Sketching at the Laundromat - 03-23-13

We sketched at a mega-laundromat in Brooklyn this past Saturday.  

There was a constant flow of people coming in and out, and lots to draw.  In the afternoon we got hungry and found a great place - the Outpost Cafe.  The Outpost was what I imagine the first Starbucks might have been like before they went big-time.  Again, loads of people talking in groups or working on their laptops; - more material for sketching.

Lauren joined us for the first time

Although it was pretty cold outside the cafe's backyard had a constant flow of smokers.  

The backpack sitting next to the empty chair and table reminded me of the NYC Subway ad campaign:

If you See something - Say something

On the Subway

Other people's laundry

Last week was another great sketch date. At the Clean Rite laundr-o-mat we sketched while people did their laundry, napped, talked on their phones and waited.

It was also another opportunity to practice with pencil and liquid graphite.

At the Brooklyn Library, March 16

I could only spend an hour with the group last weekend but it was still worth the trek to Brooklyn! So many characters to draw in the cafe at the Brooklyn Library:







This young man (I think he was 10, but for some reason my sketch makes him look older) stopped to see what we were doing. He ended up taking out his notebook and sketching with us, as we all chatted about Picasso and the Guggenheim -- and then he posed for a portrait.

66th & Madison

Waiting for a legal parking spot, I had 20 minutes to kill, a ballpoint pen, and a pad of newsprint.

Sketching this Saturday March 22

All of Life happens in a Laundromat:

Sixty-one Speed Queen washers and 62 dryers gush and rumble 24 hours at the 5,000-square-foot Clean Rite at Putnam Avenue and Fulton Street.  The Clean Rite is an ad hoc theater, where people flirt, debate, gossip, argue, break up, discover love, loiter, do business and just about anything else that can be squeezed into 27-minute heavy-soil cycles.

Two blocks from the Clinton-Washington stop on the C-Train

1 Putnam Ave. (at Cambridge  Pl.), Brooklyn, NY 11238

Photos and copy from the NY Time Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/nyregion/17laundry.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Call Mark if you need help finding us:   973-809-9128

Brooklyn Museum and more

Last Saturday, on a cold and gray morning, we met at the entrance to the Brooklyn Library. Unlike most of the people we see in bars, train stations or other public spaces, the folks in the library were a stationary bunch. Unlike the sporadic back and forth movement and casual conversations of our usual "sketchees" it was inspiring to see young kids with parents and grandparents working on homework, tutors going over assignments with anxious parents and the plain sight of  a civic space being  used for the common good and the education of the public (no ads, no fees, no exclusion).

Boy on phone while mother is tutored

Grandfather looking over homework. Tutor reviewing homework.

"this is how it's done..."

We veered off to The Brooklyn Botanical garden

BONSAI!

Sketching Saturday 3/16 at the Main Branch of the BROOKLYN Public Library

Since we changed locations - it might be good to reinforce the message.

This Saturday 3/16/13 we are meeting inside the 

Main Branch of the BROOKLYN Public Library:

The library is located at:

 

10 Grand Army Plaza

Brooklyn, NY 11238

Time:  !0:00 AM.  If you can't find us - call my Cell Phone:  973-809-9128

The closest subways are the 2, 3, B and Q trains

Special Bonus - the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are right behind the Library.  

As Jason pointed out - The Botanic Garden's greenhouses are large and warm and lovely. And dry! 

(Except for the aquatic plants room, which is very, very humid.)

Hope to see you there

Sketches from the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center

We met this past Saturday at the Winter Garden which has a wonderful interior space.  Palm Trees in March.  Although we stayed in by mid-day it was actually warm enough that you could believe in Spring.
 ---  March 9, 2013

I was certain they wouldn't let us sit on the  steps and sketch.  Must have been Mellow-Saturday because no one said a word or tried to move us.

Sketched Denise sitting by the window with a view of Jersey City.
She was silhouetted by the bright sunlight.

Lance brought his son Nicholas to join us

Every once in awhile I get inspired
to try a watercolor without lines

Illustrators Thursday, March 7, 2013

A few of us have been going to the Society of Illustrators on their Sketch nights.  This past Thursday they had a Special Event Sketch Night in honor of the Father of the Graphic Novel - Will Eisner.  It was billed  as an evening of Mayhem, Murder, Drama and Beauty.

There were three models in noir costumes.

Mostly there were quick poses with lots of attitude

After every set the models came back in different
costumes with various props

NYC Urban Sketch Date for March 9th, 2013

WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER AND WINTER GARDEN

The World Financial Center located at 220 Vesey Street -  is  in Lower Manhattan's Battery Park City,  bordered by West Street, the Hudson River, Vesey and Liberty Streets.

Overlooking New York Harbor, the soaring glass-enclosed World Financial Center Winter Garden is home to the Arts & Events Program, an innovative, year-round series of free performances, exhibitions and festivals created to showcase emerging as well as established artists. . . and the New York Urban Sketchers.
See you there this Saturday at 10:00

If you can't find us call my cell phone - 973-809-9128
Mark

Yes - The Old Town Bar on 18th Street

The day started at a local deli.  I got to Old Town too early -they hadn't opened yet.
So, I had a cup of coffee and sketched a woman speaking on her cell phone.

Suma posted a sketch of the same sketch moment.  I cut out the woman sitting on left
and added the bartender.

What I remember best about the guy at the bar was the hat he was wearing.
I should have spent less time on the bartender's shirt and more on the hat
- which was memorable

New people who come to sketch -
means
New peopleto draw.
This one is first timer - Jude ...

... and this one is first timer Julie

Although the Old Town wasn't fancy
It had a very comfortable feel.

Our unwitting models, seemed to be
having their own great conversations.

One time I'm going to try to jot down
all the topics of conversation we
have as we sketch together.  It's amazing
how much ground we cover.

Sketching at Old Town Bar, March 2

In the middle of a packed day in Manhattan, it was lovely to spend an hour and a half with the group sketching at Old Town Bar near Union Square. There was a steady stream of models (I mean, bar patrons) to inspire us, and the conversation was spirited and educational, as always!


Instead of my usual watercolors, I brought along a set of Derwent watercolor pencils (a garage sale find from several weeks ago) to color my ink drawings in the Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

After taking leave of the group, I did a bit of shopping and ended the day at Jones Wood Foundry, a more modern -- but still cozy -- pub on the Upper East Side, savoring sticky toffee pudding while the snow swirled outside. Yum.