Sketching in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden Conservatory

Sketching in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden is like taking a mini trip to different areas of the world.

You have to stop and admire the Japanese pond no matter the weather...a little snow and ice just add to the beauty of it. I love the icy white against the red!

Entering the Conservatory I made a right and headed into the Aquatic House, home to ponds, a bog, orchids, waterlilies, and tropical plants en masse. It is a challenge to figure out what to include and what to leave out...all the while dodging the drops of water falling from the condensation on the ceiling and the plants. It was cold outside but tropically warm in there.

I needed a dry climate next so I headed downstairs to the Desert Pavillion. Michael kindly shared the steps he was occupying so I could sketch some of the cacti and succulents near us.

Lunchtime is always a good time to sketch people and get in a "mandatory Jim" sketch. 

I had a few other cooperative models too.

I walked around all the different areas but each of them felt too hot (Did I really say that?) so I went upstairs to the Bonsai Museum where I knew it would be colder. I had to put my coat back on to sketch in there, but I love the grace and elegance of the plants there so I happily put up with the colder temperatures.

The entryway had some nicely landscaped areas and I tried to capture the little waterfall over the rocks.

Around 3:30 we headed over to Tooker Alley to share a drink and our sketches. It is always such a pleasure to see all the work that everyone did during the day. What a perfect time to get acquainted with Florian who was visiting from Berlin, as well as today's new members...and to catch up with our regular members. It is also a perfect opportunity for another sketch, so I zeroed in on the couple sitting at the bar nearby.

Green-wood

Green-wood is a designated National Historic Landmark on 478 Brooklyn acres. As Jim pointed out, it’s known locally as Greenwood Cemetery, but none of its brochures ever refer to this place as ‘cemetery’. Perhaps to some, cemeteries have a connotation far more frightening to touch upon even with the mildest delicacy, but unless it’s night and I’m alone in these rolling, rambling paths, these gothic cemeteries are to me a place of peace and comfort by bittersweet Memory and kindly Death…with perhaps just a touch of the creepy to dance along the nape of your neck.

Entering through Fifth Avenue and 25th Street, past tall iron gates, wide green spaces flanking the central car lanes, and up a sloping path are the famed arches — gateway to the gardens, gravestones, and crypts beyond. Perched on these spires are the nests of Brooklyn’s wild parakeets, mostly heard in their raucous arguments and seen only by bullet streaks of spring green, and by legend, descendants of monk parakeets escaped from a crate at JFK airport in the 1960s (thanks to Susan for the information!).

The spires.

Sketch in brushpens

A man and his two little girls stopped by to chat with us and a funeral procession
arrived for services as we waited for other sketchers to gather and join us.

Early birds are productive.

The gates open into diverging lanes leading upward, away, and into the rest of Green-wood. To the right are the Crematory, the Tranquility Gardens, and the Community Mausoleum, and even further, the Chapel, which was our first stop inside Green-wood proper. We reached the Chapel just before it opened at noon, but I’d already found a spot to sketch its exterior and had to leave a visit inside for another day.

The Chapel.

The Chapel in watercolor.

Some of us braved the steep incline to reach Battle Hill and view a swath of Brooklyn and the Freedom Tower at World Trade Center (Lady Liberty was obscured by some persistent, enthusiastic trees). The hilltop would probably be spectacular in full autumn, and I hope my legs forgive me for a second attempt then. (They did not this time around. Hello, Salonpas, and owww.)

Brooklyn below.

The gates behind the trees.

Mark setting up to sketch.

Sketchers make really great, unsuspecting models.
And they don't get offended (much) when they realize they've been painted.

For lunch, the group…regrouped…and walked some distance to Greenwood Park, an outdoor beer garden. Oddly enough, the bouncer at the door asked for ID, which I did not have on me. Who knew I’d have to produce it in the middle of the day? Happily, Mark intervened and asked if I could be let in. And once we were, we found children romping around this rather adult garden. (There was some kind of kid-friendly event right before we arrived.) The group ate and sketched, chatted and sketched, and replenished energies through various preferred libation. And sketched some more.

After sharing our sketches, some of us with control of our food coma (and/or tipsy?) walked back into Green-wood for a final stretch of sketching.

Walking back slowly.

Sketchers in a row.

And what cemetery visit would be complete without a record of a strident angel?

Said strident angel in stone...

...and in watercolor.

Also, Hurlbut. Note the full stop. Hurlbut. (I’m sorry, I am a juvenile when I am not busy aging.)

Yup.

Read more about Green-wood here and here.

And a great many thanks to Allison for hosting this event. It was a lovely day made miles better by great, talented company.

Gowanus Canal Sketchcrawl

The first stop of the day was on one of the drawbridges overlooking the canal. A decaying motorboat and shipping containers , another bridge, the elevated highway and the Kentile sign, as well as a construction crane were alll cramned into my first sketch.

This next view was from a parking lot looking at the roadway underneath the elevated train, and the view behind is the elevated highway. The very top row of windows was where our fellow sketches were waving to us!

The last sketch was done from a park, next to the parking lot at Whole Foods on 3rd Ave in Brooklyn. The sign said it is the greenest market in NY. The landscaping was lovely, with benches overlooking the canal. I saw an egret flying between two resting spots. There is a view of the Williamsburg savings bank, the Freedom Tower, The Bat building, and even wind turbines in the parking lot. There is also a second floor outdoor eating deck overlooking the water.

 

Joan sketching

A shot of an antique market we passed.

A stone/ cement yard along the canal

One of the views from the park at Whole Foods

A view of the Bat Building behind some of the wind turbines. They have a very sculptural look when they are twirling around.

A Busy Sketchers' Weekend

It was a busy two days of NYC Urban Sketcher activities. Friday was the Draftsmen's Congress where a group went to the New Museum to be part of a larger group drawing. Saturday was the 43rd Worldwide Sketch crawl through the Gowanus Canal and Long Island City and the turnout was quite large. Check out the blog for more Sketcher posts.

Painting at the New Museum

A few of the sketchers get ready

A smocked sketcher starts his work

First round on the Gowanus with the GCC Bricolage Group

Sketching the Grit

There was a lot of walking

At the Falchi Building, for the You Are Here Exhibit

Some of the wonderful sketches

Views Along the Gowanus Canal

Our destination for the World Wide Sketchcrawl Day was the Gowanus Canal area in Brooklyn. At one time the canal was an important transportation hub, but for years now this area has been known as one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States. Recent projects have focused on cleaning up the canal and the surrounding areas. The area seems to be getting revitalized with businesses moving in and environmental projects taking place.

Susan and I headed to Brooklyn by car, hoping to meet up with the rest of the group somewhere along the line. We were sorry that didn't happen, but at least we were joined by Sunil for a while.

Our day started by the Union Street Bridge, the northern most bridge that crosses the canal. It had a very industrial, gritty (a kind word) look to the area along the canal. I usually like sketching much prettier locations but I really got into the odd buildings and structures. While we were sketching we met a teacher who was there with some young kids and their parents. He was doing a lesson in perspective with the kids and it was fun to see the sketches they had done while sitting on the bridge. Here is my first sketch.

I also did a sketch of the bridge house.

Here is a photo of the actual view.

Next we headed over to the Ninth Street Bridge area. I did a sketch of the bridge with the oil tanks in the background and the elevated BQE and the traffic passing by.

Sunil joined us here. He is so good at sketching standing up. I like being comfy in my chair.

The industrial look with the assorted tanks and bins caught my eye. Even the graffiti on the cement cubes looked interesting. 

While I was sketching this scene above we heard voices calling us. It was the rest of the group that we were hoping to meet. They were up on the subway platform above the bridge. Since they were on the way to do something in Long Island City next, we didn't get to spend any time sketching together.

Right alongside the view above were some cement trucks...why not sketch them?

Don't you just love the colorful dots?

Our last location for the day was near the Whole Foods Market on 3rd Street. A parklike walkway was around the parking lot offering some views of the surrounding buildings and the 3rd Street Bridge. I did a double page spread of that view. It was sketched on the spot but since it was getting late I finished it when I got home.

I definitely got a lot of sketching done along the Gowanus Canal.

Governors Island

I won't bother to repeat Joans description of the day. I do want to mention that this weeks theme on the USK flicker group is about dreamers and monuments. One person lives in the same city that MLK was born and preached in, so you get the idea. The day after we went to Governors Island I realized that we had 4 of the greatest monuments about dreamers and visionaries.

Our first sketch location was on the waterfront overlooking the NY harbour. 30 degrees to the left was the Statue of Liberty, straight ahead was Ellis Island, 30 degrees to the right was the Freedom Tower, and Castle Williams. Some of the greatest monuments ever , to protect the freedom and liberties of of the people of this country! What a view! What an island. So much to explore and we didn't even tap it all.