Ave I.

Sketched on Ave. I with watercolor while waiting. It was a little experiment. I tried to go from bigger wash to smaller strokes and keep tonal value.  Weird. Feel serious need to pull out real brushes.

Spent few minutes in the waiting room in the doc's office. I need to be more loose with pencil sketches.

Sketching with watercolor.

On Sunday morning we got Maggie's breakfast from Krooked cafe in Tannersville, the best breakfast in the world. Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, a little bit of home fries, salad and few slices of fruits.

Sketched on the porch  with watercolors while waiting.  Struggled with small water brush, wishing I'll have my regular brushes with me.

We had a little sketch crawl afternoon. Lake was beautiful and all sad thoughts vanished for a while.

Here is my sketch. Really need to carry with me bigger brushes.

Quick sketches thru the weekend in Gamma sketchbook.

Dealing with Maggie's breakfast from Krooked Cafe on the Mountain is not easy, too delicious, too beautiful, too amazing on a rainy grey day. Aftermath.

Stole a minute here-there to stretch my pencil and Bijou watercolor box.

Verrazano bridge.

Looking at Verrazano bridge through the trees. I pass that place hundred times and often stare at this beauty against the sky, and it seems that wind plays music on its strings like on gigantic harp.
Verrazano connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, where we have to take another bridge North through Goethals and South through Outerbridge,  it is our way to New Jersey, unless we want to go through Manhattan and take George Washington bridge. To cross Verrazano going North cost $13 bucks, 2 Chinese meals ripped from my mouth. (I measure bridge toll by food).
 I used ink and bits of watercolor from my tiny Bijou box.
 I bought plastic Yamamoto palette on my last trip to art supply store in the City, but didn't get the chance to use it yet, it will probably get stained, cheap plastic, but I don't care, I was looking for something small and light, to fit in my small rucksack.

New Utrecht Ave Station.

This charming old train station with green balls looked utterly uninhabited and even dangerous, when I showed up there visiting someone by foot. But adorable green balls and little stained glass decorations created some mysterious aura, so pleasurable for drawing, so I did, despite few strange men in old car asking me for my cell to make a call, and I gave it, feeling weird; one guy, looking a bit italian, in his thirties, he was silent, listening to something on my phone, but my first respond is to trust people, people are good by nature.
So it was all good, I was left alone and I have this drawing as a memory of that day. Diamine ink, couple of Kuretake pens and drop of watercolor for the sky.

Evening.

Quick watercolor and ink sketch while waiting in the car somewhere  on the outskirts of the highway behind sports club. I got dark very fast and I couldn't see a thing, but after a day in the basement and meaningless touchups and samples it was good enough just to roll a water brush in my hands and stare on tree trunks in silence. I used Stillman&Birn Gamma sketchbook, Diamine ink, Bijou watercolor box.

Couple of sketches in Stillman&Birn Gamma sketchbook.

Subway sketch and my new vintage pencil Bell phone dialer with rotary ball.

Sketch in watercolor and drop of ink today in the morning. I didn't have time, so grabbed my free minutes to follow movement of the branch and shapes of leaves. I wanted to waste last drops of Noodler's ink so I can start testing new one, but had to leave and spent about 5 hours of driving alone in traffic listening to music and painting double figures in acrylic in my head.

Little sketches while waiting for legal parking.

I tried Golden Brown sample ink on Delta sketchbook by Stillman&Birn. When washed makes very yellow tones, in puddles breaks in more 3D, more colors, like here on the left. It is almost reddish on the sides of the puddle. The good thing it staying liquid, not creating slime like J.Herbin, but it is still lucking richness of color spectrum.

McDonald's drive thru.  Dark corner with train on the top. I used watercolor and Uranus pen in Stillman&Birn Delta sketchbook.

I drew it on the back of the other sketch, somehow it makes me feel better, that I am using sketchbook more efficiently. 

Despite yellow washes being too yellow I am getting more and more attracted to this Noodler's ink, it gave 2 reddish rims, it keeps smooth and consistent and I am heaving a wild idea of  may be mixing couple of Noodler's for further experiments.

Sketches in Delta book (Stillman&Birn).

I packed Bijou watercolor box and this new little (6"x8") Stillman&Birn Delta series sketchbook on my short trip Upstate. Paper is 180 lb with rough surface. I used watercolor and accented with Uranus pen, double ended. I like that paper takes water so nicely, strong and durable, takes eraser and rubbing with the brush. I like ivory color of the paper, it adds to the vintage feeling, sort of little nostalgic theme. So here my shaved dog and I curled up on the couch looking at flames. ( We shaved Yorkie and surprisingly she looks like absentminded kangaroo or that funny character from Ice Age cartoon, I think named Layla Zee or Sid).

Here another sketch. Stream.

Another sketch in unusual sketchbook.

Some sort of urban structure towards Easts, Nostrand, didn't pay attention on the street sign, just liked the silhouette.  Bijou box watercolor and pen.

Honey store.

Honey store in Hunter. We love this place. It is not just best honey in the world, but they have amazing lollypops, salad dressing from Germany I love, fruit cake in winter and other amazing things.

Lake.

Colgate Lake. Watercolor and ink.

Sheepshead Bay in color.

Went to buy some tea in "Forces of nature".

Colgate lake. Trees.

I went today at the Colgate Lake and sketched the view, and I didn't notice till the end of my work, that I took two spots on the handicapped parking, because for the better view I parked across it. Nobody said a word to me, people with dogs, kayak, in purple hat, fisherman. They struggled on the road sides. Piglet barked meanly from the back seat.  Anyway it was not legal to park anywhere. So this why the watercolor is shameless.

Morning sketch at Manhattan Beach.

I had to move the car, so wander around till found this quiet spot and timed myself to work faster, trying not to disturb lonely swimmer and happily text with my daughter.

Train Station near Coney Island.

This place is near New York Aquarium. The shape of train station kinda interesting with waves and long openings. I even planned to use it for interior decoration in big office in Manhattan, like an installation,  but it was out of budget, so stayed in dreamland.

Yard.

I had few minutes waiting for my husband in the car, so scribbled what was in front of me.

Coney Island.

Sketched today from the car in the morning.

Chinese bakery.

This small chinese bakery on Ave.U is one of my favorite places to get chinese sweets, like SeeUBee( this how it sounds in Chinese, I was told), round flat things made from raw rice flower and filled with black beens. You can get it only early in the morning, so when Inna was in school I use to go there more often after dropping her at 7 a.m. But today I was lucky to catch it early. Its always crowded  and swarming with never ending construction and construction people.  Also It is my first page in water color Molly, feels too small, even it says large.

Road in Tannersville.

I was send to pick up chinese soup, but instead I  stuck for a while doing this watercolor, because I felt I wont get the chance to draw,  dealing with all this renovating problems. So at list this day was not lost  completely.