Weekday Sketchers at  

Newtown Creek Nature Walk 

QUESTION:    What is Newtown Creek?

        

                                                        A wastewater treatment plant?
                                                            An Environmental Center?
                                                                An art installation?
                                                                    A Nature Walk

                                                            ANSWER:   All of the above!

Join us this week as we explore a curious corner of the city.  Located on Newtown and Whale Creeks, which  separate Queens from Brooklyn, this strange location will offer us nature walks, flower gardens,  views of Manhattan across industrial landscapes and much more. 

Yes, this is well off the beaten path!  Please check a map to make sure you know where you are going.   Below is a link to specific directions by public transpiration. Once you exit the subway you will have a 15 minute walk to the entrance to the site.  It might be a good idea to stop at a coffee shop on the way for a bathroom as there are no bathrooms on the premises.  If you have a car, you might consider driving as there is street parking in the surrounding area. 

For information about Newtown Creek, and a video interview with the architect,  click here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/environment/newtown-creek-nature-walk.page

Click here for a brochure about the Newtown Creek: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dep/downloads/pdf/environment/education/newtown_creek_nature_walk_flyer.pdf

                        

DATE:  WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16, 2023

STARTING TIME: 11:00. AM

LOATION:  NEWTOWN CREEK NATURE WALK

                        Paidge Ave, Greenpoint Brooklyn

TRANSPORATION:  For metaled instruction on how t get to Newtown Creek, click here: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dep/downloads/pdf/environment/education/newtown-creek-directions.pdf

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com
• Looking for us? Call or Text Raylie at 201-273-0445
• There is plenty of seating but a stool is always a good idea. 
• There is street parking the the surrounding area if you want to take a car
• The is water on site but no bathrooms or food service. 

Walking direction from subway 

Going Big Watercolor Workshop - Saturday, August 26th - With Susan Greenstein & Frieda Christofides

NYC Urban Sketchers, Saturday, August 26, 2023 10 AM to 1 PM

This Outdoor workshop is designed to pull you out of your comfort zone for exhilarating results. Here you will learn to:

• ●  Trust your initial choices

• ●  Make more deliberate choices of color and mark-making

• ●  Discover bolder opportunities within your compositions. We will use bigger paper, a larger

  brush and no pre-drawing. Experience a shift and expand your own style of painting!

  The Workshop is sponsored by Strathmore Paper Co. Each participant will receive 2 large sheets of watercolor paper. More details about supplies, etc.will be provided upon sign up.

  About the instructors: Susan Greenstein and Frieda Christofides have been painting on-site and side by side for many years.
  Susan develops and teaches art courses for children and adults. She enjoys beginning her paintings without a preliminary sketch, which allows her to stay fresh and immediate (intuitive?) while she is working. Frieda had been an Urban Sketcher since a teen and never actually knew that's what it was called. She just loved painting outside. Together they will demonstrate their approaches to painting on a larger scale. They will point out the challenges and how to find solutions to overcome them.

  Location: Central Park, South West corner at 59th Street, near the Maine Monument, right near Columbus Circle. We will then walk into the park and paint Greyshot Arch and Pinebank Arch.

  To register, click here:

  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/going-big-watercolor-workshop-tickets-667045239267?utm-campai%20gn=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=c%20p&aff=ebdsshwebdesktop

  
  

  
  

SATURDAY: Sketch Kimlau Square

 

The Kimlau Memorial Arch

This sketch event was suggested and planned by our host Tina Tang

Thank you Tina for discovering a new sketch location

Chinatown in lower Manhattan is always a fascinating place with colorful store signs hanging along the buildings with bustling streets full of cars and people. This week, let's sketch Kimlau Square (aka Chatham Square) located at the intersection of Bowery St., Worth St.,, Broadway and St James Pl.   

A little about the history of the area:

"Until about 1820, the square was used as a large open air market for goods and livestock, mainly horses. By the mid-19th century, it became a center for tattoo parlors, flophouses and saloons, as a seedy section of the old Five Points neighborhood. In the 20th century, after The Great Depression and Prohibition, the area was reformed."

Nearby is a famous location -  Doyers Street. In all the times I've been in the area I've never spotted this street.  To be precise, it is more like a short narrow alley with restaurants and stores on either side. It is about one block long with a sharp bend in the middle. It is for pedestrians only and has colorful patterns on the ground. When you walk by, you see people eating under the umbrellas at the outdoor seating areas built by the restaurants. It has shining pretty lanterns. In the evening, the street lights-up against the dark sky. The Doyers Street is about 3 mins' walk from the square. It will be a fun day of sketching.

 Doyers Street

DETAILS

What:   Join us sketching the Kimlau Square in Chinatown.

Where:   We will meet under the Kimlau Memorial Arch.  (see picture above and map below)

How:  The closest subway stops are:

• Chambers Street - J train
• Brooklyn Bridge - 4,5 or 6 train
• East Broadway - F train
• City Hall - N, R or W  

When:  This coming Saturday starting at 10 AM.  We will be in the area until 3 PM.  Sleeping late?  Come anyway - we'll be there  

Lunch:  12:00 PM.  Location to be determined, in the morning.  Buy food in the neighborhood or enjoy some exotic Bringyourowni. There are many good food places nearby. 

Afternoon:  1:00 PM - Back to sketching.  

Show and Tell:  3 PM  Location to be determined - possibly our lunch spot.  We will share our drawings, tell art stories and probably talk about art supplies. ( The things artists do when they get together.)

NOTE:

-  There are limited benches at the square. Bring a stool if you have one.

-  The closest public restroom I can find is the one at the nearby park(Columbus Park)

click to enlarge

Can't find us?  

Call or Text Mark - 973-809-9128

There are no fees or attendance taken. 

All drawing skill levels are welcome

CHANGE OF VENUE FOR WEEKDAY SKETCHER

I HOPE THIS REACHES EVERYONE IN TIME!

The weather forecast is not good for Thursday.  We will move the venue to the Main Library on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.  

If it not raining when we meet, we can sketch outdoors on the plaza in front of the library.  Plenty to choose from: lions, statue, beautiful beau arts building and people, people, people!  If it starts to rain, we go indoors, 

DATE: THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2023

STARTING TIME: 1030 AM

LOCATION: NYC PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAIN BRANCH

                        5TH AVE AND 42ND STREET

Weekday Sketchers at Morris Jumel Mansion Thursday

Join us this week as we take a step back in history to when George Washington was commanding the Battle of Brooklyn.  He used this home as a base because he had a clear view from Washington Heights all the way to the battery.  Hard as it is to believe,  that fact put this house "on the map" as a strategic position in the Revolutionary War. 

Join us as we sketch the house (from the outside), the gardens and the fascinating architecture of Sylvan Terrace, which are all part of the Jumel Historic District in Washington Heights.  Our focus will be the exterior of the building and grounds. For those who wish to visit the interior they are welcome to do so and take a tour. There is an entrance fee if you want to tour the building.

For information about the Morris Jumel Mansion, click here: https://morrisjumel.org

For information about Sylvan Terrace, click here: https://www.scoutingny.com/a-hidden-treasure-in-washington-heights/

DATE: THURSDAY  AUGUST 10, 2023

LOCATION: MORRIS JUMEL MANSION 

                      Jumel Terrance between 160 and 162 Streets

START TIME: 10:30.   

TRANSPORTATION:  C Train to 163rd St.  Use exit marked 161 and St Nicholas Ave . Walk past CTown market and walk up the stone stairs.  Museum entrance is ahead of you at the end of Sylvan Terrance

NOTES

• Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Rayliedunkel1@gmail.com. 
• Looking for us? Call Raylie at 201273-0445
• Water and bathrooms are available. 
• There is no food service on site. Bring what you need with you
• Bring a stool

Sylvan Terrace

  

FRIDAY August 11, 2023: Westchester Sketchers at Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers

CHANGE OF DATE FOR the WESTCHESTER SKETCHERS at Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers.

The weather forecast is not promising for Thursday. We are changing the day of our event to Friday, August 11, 2023.

 

Untermyer Park is a historic 43 acre park, located in Yonkers, NY, just north of New York City.  Also known as Untermyer Gardens, the park was previously part of an estate known as Greystone.  Situated on a hillside above the Hudson River, the park features a "Grecian garden" (actually a Persian Paradise garden), a small Grecian-style amphitheater, a classical pavilion, pergola, statuary, a rock and water feature called the "Temple of Love" and a "Vista" staircase.  To the west, the park has views of the Hudson River and the Palisades.

The gardens were developed during the first 40 years of the 20th century by prominent lawyer and civic leader, Samuel Untermyer.  Mr. Untermyer devoted approximately one third of what was then Greystone's 150-acres to its gardens, which were considered among the finest in America. 

DETAILS:

DATE: FRIDAY, August 11, 2022

Start time: 10:00 AM

LOCATION: Untermyer Gardens, 945 North Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701

Phone: 914-613-4502. https://www.untermyergardens.org

We will meet by the Community Center just inside the entrance to the park.

NOTE: There are spaces for about 75 cars in the parking lots. In addition, there is street parking along North Broadway which is both metered (coin-operated) and unmetered.

DIRECTIONS: https://www.untermyergardens.org/visit.html

TRANSPORTATION from NYC: Take the Metro North – Hudson Line north to the Greystone Station.  Please contact Marianne ((914) 355-6507) if you would like to have someone to meet the train and provide a ride from the station.

NOTE: The gardens are a 20-minute uphill walk from the station: walk uphill from the station to find the stairs on the left to Warburton Avenue.  Climb the stairs. Cross Warburton Avenue and go up Odell Avenue until it ends at North Broadway.  Turn right on North Broadway and walk to 945 N. Broadway, which is on the right. Caution: this is a significant uphill walk of more than 200 feet in elevation.  The Greystone Metro-North station does not have a taxi stand.

LUNCH: 1:00 PM. We will have lunch by the designated picnic area.  Bring your own as the park has no options for purchasing food.

SHOW and TELL: Following lunch, we will share our drawings and tell stories.  This is the social part of our day and not to be missed.

NOTES:

• The Garden is open 9 AM to 7 PM.
• Bring a stool if you have one. It gives you more options.
• Dress for sunshine. Bring your lunch, a hat, water, and sunscreen.
• Stay on the paths or lawns; do not walk or set up easels or stools on the garden beds.

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman cathygutterman@verizon.net 

Looking for us? Contact Cathy at (914) 625-0766 or Marianne at (914) 355-6507.

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

Changes Coming for NYC Urban Sketchers on August 15, 2023

We have two areas on Facebook - the Page and the Group. The Page is for all members and the public to see our upcoming events and gatherings, as well as any gallery recaps we wish to post. All members in the Group will continue to be members, but the Group after August 15th will be limited to people who request membership and go through an acceptance process. 

*********************

Please update your bookmarks for the new Blog page. This is where we go to obtain details on all upcoming events. It is open  to all and does not require a Facebook, Instagram or any other kind of account to access. Previously posted content will remain on the Blog page with the new url. 

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SUNDAY: Sketch the Two Bridges

 

ASTORIA PARK

With views that will make you happy you love to sketch

An on-location sketching event - SUNDAY August 6, 2023

Sitting on the edge of the East River,  resting between the Triborough Bridge and Hell Gate Bridge, the park offers shoreline sights that are a sketcher's delight.  Astoria Park is on the west shore of Queens, extends from south of the Triborough Bridge to north of the Hell Gate Bridge. With a panoramic view of the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan in the south to the Hell Gate channel in the north, the scenery presents the diverse landscape of New York City.

DETAILS:

What:  We'll be sketching at Astoria Park 

Where:  Astoria Park is located in the Astoria section of Queens

When:  Sketching starts at 10 AM and ends at 3 PM on Sunday, August 6th, 2023.   Sleeping late?  Come anyway - we'll be there.

How

DIRECTIONS:

The Park is located at 19th Street between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Blvd, in Queens.

BIKES AND CARS:

There's plenty of parking in the morning if you plan to drive.  Biking is always an interesting option.

SUBWAY:

To get there - take the N Train towards Astoria - Ditmars Blvd.  It's the next to last stop at the Astoria Blvd Station.  

... and WALK:

To get to Astoria Park from the subway, walk along Hoyt Avenue, heading  towards the Triborough Bridge and the harbor.  It's a flat 8 block walk.  (SEE MAP BELOW)

We'll meet at Hoyt Avenue and 19th Street, at the entrance to the park.  There are great views of the bridge here at the South West Corner of the Park.  

NOTES:

• Bring a stool or a chair if you have one - it gives you more options.  
• Although there are places to buy food, the choices are limited.  Consider bringing lunch.

click to enlarge

​

Can't find us?  

Call or Text Mark - 973-809-9128

There are no fees or attendance taken. All drawing skill levels are welcome