International Urban sketchers Symposium – Chicago Days 1 & 2

So here I am in Chicago, sketching with 575 other artists from 34 countries around the world.

I am sitting at Congress and Michigan Ave while I am typing this, before I start another sketch.

Here are a few photos of some of the sketches that I did.  I am meeting people from all over the world and this is a totally awesome experience.



Sketches from Memorial Ceremony

There is a group in the Patchogue area that maintains Lakeview Cemetery on Main Street.  It is an old historical cemetery and comprises (historians believe) 5 separate cemetaries of various faiths.  

The committee has been restoring and maintaining the graves.  There are several graves of significance which were being commemorated on Wednesday.  At the turn of the century, there were a couple of shipwrecks where bodies were retrieved from storms.  These sailors were give a resting place at Lakeview cemetary.  They were not locals. They were from New England…. These days, the bodies would be transported home, back in the late 1800’s, they were lucky when kind benevolent souls gave them a resting place.

The Memorial Ceremony was for these sailors and the locals that died in relation to rescue attempts during the storms that sunk the ships they were on.  (They weren’t even going far by today’s standards, Maine or Boston to Maryland or vice versa). I was amazed that they knew the names of these sailors.

There was a special iron work piece made to beautify the site and that was also being dedicated during the ceremony to those that lost their lives.  These sketches were done during the ceremony.

Goodbye Red Baron

First off, this was a sad week because we buried my father. 

Last weekend, at my father’s bedside I lamely spoke to him about how the grandkids and great-grandbaby were doing.  I expressed sorrow about time lost but I am grateful that I was able to good-bye.  We both loved to read and I regret that he and I won’t be able to share our excitement that the Dark Tower is finally coming to the theater.  He won’t see my grandbaby grow up. There are many things he won’t be here for anymore. 

My dad’s hobby was flying model airplanes.  When I was younger, he had this awesome plane he made that was called the Red Baron.  He accidentally crashed it and made many more after, but that one was my favorite.  His airplane friends thought he was building another Red Baron when he had the stroke.  I have a Red Baron Kite hanging at home that I fell in love with because it was that last link before my parents divorced.

This was a sketch done in Patchogue of a little egg shaped Fiat.  My husband calls them “softballs.  ” Every time he sees one he puffs air towards it like he’s blowing out a candle….like that puff of air will blow it away.  We always laugh when he does that.  I thought this sketch was fitting for today because of that touch of red.

Goodbye Dad.

Last but not least….

This sketch was the final sketch for this sketchbook.  It was a humid day and we found a shady pavilion on the East side of the causeway.  I saw this Jeep in front of me with an open hatch and sketched it. They had a lot of stuff in that car.  The trash can blocked part of my view so I was like “what the heck?, why not?” And added it.  The family was actually to the left and I could have fudged it by adding them but I liked the “mystery” of the hatch being open and unattended.  They were parked under the causeway which is why there is a shadow there.  Our car was in the shade as well, a few spots to the left. 

This is just one sketchbook that I used while in Florida.  My goal was to finish this one and I did.  I have two more sketchbooks with sketches in them from my time in Florida and I will be posting some sketches from them as well.

Another sketch from Stuart, FL

Here is another sketch that I did from the waterfront park in Downtown Stuart.  It’s blissfully quiet this time of year.  I like that there are lots of different types of tropical palms and plants, there were lizards running around, and the ibis who was a little “put out” that we took over the picnic table that he was using.  He came running back when we left.  Lol!

Sketching while boating

While we were in south Florida, we visited with my sister and her family.   She and her husband had gotten a new boat and invited us to come out for a ride.  We stopped at a sandbar and I sketched this while sitting on the front of the boat.  There were storms around us but it wasn’t raining where we were. Later the storms moved out and it cooled a bit. Overall it was a nice day spent with family.