A Labor of Love on Labor Day

Weekday Urban Sketchers Takes a Holiday Break

Sometimes even if you are doing what you love you still need a to take a break and this week is one of those times.  Enjoy sketching on your own wherever you are.  Then get ready for the fall sessions. 

Our next meeting will be September 8th, when we go to Grant's Tomb.

And.....who is buried at Grant's Tomb?....(hint...its a trick question!)  Get the answer when we meet in a few weeks.  

SATURDAY: Sketch Red Hook and the Waterfronts

Two Boroughs 

with Salt Water in Between, 

... a Seaside Influence and an Artistic Outlook.  

Must be Red Hook.  It’s dilapidated beginnings are transforming into one of NYC's most interesting artistic neighborhoods. Old warehouses are repurposed as cafes, cool restaurants and hip music venues, ...  and the best way to get there is by water.

Our day starts at 10 AM on Pier 11 in NYC.  You'll find wonderful views of New York Harbor.  Brooklyn Heights is straight ahead, you can see three bridges to your left, helicopter tours take off to your right and the Wall Street skyline is behind you.  We’ll sketch there for an hour and a half.

Stunning View at Pier 11

Next we jump on the New York Water Taxi at 11:30 for a free 30 minute boat ride to Red Hook, Brooklyn.  Were getting off at the second stop which is the Fairway Market at Van Brunt Street.  We’ll be sketching the sites for the next hour until 12:45 PM.

The Famous Red Hook Yacht Club

Time for lunch:  Join us if you like at Hometown one of NYC’s best award winning Bar-B-Que joints (454 Van Brunt St).  The smells are intoxicating.  You wait in line to order your food.  It’s often crowded (but worth it).  We may eat in, or take our food out and eat like Urban Sketchers - dining Plein Air.  You are also welcome to bring your own, or chose your own meal.  We'll link-up later.


About 2 PM back to sketching the streets of Red Hook, until 3:15.  time for Show and Tell.
Found a great place for us - Botanica (220 Conover St.)  Let's share drawings, good stories and a beer or wine if you're so inclined.  The ferry back to NYC runs about every 30 minutes.

Botanica for Show and Tell

If you can’t find us

call or text Mark at 973-809-9128

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

Weekday Urban Sketchers at Greenwood Cemetery

It's cool, it's green and the residents are quiet....Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn is our spot this week.  Filled with incredible funerary art, a chapel that looks like a castle with Tiffany windows, views of the bay and skyline, three lakes, many buildings and an incredible front gate.  It is a sketchers paradise.   

Sketching Challenge:  Find the most unusual, oddest, oldest or most bizarre tomb to draw.  

DATE:  THURSDAY AUGUST 25, 2016

TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION:  GREENWOOD CEMETERY

                         500 5th AVENUE 

                        5TH AVENUE AND 25TH STREET 

                        BROOKLYN, NY

TRANSPORTATION: D, N, R lines to 25th Street Brooklyn

Bring lunch, plenty of water and a stool.   Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net.  Looking for us call Raylie at 201-978-6387

Weekday Urban Sketchers Are Staying Cool

Yes, Urban Sketchers are cool but will be even cooler this week when we work indoors.  The extreme heat is a concern and Maureen Gorta has come up with a wonderful suggestion: let's take flight!

Brookfield Place (Palm Court) has an interesting installation this summer.  A kinetic sculpture of 175 animated birds called Air Pressure.  In order to create the naturalistic effect of flying, the wings of each bird move independently in a flapping motion, responding to internal air pressure fluctuations, inflating and deflating by electronic timers switching fans on and off inside each bird.

If the weather is cool enough the many parks that surround the area will offer great sketching opportunities outdoors under the trees and along the river.

DATE: THURSDAY AUGUST 18, 2016

TIME: 10:30

LOCATION: BROOKFIELD PLACE IN THE WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER

TRANSPORTATION:

E TO WTC,
A,C TO Chambers St,
2, 3 to Park Place,
4, 5 to Fulton St.

Walk towards the river and enter Brookfield Place and make your way to the Palm Court.

Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at Raylie@verizon.net.  Looking for us? Call Raylie at 201-978-6387.  Plenty of seating is available and lunch is available from the many vendors in Hudson Eats or Le District Market. 

Weekday Urban Sketchers at Columbia University Thursday

Columbia University campus is an oasis in upper Manhattan: beautiful architecture, green lawns and lots of people to put into the cityscape. We will meet at the statue of Alma Mater in front of the Low Library in the middle of the campus.  We can then move around the campus to capture various buildings and settings.  Bring a stool, a hat and lunch.

BONUS:  Join us and then you can brag that you “went to Columbia”!!

 

DATE: THURSDAY AUGUST 11, 2016

TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION:  Low Library at Columbia University  

                        116th Street and Broadway

TRANSPORTATION: 1 train to 116th St. 

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

Hold the Date Special Event

Sunset Paint Out in Ft. Tryon Park

Elissa Gore has made arrangements for a special event later this month: Sunset paint-out in Fort Tryon Park, New York City! 

The park houses the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum and is located on one of the highest spots in Manhattan with great river views.   Please visit the park web site for a map.

.https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park

All artists are invited to come paint! Please share this post with your friends.

Date:  Friday August 26,2016

Time:  4:00 PM to 7 PM

Location: Fort Tryon Park at the Cloisters Lawn, Linden Terrace and Abby's Lawn which have been reserved for this event.

WEEKDAY URBAN SKETCHERS IN BRYANT PARK

WITH EMILY STEADMAN

This week we will join one of our own sketchers, Emily Stedman who has been selected as Painter in Residence at Bryant Park.  See the notice below about her engagement.

Bryant Park, located behind the NYC Main Library is a treasure for sketchers any time of the year but especially in the summer.  Lawns, trees, people, activities, a carousel, the facade of the library and the soaring skyline surrounding the park offers endless possibilities for an Urban Sketchers. Bring lunch or purchase something from any of the kiosks in the park.

DATE: THURSDAY AUGUST 4, 2016

TIME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: The Entrance to the park on 6th Ave and 41st Street.  Look for us around the fountain.

TRANSPORTATION: B, D, F, M to 42nd Street, 7 to 5th Ave.

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

You are cordially invited to Emily Stedman Painter in Residence at Bryant Park  July 25th - Aug. 5th, 2016 Connect with me on Twitter to get exact times and GPS coordinates for my Monday - Friday painting locations.    For the next two weeks through August 5th, 2016, The Bryant Park Corporation has chosen me to be the Painter in Residence at Bryant Park, New York City. The purpose of the Painter in Residence program is to create a visual record of Bryant Park from a painter's perspective. I will work in watercolor on site and set up at different locations throughout the park.  Usually you get to see and experience the results of a painting in a gallery or museum. The Painter in Residence program gives you the opportunity to see professional artists at work in the process of creating. This outdoor process, called "en plein air", or plein air painting, is a phrase borrowed from the French equivalent meaning "open (in full) air". It is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors, or what the eye actually sees, where a painter reproduces the actual visual conditions seen at the time of the painting. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules; those might create a predetermined look.       John Singer Sargent depiction of "en plein air". Bryant Park is in the heart of Manhattan. It's historic location is on the pulse of New York City's midtown. It's storied historystretches back to the early 1800's and incapsulates the many ups  and downs inherent in New York City's fortunes.  Today there are many things to doand see in Bryant Park-such as gardens, promenades, concerts, movies and artists dotting the park during the summer months. About Bryant Park, NYC     Four acres of green space behind the NY Public Library's main branch and just blocks from Times Square and the theater district. June - September Hours: Mon - Fri 7am to midnight http://www.bryantpark.org                   Click map for directions