San Diego

Had the occasion for both a business trip and vacation in San Diego, home to one of my my favorite zoos.   I love the opportunity to sketch the animals. 

                                  This gorilla was so majestic and so. . .sad.  

Sleeping Rhino

Mission Bay, San Diego

Vacation in Washington State

Took a vacation to Seattle and northern Washington state this past summer.  Was able to take advantage of the beautiful vistas and paint on site (and took lots of reference photos for later).
 

Deception Park Pass Bridge, Fildalgo/Whidbey WA
watercolor pen & ink on 110 lbs paper (PS)

Deception Park Pass Park

watercolor pen & ink on 5.5X17 paper

Deception Park Pass Park

watercolor  on  paper

Practicing with a folded nib pen

I have been wanted to try out a folded nib pen for a long time.  This was done using Daniel Smith walnut ink.  

                                walnut ink 10x7 on 140lbs paper

The pen is a custom, hand crafted folded nib pen created by Tim Leigh.  They are works of art in and of themselves. 

SKETCH DAY IN NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA

Sketchers gathered on a warm August Sunday to explore New Hope, Pennsylvania, just over the Delaware River from Lambertville, New Jersey.  We started at the restored train station and surroundings for the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad and after lunch continued down to the Delaware River for views of Lambertville.  And just before the rain arrived we had a guided tour of recently installed sculptures given by Colleen Pritchard of New Hope Arts.

We discussed future outings for this fall.  Possible sites:  Asbury Park and Rutgers Gardens in New Brunswick. Can we hear from members about these choices (or others) and volunteers to help organize the events?  Look forward to seeing more of you this fall.

Sketching Day RESCHEDULED due to excessive heat for Sunday, August 21.

Yes, it is summer but the heat and humidity are going to be gruesome this weekend.  (Same thing happened last year.)  Let's reschedule for NEXT Sunday. Same time and meeting place!

Sketching in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Sunday, August 14.

Join us Sunday, August 14 for a day of sketching in beautiful New Hope, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River just a minute (really) from New Jersey.
Contact me directly for more information:  jeffreycharlesworth@gmail.com

Summer Plans for Sketch Events. Please offer your thoughts.

Please offer your thoughts for possible places for sketch events this summer.  I'd like to suggest the weekend of July 16 or 17.   Potential locations: Asbury Park/Ocean Grove, Newark River Park, Basking Ridge.  Please offer other places--historic towns, parks, gardens, architecture--that you'd be interested in visiting.

Please hold the weekend of August 13-14 for a sketch day in New Hope, Pennsylvania.  Known for decades as an artists community, New Hope sits on the Delaware River just opposite Lambertville, New Jersey.  The sketch event will be part of the August Arts Festival sponsored by Artsbridge Arts Group (www.artsbridgeonline.com).  New Hope offers views of the river and historic canal and towpath, shops, galleries and restaurants, New Hope and Ivyland Railroad.  We can finish the day at the centrally located Triumph Brewery.  More details to come.

May Sketch Day with Landscape Architects. Plans for Summer Sketch Events.

New Jersey Urban Sketchers joined the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for a tour and sketch day at Grounds for Sculpture Park in Hamilton, NJ.  After a full morning walking tour with the original designer of the park we stopped for a box lunch at the park's outdoor courtyard garden.  In the afternoon, we went back to a couple of intimate garden rooms to sketch and paint some of the garden pieces before the rains came.

Grounds for Sculpture Tour May 21. Registration Update.

There was an earlier glitch in the online registration process which has been fixed.  The registration system is now back online.  The easiest way to register (for admission ticket and box lunch) is through the New Jersey American Society of Landscape Architects website:  www.njasla.org.  Click on the GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE heading.  Further information and a link for registration will appear.  (Use of this link is NOT limited to just landscape architects.)

If you have questions, please contact me at jeffreycharlesworth@gmail.com or by phone at 908.255.5051

See you there!  Bring friends!

Action Sketches: Sheep Shearing at Howell Living History Farm

Sheep shearing at Howell Living History Farm on Pleasant Valley Road in Lambertville New Jersey.

 Sheep shearing takes about 15 to 20 minutes for each sheep. Each sketch here was done in four minutes. All the sketches were of shearing one sheep.

 You can see this is an action packed sketching opportunity.

 Howell Farm had three demonstrations with a total of eleven sheep shorn on Saturday, May 7, 2016.

After sheep shearing there were Shepard and collies herding sheep in a luscious green field.

I'll save sketching the barns, animals and other demonstrations for another visit.

Sheep Shearing at Howell Living History Farm in Lambertville New Jersey is always a special time of year. In spite of the dark grey skies and occasional rain yesterday, it was a perfect day for sheep shearing demonstrations and sheep herding by collies.

Visits to Mercer County Parks Howell Living History Farm offers a slice of farm life as it was in Pleasant Valley in 1910. About 48 Saturdays in the year offer sketching opportunities in the field with live animals, farmers, and many visiting families in a relaxed, peaceful, atmosphere.

You can find the Howell Farm Calendar here http://www.howellfarm.org/cal.aspx and make plans for a fun sketching and painting outing.

- Michael Skelly

SATURDAY: May 21.- Sketch the Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture

Hamilton, New Jersey 

The American Society of Landscape Architecture 

presents a walking design and sketch tour of this internationally known sculpture park. It is is a 42-acre sculpture garden with over 270 large-scale contemporary sculpture pieces.The tour will begin at 10 am and lunch will be provided.  

The registration deadline is Monday May 16th. 

The group is limited to 30 people so register early.

​​Questions?  Or to confirm, 

contact 

Jeff Charlesworth 

jeffreycharlesworth@gmail.com 

or phone/text 908.255.5051. 

More information about NJ Urban Sketchers at njusk.blogspot.com

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• All drawing levels welcomed and encouraged!  
• Tell your friends.
• Bring a folding stool and attractive sun hat!