MONDAY June 3rd: Westchester Sketchers at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining

Founded in 1912 by Mother Mary Joseph, the Maryknoll Sisters were the first group of Catholic Sisters in the United States to devote their lives in service overseas. Today there are approximately 400 Sisters in 24 places around the world.  They come from diverse cultural backgrounds, serving in a variety of fields including medicine, communications, education, agriculture, social services and spiritual formation.

Serving as headquarters of the Maryknoll Congregation, the Maryknoll Sisters Center is situated on a former hilltop farm in Ossining, NY, across the road from the Maryknoll Fathers’ properties.  In the Center there are Sisters who are on active service, retired Sisters and the Home Care Nursing Unit.  Also, during the summer months participants come to take part in the Mission Institute programs.  

The beautiful grounds of the Maryknoll Sisters Center offer many sketching opportunities. 

Highlights include: Lourdes Grotto, courtyard, sculptures, gardens, specimen trees, interesting architecture, and more.

  

DETAILS:

Where: Maryknoll Sisters Center

10 Pinesbridge Road, Ossining, https://www.maryknollsisters.org/

VISITOR Entrance is on the NORTH side of the property.

When: Monday, June 3rd, 10:30 AM. We'll meet in the parking lot.

Directions:  https://www.mapquest.com/directions/to/us/new-york/maryknoll-sisters-mother-house-271272886
Note: Easiest route: From Taconic State Parkway North, take the Pinebridge Road exit.  Turn left onto Pinesbridge Road.  Follow the road to 10 Pinesbridge Road.  Turn left at the Maryknoll Sisters/Visitor Entrance signs and follow the driveway up to the parking lot.

Phone: 914-941-7575.  If you get lost, call Carolyn White at 914-373-9940. 

Transportation from NYC: Metro-North Harlem Line to Ossining Station.

• FROM GRAND CENTRAL STATION: take Metro North Hudson Line to the OSSINING Rail Road Station.
• TAXI from OSSINING to Maryknoll Sisters Center 10 Pinesbridge Road: Ecua-Taxi (914) 944-4500; Mega Taxi (914) 944- 4666. 
• Note: To make alternate pick-up arrangements, please call Marianne (914-355-6507).

Lunch: Bring your own lunch. We'll be picnicking together in the courtyard.  Cold d drinks will be available in the cafeteria free of charge.

Show & Tell: After lunch we will share stories and sketches during the social part of our day.

Please RSVP to Cathy Gutterman  cathygutterman @verizon.net 

Looking for us?  Call Cathy at 914-625-0766 or Marianne at 914-355-6507

NOTES:   

- It may be breezy - you may want to bring a light jacket and a hat.

- There are lots of benches, but a stool can offer more options.

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

SATURDAY: Sketch Socrates

That would be - Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria.  Located on the water with fantastic views of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, the park is a tranquil oasis and a real jewel.  There is always some community related activities going on.

Socrates Sculpture Park was founded in 1986 by visionary sculptor Mark di Suvero as a community engaged, accessible arts space dedicated to supporting artists in the production and presentation of public artworks.

Socrates is now a New York City public park and significant cultural anchor in Queens exhibiting topical contemporary public art that intimately engages our five-acre waterfront landscape and diverse audiences.

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DETAILS:

WHERE: The Park’s address is 32-01 Vernon Boulevard / Long Island City, NY 11106. Our main entrance is located at the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Broadway.

WHEN: We'll start at 10 AM.  Sleeping late?  Come anyway, we'll be there.

HOW:
By Subway:
Take the N/W train to the Broadway station* in Queens and walk eight blocks west on Broadway (toward the East River) to the intersection of Vernon Boulevard.

Directions from almost everywhere:
https://socratessculpturepark.org/visit/directions-and-hours/

LUNCH:  12:00 Noon  - Bring your own or rely on street vendors in the area.  The choices are limited without a bit of a walk.

AFTERNOON:  1 PM - Back to sketching.

SHOW and TELL:  3 PM  We'll probably find a quiet spot in the shade to share our drawings and tell stories.  Maybe we'll even get around to talking about art supplies, ... who knows!


NOTES:
_    Bring a hat!  Sketching is like sunbathing.  Keep covered
-    Bring a stool if you have one, it gives you more options. (And if you don't own one ask the other sketchers to try theirs.)

Meeting spot:

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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 Sketchers and the Bridges of Central Park

Q: How many bridges are there in Central Park?

A: 36 plus many rustic overpasses.  

So many bridges, so little time! Good News we are only going to sketch three! 

 In 1864 Calvert Vaux designed three cast-iron bridges to span the bridal path around the reservoir. They were considered the finest example of cast-iron bridges in the country! We will concentrate on three of them that were all manufactured by Cornell Ironworks.

We will begin with the Gothic Bridge, named for its spandrels shaped like Gothic window modified into windblown curves, then move on to two other bridges that surround the reservoir.  The three bridges we will capture in our sketchbooks are:

• The Gothic Bridge (#28) near West 94th St
• Bridge #27 near West 94th St, and 
• Bridge #24 near East 85th S

Here is a map of Central Park to help you find us: http://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/maps/Central_Park_Map.pdf

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G

Bridge #24

DATE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 29,2019

STARTING TME: 10:30 AM

LOCATION: GOTHIC BRIDGE: enter the park (east or west) around 96th St. Walk towards the reservoir and enter the bridal path. The bridge is near the tennis courts northwest of the reservoir at approximately 94th St

TRANSPORTATION: B OR C TO 96TH ST. Enter the part at 93rd St and walk east until you can enter the bridal path near the reservoir. It is about a 10 minute walk. You can ask for directions at the tennis court if you are lost. 

Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net.  Looking for us? Call/test Raylie at 201-978-6387.  Bring a stool, lunch, water and a cap.  

SATURDAY: Sketch the Fleet

FLEET WEEK

On Saturday - May 25, 2019  We'll celebrate the 31st annual NYC Fleet Week.  The city will host a total of 15 ships that will be docked in Manhattan, Brooklyn Staten Island, The Bronx and Long Island.  This year's fleet includes five U.S. Navy ships, four U.S. Naval Academy patrol boats, three Coast Guard cutters, a pair of Royal Canadian Navy vessels and a Military Sealift Command ship.

We will be heading for the greatest concentration of ships which will be docked at Piers 86 and 88

Docked at Pier 86

• Four U.S. Naval Academy Yard Patrol boats
• Sentinel-class cutter USCGC Lawrence O. Lawson (WPC 1120)
• The Intrepid

Docked at Pier 88

• San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD 21)
• Kingston-class coastal defense vessel HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701), from Canadian Forces Base Halifax
• Sail training vessel HMCS Oriole (KC 480), from Canadian ForcesBase Halifax

The area will most likely be crowded with tourists who will be there to tour the ships - not our focus. We're there to take advantage of an assortment of ships we could not easily sketch at any other time.

DETAILS

WHEN:  Saturday - May 25, 2019.  Official start time 10 AM. 

WHERE:  We are meeting at Pier 84.  This is the pier that faces the Intrepid.  It's located across the street from 12th Avenue and West 44th Street. (Yes the Fleet Week ships will be at Piers 86 and 88 but the good view starts at our meeting spot.)   Our meeting spot on the pier will be the fountain area. (see the aerial photo with the location market) We'll be near (or sitting on) the benches. 

LUNCH:  12:00 PM - Bring your own or depend on the vendors and restaurants in the area.  We will be eating together at a spot on Pier 84 to be determined.  (Our morning sketching might include going to the next adjacent pier 86 to see the ships docked on the north side. So those sketcher will be returning to Pier 84 for lunch)

AFTERNOON:  1:00 PM - Continue sketching.  We will explore Piers 86 and 88 to see and possibly sketch all the docked ships.

SHOW AND TELL:   3 PM - We will gather and then walk to Gotham West Market,  600 11th Ave (between 44th and 45th St.)  It's a food court and hopefully they'll have a large enough area for us to sit together to share our artwork and some good stories together.  This location will be confirmed on Saturday, otherwise we'll have our S&T on Pier 84

NOTE:
_    Bring a hat!  There is NO SHADE. 
-     Bring a stool if you have one, it gives you more options.

Click to Enlarge

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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 Sketching Outing to Weir Farm Wednesday June 12

You may not have heard of Julian Weir but you do know his friends and associates. 

Julian Alden Weir (1882 to 1919) was one of the pioneering American Impressionist.  He and his famous friends—artists Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and Albert Pinkham Ryder—painted at his home in Wilton Connecticut where farm’s landscape offered the perfect setting to paint en plein air. 

Today, the  farm is a 68-acre National Park, only one and a half hours from NYC and the only National Park dedicated to American Impressionist painting. Park Rangers will happily give us tours of building interiors, including the artist and sculptor studios, the Weir house and his famous portable studio on wheels.  Unfortunately we can’t  sketch inside those locations but the exteriors and grounds are ours for the day.We will be able to sketch the site’s meadows, woodlands and pond and the exteriors of its historic buildings.  To learn more, visit the Weir Farm website at https://www.nps.gov/wefa/index.htm. 

Early June will be a perfect time to capture the flower gardens and meadows.  Join us for a trip into the past to walk, sketch and paint where the great American Impressionists did.  

We will meet at the farm at 10:00 AM.  There is no direct public transportation to the area and parking is limited. We will be arranging car pools for those who don’t drive or coordinating groups to travel by train and then share taxis to the site.  If you are interested, please contact Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net by June 5,    Only those who RSVP will receive updates and instructions for transportation, materials and food. 

Weekday Sketchers Graffiti Tour of Bushwick

Always an industrial area, Bushwick attracted artists because of its edgy feel and low rents. The long corrigated fences surrounding the cement factories and construction yards soon became an outdoor canvas for graffiti artists.  Rather than try to get rid of it, the neighborhood embraced it creating an outdoor art gallery for large colorful works. 

Join us for a day of wandering the streets and capturing the high chroma works that adorn the industrial walls and fences.  Bring a stool, a cap and water as we will be out in the sunshine (hopefully) working on the streets.

For more information about the neighborhood and a self guided walking tour, click here: https://www.westsiderag.com/2019/05/16/the-bird-bulletin-artist-nicolas-holiber-on-building-birds-on-broadway, 

Or here for a video of a Fordam professor giving a lecture as he walks the streets of Bushwick,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDWZx2XdF4g

DATE: TUESDAY,  MAY 21, 2019

STARTING TIME: 10:00 AM (we will wait here until 10:15 and then start moving to a drawing destination) 

MEETING LOCATION:  BOGART AVE Entrance  of the Morgan Avenue Station on the L Train 

TRANSPORTATION:  L TRAIN to MORGAN AVENUE.

                           NOTE:  Make sure to exit through the Bogart Ave Exit not the Morgan Ave Exit.

Please RSVP directly to Raylie Dunkel at raylie@verizon.net.  Looking for us? Call/text Raylie at 201-978-6387.   We will break for lunch at 12:30.   Bring your lunch or purchase it along the way. 

Please note:  we will be moving our location as time and interest suits us. If you are arriving later than the starting time, please call for the location.