Pumpkins!

My plein air group painted at Andrews Family Farm in Wading River the other day. The rainbow of pumpkins captured my attention. My thanks to Denise Andrews and the staff for always being so welcoming.

Thanksgiving Theme

On Wednesday last week my sketch group met at the library and our theme for the night was Thanksgiving. (Due to the holiday prep we aren't meeting this week.) Tina & Brian (married sketchers) brought two 1/2 pies to sketch (blueberry and pumpkin) and cut them up into small pieces. That was good because you know what I am like when I try to sketch food. It always has a bite or two taken out...if it survives at all. lol It was easier to resist in the company of other sketchers. Maybe that is the secret.

We also had several still life setups on the table. This one included gourds, a pumpkin, and a small scarecrow.

Pumpkins and Gourds

There are some people that don't like the bumpy pumpkins but I like some of them. They are so different. These were displayed at Olish's Farm in Eastport.

 

Inktober 2022 - Day 23 Still Life

 Today was one of those rainy, damp days that I really didn't want to go out. So instead I did my Inktober sketch from a still life I set up on my table. I used an orange micron pen, my Lamy pen with Noodler's brown ink, and acrylic inks.

Yesterday after I sketched the Mineola Diner in my sketchbook I also did a quick watercolor and ink sketch of it. This is postcard sized so it is going out with my other postcards to the troops. I'm mailing out a batch of 17 postcards to Mary Jo tomorrow so that she has them in time to send them. 

Inktober Day 23

 On Saturday I was looking for a scenic farmstead to sketch. I headed out to Eastport to Olish's Farm but their displays hadn't changed and it was too crowded. I continued driving heading toward East Moriches when I saw this small farm stand called Baha Farm. I pulled over to the side of the road and found a parking spot with a view. I started sketching this focusing on the truck figuring it was going to disappear soon, and I was right. I barely got the shape done before it pulled out. I sketched for a bit and the owners started moving things. Uh-oh...they were packing up. Who packs up their farm stand at 2:00 in the afternoon? I tried to get as much into the sketch as I could before they moved it and was fairly successful before the tables were bare. It was a cute spot and I'd like to go back at some point and maybe sketch the view from across the street. I used assorted inks for this one.

Inktober Day 17

 My Day 17 Inktober was sketched at Deer Run Farm in Bellport using my Lamy pen, my Sailor Fude Pen, and an orange Sakura Micron Pen.

Olish's Farm Display

 The other day when I was at Olish's Farm in Eastport there was so much color everywhere that I couldn't

leave without doing one of the displays in color.

Inktober Day 8

 All the farmsteads and markets are full of pumpkin displays and mums so that is what I sketched for my Day 8 Inktober. This was done with my Sailor fude pen and Platinum Carbon Ink at Olish's Farm in Eastport.

Inktober 2020 Day 27 - Olish's Pumpkins

I love farm stands at this time of year for their fun displays so I headed to Olish's Farm in Eastport and found this great trailer with pumpkins on it. This is my day 27 Inktober sketch. I used a combination of my platinum carbon ink, the brown Noodler's ink, and an orange micron pen to make the pumpkins more colorful. The brown ink just didn't do it for the color. 

Inktober Day 29 - Lenny Bruno Farms

For Day 29 of Inktober I did a sketch of pumpkins spilling out of their baskets. This was done at Lenny Bruno Farms in Manorville.

#inktober

#inktober2019

I also liked this red barn that I could see across the field, so I sat there and did a painting of it. I only had 8 x 10 watercolor paper with me and I knew that this called for a panoramic size so I taped off part of the paper. This is about 4 x 10.

Inktober Day 15 - Waterdrinker Family Farm

Today my plein air group, PALS, met at Waterdrinker Family Farm in Manorville. There were animals and a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a sunflower field, and assorted other autumn decorations. I did an actual painting first facing the farm building and then did an Inktober Day 15 sketch of one of the arrangements of hay bales, flowers, etc. The painting is 8 x 10 and is nearly finished...just a bit more tweaking.

#inktober

#inktober2019

I will be out of town for a wedding for the next few days but have scheduled Inktober posts for the days I will be gone. I may not be able to get to visit your blogs but I will catch up on all of your posts when I get back.

Inktober Day 13 - Fall Decorations

Today I sketched the fall decorations at Olish's Farm in Eastport. There were pumpkins everywhere! I was definitely feeling the spirit of autumn. This little girl was all set with her pumpkin.

#inktober

#inktober2019

Inktober Day 4 - Gourds

My evening sketch group has started meeting inside now that it is getting dark so early. Our theme for the night was gourds, squash, pumpkins, etc. I did some of the gourds for my Inktober Day 4 sketch but also had to paint them in color too. How could I resist that orange? Here are both pieces.

#inktober

#inktober2019

Inktober 2018 - Day 26 & "Art Camp"

I was in NJ yesterday and today visiting one of my sisters. Due to our schedules we haven't been able to get together in a long time, so I'm glad we were able to work out two days to visit and create art. Today I sketched the view from her living room window for my Day 26 sketch for Inktober 2018.

#inktober, #inktober2018

Yesterday we went to Abma's Farm in Wycoff, NJ to sketch as part of our "art days" or "art camp." The owner of the farm gave us permission to sketch in the greenhouse that contained the greatest gourds and pumpkins! She kept coming in to see what we were doing and asked if she could take a photo of each of us and post it on their FB page. She posted it with the heading "Art Comes to Abma's Farm!" Here are the photos she took when we were working on our first sketches.

This is the view I was sketching...the "Baby Bumps." They were so ugly that they were beautiful!

I also sketched the goosenecks and Turkish Turbins...all on one page.

Art camp continued today. In addition to the Inktober sketch I did we worked on alcohol ink tiles. My sister hasn't done too many of them and is learning the technique. She wasn't really happy with this one when she finished it but I liked the abstract design a lot.

 

I am doing several arts & craft fairs for the holidays, so I worked on a few alcohol ink tiles that were winter scenes. Hopefully they will sell well.

Then we went off to buy some art supplies to finish up our day before I returned home.

Inktober 2018 - Day 9

Our trip to Maine was coming to an end. We began our trip home around 9:30 and stopped at our favorite restaurant in Kittery for an early lunch. Then I sat outside for about 40 minutes and did a sketch of Bob's Clam Hut for my Inktober 2018 Day 9 sketch. There is always a colorful cast of characters to sketch there.

#inktober #inktober2018

I went for my walk this morning and found one decorated pumpkin that  I missed taking photos of. He was hiding by a shop by the back parking lot.

Yesterday afternoon after I had already done my blog post for the day I did a painting of a restaurant called Schooners Landing which is down by the dock.

Inktober Day 29 - Yaphank Garage & Pumpkin Field

Today is a stormy, wet day in New York. I didn't intend to go out of the house at all but then I remembered  I needed to do an Inktober sketch. So I figured I would go somewhere and just sit in the car and sketch. I couldn't go to any of my usual favorite places by the water because today is the Suffolk County Marathon and I have to cross Montauk Highway to get down near the water. Then I remembered the Yaphank Garage. Part of the fun of sketching the gas pumps there is their bright yellow color, but I left it black & white. I had to sketch looking out the side window of the car because it was raining too much to see out the front window without having the wipers on. lol

#inktober #inktober2017

Last Tuesday my plein air group was scheduled to go to a pumpkin farm in Manorville. It was a cloudy, very windy day and I was the only one who went. It was too windy to sit out (and dust was blowing around) so I once again painted from my mobile studio.

Inktober Day 24 - Pumpkins & Still Life

We are having a super windy day here today so my Inktober Day 24 sketch was done from my mobile studio. I didn't want my sketchbook or myself to blow away. This was done at the W & K Farm in Manorville. It was very hard not to pull out that orange paint. lol

My Wednesday evening sketch group went back to Hoptron Brewtique in Patchogue last week. Since I had already sketched the bar and patrons the week before I wasn't sure what I would sketch. But someone brought along pumpkins, we had flavored popcorn in a basket, a beer and a deer skull. I think that was more than enough for a still life.

Inktober - Day 9 - Pumpkinfest X 2

Today is the last day of Pumpkinfest here in Damariscotta. Today's big event is the Pumpkin Regatta where huge pumpkins are hollowed out and turned into boats. I went down to the harbor at around 10 to find a place close to the water where I could sit on my chair. Of course they were forecasting rain during the day. I took my slicker just in case. Since I was there about 1 1/2 hrs before the racing would start I got a good location and I was right in front of the truck that was delivering the pumpkin boats. They were forklifted off the truck. I decided since they were so close to me that was what I would sketch. I used pencil first and then my water brush and watercolors. Then I started adding some ink. It spritzed a bit so I closed the sketchbook until it stopped and then I started again. I got a good part of this painting done before it really started to rain. I was getting just too wet and it didn't look like it was going to stop, so I packed up my stuff and headed over to one of the stores. I never did see any of the actual race. When I got back to my sister's house I finished painting and inking this sketch. 

Here are a few photos I took while I was sitting there.

The crowd waiting in the rain.

The forklift delivering the pumpkin boat to the river.

The Viking boat taking a spin.

The Unicorn boat out on the river.

After I dripped off a bit in one of the stores I went back out and sat across the street under the overhang in front of the bookstore on Main Street. That was a nice, dry place and I was able to do my  Inktober Day 9 sketch of the view across the street. One of the decorated pumpkins was sitting in front of the Damariscotta Center. #inktober #inktober2017

 Here is a photo I took of the scene...right about when the shuttle bus must have dropped people off. lol 

Inktober - Day 8 - Clark Farm & Pemaquid Harbor

Today we had rain and showers on and off here in Maine. That mean when I went out to do my Inktober sketch I had to do it from my "mobile studio." I used my Elegant Writer pen for this sketch at Clark Farm.

I couldn't leave it as just ink...all those pumpkins just cried out for color.

This afternoon I drove over to Pemaquid Harbor and sketched this scene.

#inktober, #inktober2015 - Day 22 & Pumpkin Field

I cheated a bit with this Inktober sketch because I did it last night. My sketch group met indoors at a studio and we set up an October still life to sketch. I did the still life and then did an ink sketch of some of the other sketchers at work.

This painting was done at the beginning of this week...and it was cold out. I just barely finished the painting before I would have quit and went in to the car. lol I did like this field full of pumpkins and that fun scarecrow. It is such a fun time to ride around and find spots like this.