Sketching with the Sketchers

Since I am happily ensconced in my temperature controlled home, revisiting steamy New York City sounds "cool." We found this delightful boating pond where children were working remote controlled sail boats.

The picturesque scene seemed the perfect spot to sketch.

Straight from the camera...  Central Park

In semi-solitude, sitting on our shady bench, we pulled out our micron pens and watercolor sketchbooks. 

Soaking in the semi-isolation, suddenly there was a huge flutter of movement
motion, disturbance, voices and plopping sounds.

Pigeons don't make that much noise?

A rather nice size sketch club, settled in. Can you believe all that ART STUFF! Well we were but one bench away and pretended we were part of their group.

With all the distraction of painters, two women serenading us with their voices and instruments, people lazily resting on the grounds, combined with birds and walkers galore,

we  managed but a few sketches.  This is my husband sketching away, he was NOT distracted!

So intent upon his sketching, his favorite drink had rolled onto the ground. What you can't see are the birds flocking to it. 

One ink sketch was all I could manage, there was so much going on around me that I preferred walking around, peeking over painter's shoulders, photographing the crazy birds and listening to the singers.

later sketches from Grand Central Station and Anthropologie

Did She or Didn't She Sketch in NYC?

A very happy Monday to you. 

I love Monday after a very full weekend. It is an open ended gift.

 I hope your day and week ahead are just what you need for your own growth, contentment and happiness.

We had two enormous rain falls this weekend. The parched ground is sloshy-soggy with water, the birds are flitting everywhere, the bird-feeders sticky with mushy seeds and my once sad drooping sunflowers...(even though just a few)...some are lifting their heads as proud survivors of our high temps!

To get off to a good day, I thought I would go back to last week's question: did Sharon with the Big Mama camera chafing her neck, soles sticking to the NYC cement walks, manage to sketch, even a wee bit.

 Our first morning in NYC we wanted to walk to Rockefeller Center, but we were starving and on the prowl for breakfast, when  this cute sign and all the bikes caught my eye:

We quickly crossed the street jaywalking style, while attempting to take a picture on the run.

Toasties don't you love the name!  

It turned out to be a New York style deli. Deli's are always great food experiences, and love the people who frequent them.

Of course we were looking for breakfast and I settled on

this amazing CORN (as in kernals) and BLUEBERRY muffin accompanied by Hot  Chocolate. 

Are you out of your mind, hot chocolate during this stifling heat?

YUP!

We went to a back corner of the nearly empty deli, and pulled out our sketchbooks.

A double spread in Moleskin notebook.

 

Yes, indeed managed to start a sketch of a very delicious muffin, did drink the hot chocolate, but as one can see the rest of the day 

the search for 'drinkables' was on.

 

More NYC sketches to come. 

Have a terrific, smile-producing Monday.

Frying Eggs in New York City

Tomorrow, up at pre-dawn, and off to the airport.
Destination: New York City. 

Reason:

Not that one needs a reason to visit New York City....but our son who lives in Asia is in NY for work. He wondered if we were free

and might like to fly up and stay with him a few days. Are you kidding me, would we mind?

Of course, the last thing on my mind is packing clothing that might be appropriate. There are more immediate  decisions like choosing  sketching materials and which lenses for my camera!!!

I am pretty positive I will have time to sketch away in NY. 

Camera, sketchbooks, watercolors, water brushes, pens, maps, i Pad, and most importantly a 
HUGE bag of Peanut M & M's. 

How could one possible have energy enough for sketching, photo-shooting, walking and shopping with out a little nourishment.

Eventually a few clothes got tossed into the mix, something to read, easy stuff like photography manuals, lip balm and pink canvas shoes and a much to heavy back pack!

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Color me RED with embarrassment!!!   Eager to be up to snuff with this blog, I was prepared to post the above and then planned to write from New York, like a REAL photo journalist,(laugh) what we were seeing and doing. Well, it didn't quite happen as I imagined. 

Did you know that those Fancy Hotels do not provide FREE internet? NO siree, you PAY!!!  Gosh even Motel Six, Seven, or Eight gives you free internet. Before you knew it, four days zipped by and we were heading home to Charlotte and nothing, despite my good intentions, was posted.

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Our stay in New York was memorable to say the least, as we arrived on the wings of that blast of heat that splashed across CNN news.  The news report was that it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Forget eggs,  my feet fried in my hot pink tennis shoes!  My Black camera was to hot to hold!  Remember the clothes I hastily packed...uh, two sweaters, one blouse, one LONG skirt and one pair of cotton pants. Two sweaters, did I think I was going to Siberia? One blouse for four days? A LONG skirt?

Not to belabor the point. But it was so HOT that our evening flight home was CANCELLED, a few hours before take off. 

At the last minute, where in the world does one stay in NYC with an explosion of hot, sweaty tourists? (Oh, before I forget, our son's room was in a very nice hotel near  Rockefeller Center, but stationed outside the heavy brass doors was 24 hour, round the clock policemen in full uniform and bulging weapons. Next to them parked directly in front of the hotel was a police car with a running ticker tape on its roof about terrorism. Yup we felt safe alright!)

Moving on.  Delta Airline bless its heart put us in a room near the airport. We were so hot and exhausted that we grabbed a bucket of ice, two glasses and never left the room for dinner. 

And now we are home....and guess what. It is smokin' hot here, hot enough to cook southern BBQ on the sidewalk.

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I can't expect you to read through all this without including a few fun photos. There will be more to come, but for now.....

There was a time when to sit next to the airplane window made me seriously sick and dizzy. I knew if I touched the wall I would fall out like some "silly" without a parachute.

But I have "grown up" and now I love to sit by the window; because I can take photos of beautiful clouds, airplane vapors, sunrises and sunsets...gosh if only the wing wasn't always on the side I am sitting. Such bad luck!

 

Soon we will be in NY, we are flying over water, you can see it shimmer below.

It is a glorious sight to sail with the clouds, higher than birds.

After unpacking we headed straight for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not to see the Impressionist collection this time, but the Asian collections and a few old masterpieces.

Organic, sculptural, symbolic shells carved over 3,000 years ago. Oh, to hold in one's hand and feel the deep incisions and ponder who crafted such a thing of beauty. 

This is a most unusual Buddha. The position of the head turned towards the shoulder is very rare, then there are the layers and layers of deep rich glaze. Simply breathtaking.

Looking Up

When we were in New York what quickly caught my attention were the hundreds of people walking; to and fro, over and under, path or highway, park or business, jay-walking or patiently waiting for lights, but always walking, walking, walking. The “Walkers” for the most part had several things in common: one, they had earphones filling their heads with hypnotic sounds; two, the “Walkers” looked down to the cracks in the cement or just slightly ahead; and three, were usually alone-solo-aloof-self absorbed-single-solitary.


Walking is a positive form of exercise, inviting a new perspective on one’s surroundings, filling senses with sight, sound and smell. But for the most part the “Walkers” looked down absorbed in their ipods and world of schedules and expectations.

But to change one’s direction and LOOK UP there is an entire new world hovering above one’s head; surreal skyscrapers, gigantic cranes with cavernous mouths, deep green trees, stately cathedrals showcasing intricate carving, flags waving and flapping in delicious colors, carvings on fountains and statues, clocks that chime, signs clashing and competing for attention, LED screens on Time’s Square.

UP PUTS ONE IN ANOTHER WORLD.

But there is still another UP. The UP beyond the skyline of New York or any other city. And it is even more amazing, more imaginative, more breathtaking than any fancy human made structure.


This is the MAGICAL WORLD of our SKY, that outer world that poets and dreamers write stories and songs about. Remember Dorothy lamenting, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

The Sky is a mystical, nowhere land were rainbows dance, a land that we dream of, a place where we contemplate the mysteries of life.

In one month, our family has lost three cherished FRIENDS. Three months ago my mother passed away. Are they in the land that they dreamed of, have they discovered the mystery of life? I do believe that the SKY with its amazing CLOUDS hold part of the answer.

In honor of our beloved friends and mother, grandmother I share with you some favorite photographs of the sky and its dream-inducing clouds.


May they take you over the RAINBOW TO YOUR OWN DREAMS.

May your Sunsets be as beautiful as your Sunrises.

Wandering in Chinatown without Furilla

We invited  Princess Furilla to accompany us to Chinatown, despite the rain and gloomy-gray sky. She declined, preferring to stay dry, warm, nibble snacks and be lazy. Thus she cozied back  in her bed of brilliant ribbons. Yes, she is a Princess.

 We left without her, knowing she would be happier living in her daydreams than hanging onto a wispy umbrella as the wind and rain buffeted us about. 

The day started out fantastic. Being a painter, after Anthropologie, Pearl Paint is the next eye candy experience.  VERY STEEP steps take us to four rooms filled from bottom to top with every paint supply one could dream of. Let Furilla dream  of fields of catnip, I will fantasize at Pearl Paint! Once you step through the grungy black doors you enter a burgeoning   of temptations, all the wants and desires and the overwhelming cravings to try it all!!!  RESTRAINT had to be the word for the day. And I managed pretty well, until I spied a  travel size Koi Watercolor Set.  Tiny little thing, hmm very pretty, a little pricey...just tuck it under the necessary oil paints and pencils and let it be a SURPRISE at the check out counter. The very jolly clerk, after tallying my BILL, gulp!, allowed us to leave the package of "valuables" and return for them later....BEFORE 7:00PM. Of course we would return I said. It took selling one whole painting in order to pay for that small sack of painting supplies (and the Koi Watercolor Set which I forgot to remove, ahem). 

Now it was time for the two of us to traipse through the tourist-packed Canal Street...on foot, umbrellas buffeting everyone's umbrellas, my open back shoes filling with rain, jeans soaking up street water like a Slurpee straw and then this sudden urge to stop at McDonalds. McDonalds in Chinatown, you got to be kidding. Nope, it was morning and Howard wanted an ice cream cone and I salivated over a hot fudge sundae with nuts!  ENTER. Yuck it was a rather dismal, dirty McDonalds but we stood determined in line, then raced outside with our goodies. Ever tried to eat ice cream, carrying a huge messenger bag, camera and clinging to a wavering umbrella  all at the same time? Let's say it was a contortionist's act for sure.

Well all of this sweetness nudged us into a certain feeling, an urge for a moment or two of spiritual repose. Walking the full length of Canal Street we arrived slightly out of breath at the Buddhist Temple. It stands soldier-like wedged between old, teetering buildings.  It stands clean, majestic...white, red and gold. 

When one enters a Temple from the worldly, noisy, bustle of the outside, one instantly feels the warmth like a wool shawl about their body and spirit. The incense, glowing candles, stillness and reverence calms the mind and body. It is a good place to take respite.

 Isn't this a beautiful photograph, the crimson lotus grill framing an  altar of fresh flowers, oranges and offerings. Behind this delicate, red screen worshipers bow in prayer. 

Soft music wafted through the temple and a clerk kindly let me buy a copy for a friend who is in need. The funny side of the story is that the woman spent half an hour wanting me to listen to other clips of  music, all the time she is speaking Chinese. Sweet lady. And speaking of ladies, just outside the temple I tried to discreetly take this photo....another side of NY.

What a revealing picture of determination and concentration. See the ear phones...I wrote previously that most everyone has them selves plugged into something. Wonder what she is listening to or what is in the bags. 

Smelling those sweet oranges in the temple reminded us that is was time for lunch.

This is when we got off the tourist track Canal Street and forged anywhere we wanted to go, yes, and it was still raining. So we twisted and turned through the many blocks of shops, vendors, closed down buildings, dry cleaners, tailors, vegetable, fish and meat vendors all that makes a community a community. 

Spying a Vietnamese Restaurant, I drug a reluctant husband inside.

When  menu is in English you know it isn't quite authentic, and red flags go up. Here is what we dined on. (love to take photos of food with i phone). 

 You are probably wondering how the bread got on the table, feel the same way. Since when do Asian restaurants serve soft French bread and not rice!!!  Howard's

chicken was mild and I expected my curry to be fiery hot, it was mild as baby food! But nourishment it was and I DID succeed in getting my husband into a Vietnamese Restaurant.

 It was getting time to go home, we had over an hour to get back to Pearl Paint...remember the treasured Koi Watercolor Set? I was pretty sure that I knew where we were...ahem...but pulled out the gps on the i phone and it went bonkers....got the address to walk back to Pearl Paint...it went double bonkers!  So we went the direction I was positive about. After all we only had to get back to Canal Street and all the hawkers and vendors.

The longer we walked, the deeper we got into the Chinese community. Finally in desperation we started asking directions. Where is Pearl Paint, you know the FAMOUS art supply store? Okay then, where is Canal Street?  Broken English or no English.

We went into stores, met kids on the block they all sent us in ten different directions. I was ready to stomp on my i phone...Howard was beyond frustrated....and the time had clicked away with each step we took. In desperation we tried to find a cab...guess what, cab drivers take breaks!! Who knew. There we stood next to 20 yellow cabs, the drivers outside chatting. Not one in service.  We changed areas, hailed down anything that moved. We had less than half an hour to get to PP. WE DID NOT WANT TO RETURN TO CHINA TOWN TOMORROW, NO WAY!!!!

Truly a beautiful golden chariot pulled up, the driver laughed when we told him where we wanted to go FAST...we told him how we were lost. (typical tourist story I am sure) Then he told us how Canal Street splits in two and THAT is why my i phone looked like a mess of spaghetti!  We arrived in front of PP 6:55. I raced up the steep steps found the jolly clerk and he said, Hi, thought you had forgotten to come back and put your things in a storage room. He gave me my blessed package, I bowed a huge thank you. Raced back down the narrow staircase before security locked the doors. 

 We arrived home, Howard's left over Chinese food slopped out of the Styrofoam box into the thin plastic sack, a huge mess. My shoes and stockings were all the same color from being water logged. We wringed out our pants. My camera was safe and our day was complete.....well after trying out those fun Koi watercolors that is....get this, painted little Indian women in saris. Figure that out if you will.

Until the next adventure...