Sketching Near Union Square

Yesterday my sister, Michelle and I went into NYC to see the American Watercolor Society Show currently at the Salmagundi Club on Fifth Ave. & 12th St. It was fantastic and runs until April 20.

We made sure to get into the city early so we had some time to scotch. It was cold and windy...much too cold and windy to sit outside in the morning so on Susan's advice we looked for the Whole Foods on 14th Street. Upstairs there are tables and windows overlooking the park. So we camped out there to sketch for a while. I did a bird's eye view of the park and some of the people. Once again I did this directly in watercolors without any pencil sketching first.

A view of one of the street lamps.

A few taxis and umbrellas and carts on the corner.

We left at this point and went to have lunch and view the show. We did come back to the park for one more sketch. It had warmed up enough that we could sit in the sun and work comfortably. This lady looked like she was warm enough too and who could resist that background...

West Village and the MET

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make to the last urban sketch meeting on Saturday. However, I was able to make it into the city Thursday the 11th. I'm not very familiar with East Village so I thought I'd spend the day there sketching.
Some quick sketches of other NJ Transit Passengers. I do these really quick in pen with no pencil outlining

  

The Jefferson Market Library has always caught my eye I enjoy its High Victorian Gothic architecture. It has so many interesting details that were fun to explore while drawing. This is the quick pencil outline. 30 Minutes.

The final sketch.

 

I later spent some time sketching people in Washington Square Park.

Monday the 14th I returned to the city to visit the Metropolitan Museum to sketch statues to sketch statues/sculptures/artifacts I found intriguing.

People on the NJ transit again. Notice a trend? The page on the right is a lady reading in Starbucks later that day.

The first Statue is the "Andromeda and the Sea Monster" by Domenico Guidi. Second is Dionysos on an Archaistic Female Figure.

The second half of the spread I sketched one of the patterns of an Islamic star-shaped tile. Seeing Islamic art always takes me back to the childhood in Spain, having lived in Malaga and Sevilla for a total of 5 years.  The floral design in this tile gorgeous, there were so many to choose from but this one for some reason caught my attention. The statue is "The Vine" by Harriet W. Frishmuth from 1923, an elegant pose that just happened to fit perfectly into the page.

After the MET I wandered the city, I visited the St Patricks Cathedral but it's currently under construction so you can't even see the building! The following sketches were done at starbucks and waiting at Penn Station for the train. I'm really trying to learn how to capture poses quickly. I need at least 30 seconds to get the pose down. It helps if they're talking to somebody or waiting for something.

Thanks!

Josiah

The Scavenger Hunt

Hello everyone,
It has absolutely been a pleasure sketching with our group every saturday for the last few months, and here comes my first post, as part of the "Sketching Scavenger Hunt". Mark, I think this is a wonderful way to encourage sketchers to post their work on the blog, and the best part is that they can do this from anywhere!

Something blew!..

Something to chew..

Something true! ..The second avenue subway construction in progress..

An old shoe...

                                                      Swami

URBAN EDGES-43rd World Wide Sketch Crawl

The 43^rd global drawing marathon, World Wide Sketch Crawl, is on Saturday April 19^th , 2014.

Come join NYC Urban Sketchers as we walk, explore and draw the forgotten urban edges along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and Dutch Kill in Queens. The day long event promises to be  exciting and totally different from a typical day of sketching.

The day  will be divided in 2 sessions, first a ferry ride from Manhattan to Red Hook (IKEA) to walk the Gowanus, then a train ride up to Long Island City.  The drawings of Long Island City will be part of the In My Borough  You Are Here  presentation at the Falchi Building.

Contact Info:

Richard 917 224 8373, Mark 973 809 9128

The Gowanus Canal

Dutch Kills

Itinerary:

Session 1-The Gowanus Canal
11:00 AM-Meet at Pier 11 in Manhattan.
11:20 AM Board the free Ikea ferry (You can also meet us on the Brooklyn side at the IKEA ferry terminal)
11:50 AM-2:30 PM-Explore the Gowanus. We will be joined by volunteers from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.


Session 2- "You Are Here"
2:30 PM-3:00 PM-G train to Court Street Station, LIC
3:00 PM-6:00 PM-Explore Dutch Kills and Long Island City 
(We'll leave from the Falchi Building at 3:30)
6:00 PM + Wrap up at the Falchi Building "In My Borough" You Are Here Exhibit

The Gowanus Canal

Dutch Kills and Newtown Creek

Sketching the Bronx Community College Campus April 12, 2014

It was the first day where you could forget the veiled threat of a potential snow storm.  Spring has come to New York City.  The trees are still naked but feel like they're more than ready to spring to life.

The Bronx Community College campus exceeded my expectations.  

It has some wonderful buildings to sketch.

The gem is the Gould Memorial Library with its gorgeous dome and the Hall of Fame of Great Americans that flank the sides and back.  The Hall of Fame is a statue garden with busts of great Americans of the 19th Century.

There was a favorable long view of the library from the deck of the cafeteria, a good place to sketch fellow sketchers and the building.

I went into the library and took a Selfie with the golden dome as the background:

Bronx Community College

Today we visited Bronx Community College. We lucked out and had sunny, mild weather (which we haven't had on a sketching day in a while here in NY). I sat facing Gould Memorial Library and sketched the view straight ahead.

Next to where I was sitting there was a magnolia tree just starting to bloom.

I headed for the Hall of Fame, which has busts of famous Americans in assorted fields.

We were up on a high hill and you could see the tops of the trees in the background.

I did a bust of Edwin Booth, who was a Shakespearean actor.

At lunch we shared our work and talked a bit before heading out for more sketching.

I did get a few photos of our members sketching.

Jim

Swami

Mark

Svetlana

I did a sketch of the top of Butler Hall.

Here is the bust of Abraham Lincoln and a view of part of the Hall of Fame.

At the end of the day we sat and shared our sketches. It is always so great to see the work everyone produced during the day. Here are a few photos.

Svetlana showing her work.

Hugh showing his sketches.

Then it was Swami's turn to share.

Mark had some great sketches.

Susan had some great sketches to show too.

And finally we posed for a group photo.

Mike, Joan (me), Hugh, Susan, Mark, Svetlana, Jim, and Swami

I think everyone had a great time today!

Sketch Announcement for Saturday April 12, 2014

For our first visit to the borough of The Bronx.  

Bronx Community College is set on a beautiful campus.
.

Gould Memorial Library

We will be sketching The Hall of Fame for Great Americans and Gould Memorial Library.  They are both NYC landmarks listed on the Nation Register of Historic Places. They were designed by renowned New York City architect Stanford White.

The inspiration for the Gould Memorial Library, is the Pantheon in Rome.  The library is laid out as a Greek cross with a circular reading room crowned by a soaring coffered dome.

Featured in New York’s 50 Best Architectural Treasures and used in many movies including: A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Sophie’s Choice (1982) and Goodbye, Columbus (1969).

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College, is the original "Hall of Fame" in this country.  Built in a sweeping semicircular Neo-Classical arc with wings at either end, it provides a panorama across the Harlem River to the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park and beyond to the Palisades.

DETAILS:
Where:  Bronx Community College,  2155 University Ave, New York, NY 10453
How:  Subway:  #4 to Burnside Avenue. Walk four blocks west to University Avenue, then turn right and walk one block north to the College, or (not as close) the B Train to 182-183 Streets.
When:  Starting at 10 AM, we will be there for the day.
Meeting Place:  In front of Gould Memorial Library  (see map - GML)
Price:  Free

If you can't find us

Call Mark  973-809-9128