Weekend Sketching 3/25/19

I love sketching the old Paterson buildings. This was a black and white photo which I took the artistic license of coloring. A lot of the old buildings were constructed in brownstone and I imagine this one was too. I gave it some stained glass windows.

Spring is arriving but slowly. Yesterday I went over to take care of my neighbor’s chickens only to find they had “flown the coop”. I can’t figure out how as the fence was up and all doors locked. But the girls cooperated and I got them back in (as a large hawk was circling). They also laid a few eggs in the yard making same eggs certifiably free range. Love those chickens!

Weekend sketching 3/11/19

A front view of Lambert Castle, Paterson, NJ. I have a fascination with old buildings in my home town. The castle sits atop Garrett Mountain and Mr Lambert even built a separate tower for viewing from up high which you’re still permitted to climb when up on the Mountain.

Spring seems to be coming here in Northern NJ as I’m seeing shoots popping up here and there. And it’s nice that it will stay lighter longer! Have a great day.

Colt Gun Mill (version 3)

A simplified view and I ran out of room- the paper wasn’t big enough. Or I painted it wrong. The church steeple is not in this one and I think I miss it.

Last week of summer has arrived. It’s a nostalgic time, seeing the kids go back to school and the leaves falling. Time marches on.

Colt Gun Mill/in color

I like it better this way : ).

Colt Gun Mill

Another old Paterson site. I just finished it so thought I’d post it now. I may paint in some color later. Have a good weekend!

Monitor Roof, Paterson

Quiet at work last night and I had a chance to do a sketch: some old buildings in Paterson. I used to work as a real estate appraiser so I learned all the different types of roofs. You don’t see many of these nowadays.

I just found out my DNA: 90% Ashkenazi Jewish and 10% Sephardic North African Jewish. That 10% surprised me. Maybe that’s why I like the Ladino songs so much.

Beautiful day and the weekend is supposed to be great. Happy Father’s Day!

Sign of the Times

This one’s for Jack Davis.   Seen in Soho walking from the subway to Chinatown.

My reader (or my computer maybe?) is totally wonky this morning…will try to catch up with everyone’s posts later.

Old (found in the garage)

I love finding old stuff of mine. These are three watercolors done in 1965. It’s amazing how my style has stayed the same.

Close up: I guess I liked bridges then too. And cities and water.

And little trees standing by themselves on a city street.

I used to use a lot of pen and ink. Can you believe that there were no markers back then? I believe that is the case. I haven’t used pen and ink in years!

Bridge over Passaic River

A small bridge in Paterson. The river runs all through Paterson and culminates at the Great Falls. This was a rush job as I didn’t want to break my run of posts.#World Watercolor Month

Matisse’s Chair

The Boston Museum of Art has an exhibit of the works of Matisse along with many of the objects he used in his drawings and paintings.  He found this chair in an antique store and had to have it.  What a find…the arms are eels!

I went to Boston this weekend to visit my daughter and see the show.  You can never get too much Matisse in my opinion (having this year also been to see him in Baltimore and Montclair).  And there are always works I haven’t seen before, like one of his first collages, above.  I like how he drew/painted the objects and then cut them out and arranged them.

There were some beautiful textiles, like this North African cut screen.

And of course he drew from his textile collection to drape the models for his portraits.

I love the vibrant colors in the still life above.

And I had never seen this paper cut out before.

The museum is good for wandering.  Suddenly you’re in a room with this burial urn from Mesoamerica.  That’s a bat on top.

Botticelli…luminous.

John Wilson’s Martin Luther King Jr. prints were a highlight.

Eldzier Cortor, another African American artist in the museum’s collection, shaped many of his print plates.  This one is full of visions.

There was a small show of the prints of Terry Winters, another favorite of mine.  I always want to recreate his organic visions in stitch.

And we didn’t even get to the Monets!  Next visit…