SATURDAY: Sketch the Naked Beauty

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Before and After

The restored building is a vision of beauty that must be sketched.

Yes, ... sketch the Naked Beauty of Saint Patrick's Cathedral.  The scaffolding is finally down and the Cathedral has been restored to it's pristine beauty.

As the NY Post reported,. "The venerable house of worship unveiled a brighter new pressure-washed Fifth Avenue facade ... tearing down the scaffolding that masked it for more than two years."  The transformation has been stunning.

Restoration Transformation from St. Patrick's Cathedral on Vimeo.

Watch St. Patrick's Tuckahoe marble become white again 

in this time lapse video. 

Learn more about the restoration here: http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org

HISTORY
The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Cathedral was laid in 1858 and her doors swept open in 1879.  The Cathedral serves more than five and a half million visitors each year.

Constructed of marble quarried at Tuckahoe NY the stone varies in color from a light gray to light green to a bluish white or the brilliant white and has been used in many prominent NYC buildings including the Federal Hall located across the street from the NY Stock Exchange on Wall Street.

It was announced in 2012 that the Cathedral would undergo a massive five-year, three-phase, $175 million renovation because of crumbling bricks, faulty heating, and acid rain and pollution that has eaten away at the marble of the 135-year-old church. Passing the site on Fifth Avenue viwers could see the work which  involve repairing, restoring, and cleaning the soot-covered exterior, and an extensive cleaning of the outside and inside surfaces of the stained glass windows.

DETAILS:

When:  Saturday at 10 AM.  Sleeping late?  Come join us when you can.

Where:  We will meet across the street from the Cathedral on Fifth Ave between 50th and 52st Streets.  There is an alcove area with an Art Deco statue of Atlas holding the world.  We'll be there. (see picture above)

How:  Loads of subway choices
  - Rockefeller Center - B,D,F or M
  - 5th Ave and 53rd St - E, M
  - 51 St,  #6

What:   Bring a stool if you have one or a mat to sit on.  Bring water and consider an umbrella to create your own portable shade.

Lunch:  12:15 at Paley Park, a tiny pocket-park with waterfall located on the north side of 53 Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues.

Afternoon:   1:30 - Back to sketching Fifth Avenue and Saint Patricks

Show and Tell:  3:00  Off to Bill’s Bar & Burger, 16 W 51st St. to share drawings, good stories and a beer or wine if you're so inclined.

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

World Wide Sketchcrawl on Long Island

Saturday was the 48th World Wide Sketchcrawl. Luckily Susan remembered or I would have missed it. I usually get an email about it but it one must not have been sent out. Susan and I decided to sketch locally and went to the Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank. There are lots of barns, silos, and some animals. It was warm and luckily there are trees around for shade. Our sketching started around 9 and ended about 1.

We found a corral that had two calves. They were cute but not too cooperative. Both spent most of the time sitting down,  not showing their faces. The red barn with the silos is where they sometimes feed the cows if they aren't in the pasture grazing. I like sketching them there because they are usually eating from the trough where they stay put and are close.

This is on of the larger silos. The door was open. I should have peeked inside to see what was in there.

There was a kid's birthday party going on. These two little girls liked petting the horse who much preferred keeping his head down and grazing.

Next I moved to a fenced in area where there are some animals you can get fairly close to...like the little pig...

and a rooster and a goat.

After sketching at the farm, Susan and I headed over to Bellport for the opening of the Paper Cup Gallery where a few LI urban sketchers have work on display. Check out the post below...Susan did an entry about that.

Sketchers Exhibit

A new gallery opened today in Bellport, NY called the Paper Cup Studio. The first show is of local scenes and prominently features three of the NY Urban Sketchers. To see sketches matted and hung as a grouping really elevates the art form and makes for an exciting exhibit. Right off the bat one of Joans' sketches sold!

Moi

Joan Tavolott next to two of her sketches.

Gina Lento .

Weekday Urban Sketchers - July 16, 2015

Bryant Park

Last Thursday, after my appointment, I joined the NYC Urban Sketchers in front of the library at Fifth and 42nd Street. The plan was to sketch the newly renovated (plumbing replaced) fountains on either side of the library's facade. It was much too bright for my still very dilated eyes so I walked around back and settled in the "reading room" under a tent, under the trees, listened to a concert, sketched the readers and anyone else in front of me.

It was cool and comfortable. I rejoined everyone in front of the library at 3:30 for show and tell.

iPad; New Trent Arcadia stylus.
Apps Used: Sketch Club and ArtRage

Weekday Sketcher on Hold

I will be attending the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore next week and then (since it is only 2 hours away) traveling on to Vietnam for a few weeks.  I will resume the Weekday Sketcher meeting ups on August 13th.  

However if anyone would like to organize a sketch meeting  all you have to do is hit "return" on the emails that is from "new-york-urban-sketchers" and everyone on the list will receive it.  I hope some of you do meet up and keep the weekday meetings active in my absence. 

Raylie Dunkel

Weekday Sketchers Sketch Beauty and Truth

Beauty and Truth are the fountains that flank the entrance to the NY Public Library's main building on 5th Ave.  After many decades they have been restored to working order.  In honor of that event we will meet on the plaza in front of the library and sketch them along with Patience and Fortitude, the two lions who guard the building.

DATE: THURSDAY July 16, 2015

TIME:  NOON (I have a morning appointment but you can get there any time you want to)

LOCATION: 5th Ave and 42nd Street

 Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net  Looking for us? Call Raylie at 201978-6387

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

Continue reading the main storyShare This Page

Continue reading the main story

Sketching in Socrates Sculpture Park

We had a sunny, warm day at Socrates Park. In the morning there was a yoga class going on under the trees. Mark and I sat to sketch them, which was a challenge because they don't hold a pose for very long. I call this "Yoga Gone Wild" because it looks like everyone is doing their own thing because I sketched each one doing a different pose. Some of the students came over and checked out the sketches...and nobody seemed offended, which is always a good thing. lol

Next I did the rocky view along the water with these great barns/sheds/buildings. I'm not quite sure what they would be called.

After our lunch break I noticed these two ladies with a little girl and her bike. Luckily I sketched them rather quickly because they took off before I could add the color. The background trees and buildings did stay in place. We were able to also see the lighthouse on Roosevelt Island which we sketched back a few months.

The park had a few unusual sculptures (see the yoga sketch above) and this one was a pyramid shaped living sculpture covered with grass and a few flowers. In the background you can see the building on the right which was a piano factory.

I think we all enjoyed the day. We had a nice breeze and lots of shade to keep us comfortable. This was another great location.

To all our NYC Urban Sketchers who are heading to Singapore...have a wonderful time!

SATURDAY: Sketching Socrates Park

July 11, 2015

We're off to Astoria one of the most interesting neighborhoods in NYC.  Our activities will center around Socrates Park.

Founded in 1986, Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale sculpture and multi-media installations in a unique outdoor environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks and the public. The exhibited sculptures constantly change.








The park is on the water overlooking the East River with views
of the north part of Roosevelt Island, the lighthouse and east side of Manhattan (the lower East 80s).  Kayak trips are launched from the area.  There is a landmark Piano Factory one block away.

The Noguchi Museum is one block away and  Rainey Park is two blocks away.  There is a large Costco between the two parks for anyone who would enjoy sketching a big box retailer.

The weather will be a hot sunny July day.  Suggested - bring a hat, bring a stool, bring lunch and a drink.


DETAILS

When:  We'll start at 10 AM when the park opens.  Sleeping late?  Come join us when you can.

Where: 32-01 Vernon Blvd at the intersection of Broadway.

How:
 - BY SUBWAY
Take the N train to the Broadway stop in Queens and walk eight blocks west on Broadway (toward the East River) to the intersection of Vernon Boulevard. Monday-Friday, you can also take the Q train.
NOTE #1 - This is a 9 block walk

Lunch:  Noon - Bring Lunch and something to drink
NOTE #2 - We are going to a restaurant desert, ...  it's a long walk to find food.

Afternoon:  1:00 PM  We will continue to sketch the area.

Show and Tell:  3 PM  We will meet at the entrance to the Park and will walk up Broadway to The Strand Smokehouse to share drawings, good stories and a beer or wine if you're so inclined. The Strand is located at 25-27 Broadway and is on the way to the subway.

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

Weekday Urban Sketcher in Fort Tryon Park Thursday

Fort Tryon Park offers us wonderful sketching opportunities: Views of the river, the George Washington Bridge, the Cloisters and beautiful gardens throughout.   

DATE: THURSDAY July 9, 2015

TIME: 11:00 AM

LOCATION: Entrance to Fort Tryon Park at the Margaret Corbin Circle at the head of Cabrini Blvd. See the map on this web site for more information: http://forttryonparktrust.org/park/map.html

TRANSPORTATION:  A Train to 190 St. Station.  Conveniently located at the park entrance.

Our first stop will be the Heather Gardens located just inside the park entrance.  Bring some lunch to enjoy in many of the lovely locations inside the park.

Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net.  Looking for us in the park? Call Raylie at 201-978-6387

NO WEEKEND Sketch Event

Happy Fourth of July!

Enjoy the Holiday weekend.  We have no sketch event planned for this weekend but will meet again for the following weekend.  

Please share your 4th of July weekend sketches

on our Website 

and also 

with our  Facebook Group