A beautiful Sunday evening to spend with friends. First cocktails and walk on the beach followed by a great meal and conversation. We refuse to let summer slip away. Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Month: September 2015
Take Time to Sit by the Sea
It was a foggy and overcast this morning, but it always does the soul good to be near the ocean. “Take Time to Sit by the Sea” is a quote on a bench overlooking the harbor in Onset, Massachusetts. It is always relaxing and special to be near the ocean. Faber-Castell Pitt black pens with Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook.
Palm Tree
I an not go to Florida, even for a very short time without sketching a Palm Tree. Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Black Ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Flight 1877
A quick 24 hour trip to Boca Raton, Florida to make a presentation to a country club for the office. This sketch was completed quickly on site. With Southwest Airlines, you have to sketch quickly in that they turn around the planes so quick that they are never in the gate too long. Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen with Noodlers black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Norman Architecture
Another day trip to New Jersey to visit 2 of our country clubs that we are working on. This is another detail of Ridgewood Country Club in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The Clubhouse was originally designed by Clifford C. Wendehack, who like Tillinghast was one of the leading practitioners in his field during the 1920s. Wendehack chose a “Norman” building style because of his perception that the property was similar in appearance to that of northern France. Construction started in late August of 1928 and progressed smoothly until the clubhouse and course were opened in 1929. Faber-Castell Pitt Sanquine colored pens with Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook.
Nantucket Harbor
Nantucket is 26 miles at sea, a tiny spit of sand off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound defining its borders. Just under 15 miles long and three and a half miles wide, much of life on the island is defined by the waters that surround it.
It is a place, wrote Herman Melville in his classic novel “Moby Dick,” made an utter island by the ocean, that to the very chairs and tables small clams will sometimes be found adhering, as if to the backs of sea turtles. But these extravaganzas only show that Nantucket is no Illinois.” A century after Melville penned his tale of madness and whaling, Nantucket is still unlike anywhere else. Maybe it is a history so seeped into the very soil that one cannot help but come in contact with it. Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Great Point Lighthouse
Great Point Light, officially, Nantucket Light is a lighthouse located on the northernmost point of Nantucket Island. First built in 1784, the original wooden tower was destroyed by fire in 1816. The following year a stone tower was erected which stood until toppled in a storm in March 1984. Rebuilt again in 1986, the stone tower was built to replicate the old one, and still remains in operation today. Modern additions include solar panels to recharge the light’s batteries, and a sheet pile foundation and 5-foot thick concrete mat to help withstand erosion. Faber-Castell Pitt pen with Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Window Boxes
One last one from our brief Nantucket get away. This was a quick 30 minute sketch. The window boxes are gorgeous and everywhere on the island. Everyone is so different from the next one. Bright colors, a multitude of species and many different greens. The flower boxes are even more amazing in the springtime when they are planted with colorful bulbs and greens that seem even more vibrant after a New England winter. Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors in a 8″ x 12″ Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook.
Quickies
Another couple of quick value studies from Nantucket. As a challenge to try to be quicker and looser. I made a limit of 12-15 minutes for each of these sketches. They are still pretty tight, but there is a looseness to them. The top one is a view from the ferry terminal looking back at a couple of cottages on the piers over the water. The second is of a marina building that had a garage shop with large doors on the front and rear that opened to the view and harbor just outside the doors. Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
From the Bean
Another early morning sketch. It poured rain last night so there is nowhere outside to sit and sketch where it is dry. This is the view from The Bean coffee shop. I sat at the window counter and sketched the view across India Street. Classic New England Architecture is everywhere in this town and on the island. We leave later today and it has been a fantastic trip. Faber-Castell Pitt pens with Holbein watercolors in an Alpha Series Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 