sketching experience.   

Mark Leibowitz will be conducting a short Intro to Urban Sketching at the New Amsterdam Library on Murray Street across from City Hall Park.  The workshop, which starts at 1 PM, is hosted by the NYPL and supported by the NYC USK chapter.  By 2:00 PM Mark will finish the workshop and bring the participants to the park to try their hand at sketching.  Any members who would like to stay for the afternoon can assist the workshop participants by sketching nearby, showing them your work and giving them encouragement to keep drawing.  This is the first of two such events.  The second will be the last Wednesday in June.   Anyone who would like to take the free workshop is welcome to do so. You can register on the NYPL Web Site.

DATE: WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 2022

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: CITY HALL PARK

                       Broadway and Park Row near Barclay Street

                       We will meet by the fountain in the middle of the park in front of City Hall

                      

TRANSPORTATON: R, W, 4, 5, 6, J, Z. to City Hall

Municipal Building

Tweed Courthouse

Surrogates Court

St Paul's Church

Brooklyn Bridge

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@Gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call/text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• Our morning session will be as usual: come when you can and work at your own pace. We will break for lunch around 12:30 and hold our show and tell.  Then when Mark brings the workshop participants and we will continue to sketch as outlined above
• No need to bring a stool as there are lots of benches
• Bring lunch or purchase something locally
• Bathrooms will be available at the library 
• Additional sketch sites right nearby: Brooklyn Bridge, St Paul's Church, The Manhattan Municipal Building, Manhattan Surrogates Court 

WEDNESDAY: Westchester Sketchers at The New Dawn Foundation, New Rochelle

"The New Dawn Foundation is a hidden gem so close to New York City, yet so calm and serene with old-world elegance that is hard to find." -- Anonymous Guest

The New Dawn Foundation is located in “The White House,” which is also known as The Oaks. It was built in 1900 and served as a school for girls before being privately purchased in 1919 by Charles and Magdalene Klingenstein. The Klingensteins often invited nurses and nursing students from Mount Sinai to come to The Oaks for rest and relaxation.  In 2008 the property was donated to the New Dawn Foundation. 

The historic estate house is located on the exclusive waterfront peninsula of Davenport Neck in New Rochelle, NY.  Today this beautiful haven in Westchester overlooking the Long Island Sound offers the space for healing, growth, and general respite from the pressures and challenges of everyday life.  

DETAILS:

When: Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Location: The New Dawn Foundation

590 Davenport Avenue, New Rochelle 10805 

http://www.thenewdawnfoundation.org/ 

Phone: (914) 6328084

Time: 10:00 AM 

Directions by Car: http://www.thenewdawnfoundation.org/directions.html

NOTE: The New Dawn Foundation is easy to get to but you could pass it by as the entrance is small. Most directions will tell you to go to Pelham Road.  If you come to Pelham Road from North Ave., make a left onto Pelham Road, then make a left at Church Street (Trinity Elementary School is on the corner).  Drive down to light and make a right onto Davenport Ave.  Take this road down past the beach and catering halls.  After the Greentree Club, you will see a small entrance on the left.  It will say New Dawn Foundation and also "The Oaks" which was the former name of the estate.  Drive slowly down the very curved and narrow road.  There will be a fork.  Go to the left where there is a small white mansion.  Marianne will be there to guide your parking.

If you are coming from Weyman Ave. to Pelham Road, take a right on Church Street by the elementary school and follow the above directions.

Transportation from NYC: Take the Metro-North New Haven Line to the New Rochelle Station.  The 9:07 AM off-peak train from Grand Central arrives in New Rochelle at 9:40 AM.  Please call Cathy (914-625-0766) to arrange for pick-up and ride to the Foundation.

Lunch: Bring your own lunch/snack/water. We'll be lunching together.

Show & Tell: After lunch, we'll share stories and sketches during this social part of our day.

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman cathygutterman@verizon.net
 
Looking for us? Call Cathy at 914-625-0766 or Marianne at 914-355-6507


NOTES:

• Bring a hat.
• It can be breezy by the water - you may want to bring a light jacket.
• There will be seating available but bring your stool for more options.
• We will have access to the restrooms in the mansion.

SATURDAY: Sketch the Little Island

 

New York City's Newest Island

You’ve sketched Long Island, Staten Island, Roosevelt Island and now we’ll be sketching New York’s newest island - The Little Island, which features a gorgeous park built on a striking stilt design, featuring flower beds & shows at a waterside amphitheater.

Components of the pier, nestled among more than 350 species of flowers, trees and shrubs, include a 687-seat amphitheater and an intimate stage and lawn space, along with dazzling views of other portions of Hudson River Park, New York City and the Hudson River.

The landscape provides a visually surprising and inspiring experience as visitors walk across the park. The plantings are varied to provide an environment that changes with the seasons, with flowering trees and shrubs, fall foliage and evergreens. More than 66,000 bulbs and 114 trees have been planted, some of which will grow to 60 feet tall.

Little Island’s distinct exterior is supported by concrete piles. On top of the piles, 132 concrete “tulips” make up the structure of the park. Each tulip’s shape is unique and has a different weight load capacity to hold the soil, lawns, overlooks and trees. The original Pier 54 piles remain to provide habitat for aquatic life.

Little Island often gets crowded in the afternoon, so our strategy will be to sketch on the Little Island in the morning and we’ll sketch views of the Little Island in the afternoon.

DETAILS

What:   We’ll be sketching The Little Island

Where:   Pier 55 at Hudson River Park Hudson River Greenway, To get there walk past 10th Avenue on 14th Street, cross the West Side Highway  (see map below)

When:  Saturday, May 21, 2022.  Start time - 10 AM.   Running late?  Come anyway - we'll be there.

How:

-   By Subway:  

Take the A, B or C train to 14th Street - Walk three blocks west towards the Hudson River.

Lunch:  We'll break at 12:30 PM.  Location to be determined.  Bring your own food and drink or rely on vendors.

Afternoon:  1:30 PM  Back to sketching.  For the afternoon we may step off the island to sketch the views of this incredible structure.

Show and Tell:  3:00 PM - Location to be determined.  There are many suitable spots nearby.   We’ll share stories from the day, show our artwork and talk about the things artists talk about when they’re together.

(click to enlarge)

NOTE:

-     Bring a hat.  There is not that much shade in the area

-      Bring a stool if you have one, it gives you more options.

If you can’t find us

call or text Mark at 973-809-9128

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

New Jersey Urban Sketchers at Montclair Iris Garden Thursday May 18, 2023

The Presby Memorial Iris Garden in Montclair is referred to as the "Rainbow on the Hill"....and that it is!  With thousands of bearded irises in bloom, this is truly spectacular scene to  capture in a sketchbook. 

Join us for a day of sketching only available for a few weeks in the spring. Bring a stool and your brightest watercolors to get the best views and brightest colors onto your paper. 

For more information about the gardens and driving directions, visit the web site: https://www.presbyirisgardens.org

Sketching Tip:  the iris looks like a complicated flower but it is really easy to draw once you know that there are only 6 petals on every flower.  Three are curved down and three are curved up.  The little "beards" run along the midline of the downward curved petals.   That's it!  Add a green stem and some unopened buds and you've done it!

DATE:  THURSDAY MAY 18, 2023

               

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: PRESBY MEMORIAL IRIS GARDN

                      474 UPPER MOUNTAIN ROAD, MONTCLAIR NJ

DIRECTIONS: Please visit the web site for directions by car and public transit: https://www.presbyirisgardens.org 

NOTE:  This location is very easy to get to by public transit via NJ Transit

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call or text  Raylie Dunkel at 201-273-0445
• Bring a stool and lunch. There are no food services 
• There are bathrooms on site
• There is no parking on site. You must park on the street along side the garden. 
• Please visit the web site https://www.presbyirisgardens.org for and read the page on Garden Etiquette 
• We will break for lunch at the tables at the top of the hill
• this is the start of the NJ group meeting twice a month.  
  Watch for info on the 5/25 joint session with the Westchester Group in Nyack NY

Weekday Sketchers at Gowanus Canal

Please note that this is a change from the previously posted schedule.  

Join us this week as we visit one of the notorious areas of NYC, the Gowans Canal.  Carved out of ancient salt flats and fresh water streams it was once one of the busiest waterways in the country.  Now know for its infamous pollution it was designated a superfund site.  Now initiatives by many public/private organizations are breathing new life into this area.  For information about the history, the pollution and the re-establishment of this district, visit the Gowanus Canal Conservancy website: https://gowanuscanalconservancy.org

We will meet in the park boarding the canal behind the Whole Foods on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street in Brooklyn.  From there you can wander along the edge of the canal and walk across some of the bridges to capture the scene that best captures the old industrial and the new environmentally corrected views of the canal and the neighborhood. 

DATE: WEDNESDAY MAY 18, 2022

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATATION: 3RD AVENUE AND 3RD STREET BROOKLYN 

                           Behind the Whole Foods parking lot

TRANSPORTATION: F or G to 9th Street Station or the N, R, W, or D to 9th Street Station. 

This will leave you off at 4th Ave and 9th Street,  Walk to 3rd Ave and 3rd Street to the meeting spot.

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call or text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• There are benches in the park but bringing a stool will offer you more options
• Bathrooms are available in Whole Foods 
• Bring lunch or purchase it at Whole Foods or the many vendors in the area. 
• Optional afternoon sketching at the Old Stone House of Brooklyn

Old Stone House

THURSDAY: Westchester Sketchers at Glen Island Park, New Rochelle

 

This 105-acre island property is connected to New Rochelle by a drawbridge built in the 1920s. After Playland, Glen Island is the second most widely used park in the County Parks system. One of Westchester’s unique jewels, it was initially developed as a summer resort by John H. Starin. The original design exhibited the five cultures of the western world on individual islands linked together with piers and causeways. Today the islands have been merged with substantial fill areas totaling 130 acres and providing a beautiful crescent-shaped beach with access to the Long Island Sound.

Cannons, sculptures, and castles with coursed rubble stone, arched openings, and round towers still remain from the days of John Starin’s resort. The castles, reminiscent of those in Germany's Rhineland, were constructed on their present site in the late 19th century for use as a beer garden and restaurant.

     

The bathhouse was originally built in a Neo-Georgian style with a cupola marking the center of the front façade. A courtyard looks out to the beach and is completed by a colonnade. The bridge, bridge house, seawall, and castles are all eligible for listing on the Register of Historic Places.

DETAILS:
When: Thursday, May 19, 2022

Location: Glen Island Park, Weyman Avenue, New Rochelle 10805 

https://parks.westchestergov.com/glen-island-park Phone: (914) 813-6720 or 6721

Time: 10:00 AM We'll meet in front of the castle located to the right as you enter the parking lot.

Directions: https://www.mapquest.com/us/new-york/glen-island-park-265288484

Transportation from NYC: Metro-North New Haven Line to New Rochelle Station.
The 9:07 AM off-peak train from Grand Central arrives in New Rochelle at 9:40 AM.
Please call Marianne (914-355-6507) to arrange for pick-up and ride to Glen Island.

Lunch: Bring your own lunch/snack/water. We'll be picnicking together.
Show & Tell: After lunch, we will share stories and sketches during the social part of our day.

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman cathygutterman@verizon.net
 
Looking for us? Call Cathy at 914-625-0766 or Marianne at 914-355-6507


NOTES:
- It can be breezy by the water - you may want to bring a light jacket.
- There are lots of picnic tables, but a stool can offer more options.

- It's before Memorial Day, so there should be no fee for parking or the need for a park pass. 

- Restrooms are located in the Office building located on the right as you enter the Park.

SATURDAY - May 21 - South Pacific

In celebration of Asian American - Pacific Islander Heritage Month we are sketching the beautiful landscapes, peoples and cultures of the South Pacific. The landmasses of the South Pacific are mostly small islands scattered across a huge ocean larger than all the other oceans put together. The region comprises of around 30 island nations, some mere dots on the map. 

Papua New Guinea

The largest island nation is Papua New Guinea followed by New Zealand which are both quite considerable land-masses, but it's then followed by Fiji whose collective islands compressed would be smaller than Wales! In terms of cultural identity, the South Pacific Islands are split into three regions: Polynesia, lying in the west and including Samoa, Cook Islands and Tahiti but also extending north to Hawaii and south to New Zealand; Melanesia, in the east and including Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands; and Micronesia in the north-west and including Kiribati, Guam and the Federated States of Micronesia.

 New Zealand

Come enjoy virtual sketching inspired by the rich beauty, history, and diversity of the peoples and places scattered across the South Pacific.

There are no fees. All skill levels are welcome. 

Registration is required. Use the Eventbrite link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/331940130867

Photographic references for this virtual event are below:

https://6278cee4e93ac.site123.me/

What is coming up next:

May 28 - Sketchers Holiday

June 4 - Waterfront Amusement Park

June 11 - African Safari

Maori of New Zealand

NYC Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization (EIN 84-3937060). Tax-deductible donations by check made be sent to NYC Urban Sketchers, P.O. Box 1083, James A. Farley Post Office, New York, NY 10116. 

SATURDAY - May 14 - New York Botanical Garden

Join us for a day of virtual sketching the New York Botanical Garden, a 250 acre site in the Bronx established in 1891. It contains over one million living plants, a conservatory shown above, and a research library. The Garden was inspired by the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, and has been a national historic landmark since 1967. 

The NY Botanical Garden contains over fifty different gardens and plant collections. There is a cascading waterfall, wetlands, and a 50 acre tract of original, old growth New York forest along the Bronx river. 

There are no fees. All Skill levels welcome.

To register, click Eventbrite link below:
Sketch New York Botanical Garden Tickets, Sat, May 14, 2022, at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

For photographic references for this virtual event, click on the link below:
The New York Botanical Garden:  https://625b67dc90460.site123.me/

What is coming up next:

May 21 - South Pacific

May 28 - Sketchers Holiday

June 4 - Waterfront Amusement Park

NYC Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization (EIN 84-3937060). Tax-deductible donations by check may be sent to NYC Urban Sketchers, P.O.Box 1083, James A.Farley Post Office, New York, NY 10116. 

Weekday Sketchers at St. Marks in the Bowery

Join us this week as we explore the second oldest church in NYC: St Marks in the Bowery. (Extra credit for anyone who can name the oldest church in NYC!)  Peter Stuyvesant along many other dignitaries of early NYC history are buried on the site: mayors, a governor who became a Vice President, and Commodore Perry amongst many others.  Alexander Hamilton helped incorporate this as the first Episcopalian Parish outside of Trinity Church, where he is buried. For more information on the history of this church and the surrounding area, click here: https://stmarksbowery.org/history.

The church is set back on an angle from Second Avenue with trees and a garden as background.   Read why it is on an angle and why it is call "in the Bowery" when it is on 2nd Ave, in the history noted above. Bring a stool to capture the best angle for your drawing

NOTE:  Many, but not all,  of the sketch sites we will visit this spring and summer will be in Manhattan below 14th Street to provide many possibilities for entires to our second art expo this winter.  The theme for the show will be "Drawn Below 14th Street".  If you have a favorite garden, park, corner or site below 14th Street, let us know so we can include it in our line up.

DATE:  WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: ST MARKS IN THE BOWERY

                       2nd Avenue between East 10th and East 11th Streets

TRANSPORTATION: 6 TRAIN TO ASTOR PLACE 

                                Walk east from Astor place to 2nd Ave via Stuyvesant St, a diagonal street that goes between 3rd and 2nd Aves and will lead you right to the church. 

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call or text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• Bring a stool and lunch. Or purchase lunch from the many vendors in the area.

 

SATURDAY - May 7th - Kentucky Derby

Since 1875, the Kentucky Derby has been one of the grandest races in the thoroughbred industry. Some of the world’s greatest thoroughbred horses take center stage at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky to race one and one-quarter miles. While the horses are the stars, thousands of people gather in their Sunday finest to enjoy this spectacle of sport, fashion, hats, mint juleps and food. Join us for a day of sketching this beloved American sporting event. 

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

To register for this virtual event, click on the Eventbrite link below:

Kentucky Derby Inspired Sketching! Tickets, Sat, May 7, 2022, at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

For photographic references for this virtual event, click on the link below:

https://625b58f183435.site123.me/

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT

May 14 - New York Botanical Gardens

May 21 - South Pacific

​May 28 - Sketchers’ Holiday

NYC Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization (EIN 84-3937060). Tax-deductible donations by check may be sent to NYC Urban Sketchers, P. O. Box 1083,  James A. Farley Post Office, New York, NY 10116. 

EVENT CANCELED 

FORECAST IS FOR RAIN, RAIN , RAIN

WE WILL RESCHEDULE THE EVENT 

Weekday Sketchers at Belvedere Castle Wednesday 

Belvedere Castle seen from the Turtle Pond

New York has it al: tall buildings, bright lights and its own storybook castle right in the middle of Central Park. It is actually called a Folly, meaning a fanciful object built into the landscape without any purpose other than enhancing the view.  And that it is and does!  

Built of Manhattan schist it has everything any prince or princess could want: terraces and turrets, gothic windows and transoms adorned with dragons.   And, it is the official weather station in NYC. So, when you see the temperature or forecast for NYC, it is taken right there at Belvedere Castle. 

DATE: WEDNESDAY MAY 4, 2022

STARTING TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: BELVEDERE CASTLE

                       Central Park

TRANPORTATION:  B OR C TO 81 STREET STATION. 

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call or text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• We will meet on the lawn adjacent to the Turtle Pond just beyond the Delacorte Theater. From there you can sketch anywhere you wish and come back there for lunch.
• Bring a stool, a cap and lunch
• Watch the weather forecast.  If it rains lightly we can sketch from the terrance under the canopy or if it rains heavily we will go to the American Museum of Natural History                                     

Meet on the Lawn by the Turtle Pond