A Plein Air First!

May is such a nice time for painting.

It's so nice out today......and I was slow getting out the door, because of 2 phone calls but I wasn't exactly in a rush so t was all good.

It's time for me to discover some new painting spots.

Central Park will always be amazing, but I'm finding myself wanting to avoid it lately.

I can't take the nasty pot smoke that is ubiquitous.  Yes, it is illegal to smoke in any park here, and i don't smell cigarettes, but the weed is everywhere and no one enforces the no-smoking law.

I really love fresh air and I really hate pot smoke so, sadly, unless it is really early in the morning, I'm staying out of Central Park for a while. This is not bad because there is so much of the city to explore.

And locals are better than tourists- they always ask permission to take photos, and locals just have a different general vibe which is easier to take.  Last week at Juilliard was WONDERFUL as far as interacting with people. 

I like New Yorkers. 

So anyhow my criteria for today included:

*Pretty close to home

*Somewhere new

*Local non-touristy park

I pulled up Google Maps and had a look around.

And I found Sutton Place, where I have never been.  It is as east as you can go on 57th street.

There is a boar statue there which is odd, and the bridge and water behind it.

So there I went.

I was dragging today.... just being slow. Or maybe this is just a very complex painting.

Actually it really is.

The perspective has to be correct, and there is a lot going on.

The bridge in the background would have been cool the the view was better from the other side.

1pm start.....

15 mins for the drawing

2:19.....my view got bombed.

This was Not Good.

I didn't know what to do.

I have actually never had a person plonk down blocking my view and..... stay.

This lovely man had a book and was enjoying a nice afternoon reading outside.

He wasn't going anywhere for a long time. (And although I was there longer than he was, it wasn't by much.  He left around 3:30 or so.)

....

I got my nerve up and went over to him.... very, very nicely I asked if he might be amicable to moving because he was right in my view.

He was SO NICE about it, said he didn't want to be in the way but only wanted to be out of the sun.

Which I totally get.

He did move and I'm glad I asked.

I also told him it was the first time in 14 years painting all over NYC I ever asked someone to move... and that's true. I of course thanked him profusely, it really was nice of him to move for my sake.

4pm came around, I was three hours in and...out of time!

Tonight Daya asked me to go with her to the Juilliard Choreography honors performance.

Of course I wanted to go, and I was thrilled she wanted me to go with her!

But that meant I had to go home and scrub off all the bug spray and change and leave again hopefully on time. I admitted time-defeat, packed up and left.

The Juilliard show was at 7:30 and we were right on time.

It was excellent and we got home very late.