Thoughts on New York and Hurricane Sandy

No paintings to post today. Have not been able to get to my studio due to the lack of subway service and lack of power in my neighborhood.

Yep, things are kind of crazy around here. No power south of 34th Street. A Con Ed station on 14th Street was flooded and housed many of the transformers to various parts of the city. It was built to withstand 11 ft. of storm surge, but this time the surge exceeded 12 ft. Who said there is no such thing as global warming?

I've stocked up with canned goods as power might not be back for 3-4 days - I hope it WILL be back by then!!!

NO subway service. A lot of flooding, especially in the tunnels under the river. Not sure when I will see my studio again :-(. The stock exchange was closed for 2 days, but reopened today.

It really is a tale of two cities. Once you head north, things seem almost normal. Lights, traffic signals, stores are open, etc. I don't think people in the unaffected areas realize how widespread this really is. Really scary and sad stuff happening in my old stomping grounds of the Rockaways and the shoreline. The Jersey Shore was decimated, my thoughts are with my Jersey friends. As with my friends living on Long Island.

All the young folk are lined up around Starbucks trying to get cell signals. Phone service has been problematical. I kept my landline and have been able to get and make phone calls. Have a battery powered radio, so at least I can keep up with the news.

So many stories will be told about this Hurricane.

I hiked up to my friend Martha's today, on the Upper West Side, about 60 blocks or so, for a hot shower and to recharge my phone. Bus service is back and was free today. But, I made better time walking, as you can imagine if you've ever taken a NYC bus.

Let's hope things are back to normal sooooooon.

A Lower Eastside Shul

"LES #1"
Oil on canvas panel
6x6 inches
Sold

Continuing to work on small studies for future paintings. This painting depicts what I suspect was a former shul on the Lower Eastside, judging from the architectural details. The head of a rabbi perhaps with Mogen David's below, carved in stone.

I have many memories of visiting on Sundays when I was a child, to shop and eat in this old tenement neighborhood of New York. My Dad was born on Allen Street and he used to love to take us to Katz's for lunch and then of course my mom enjoyed finding bargains while shopping on Orchard Street. We came home with pickles, halavah, clothes for camp, winter coats and assorted tchotkes.

The area has been greatly gentrified since I was a kid, with lots of hipsters and high-rents changing what had been one of New York's first "shopping malls". Such is the pattern of this ever-changing city.

Reflections on 14th Street

"Reflections of DSW" (study)
Oil in panel
6x6 inches

A new small study of the south side of 14th Street. Nice reflections on the facade of the building facing Union Square Park, now home to DSW's aisles of shoes. Back in the 1970's, this was the site of the old May's Department Store, yet another of the city's grand shopping destinations that are no longer around. I fondly remember other lost shopping venues - Gertz, Klein's, Abraham and Straus, Korvette's, Altman's, Alexander's... the list goes on. So happy that Macy's is still around as I've spent many happy hours shopping there with friends, enjoying some much needed retail therapy.

Astor Place

"Golden Astor Reflections"
Oil on panel
6 x 6 inches

Another small panel study today, one that I hope will become a larger painting sometime in the future. An ultra modern, undulating building sprang up on Astor Place several years ago, unlike anything in the surrounding Village neighborhood. Not sure I like this building but I do love the reflections and the changing light that plays upon this unusual facade. I have painted this building before and will no doubt paint many more as it presents wonderful and changing reflections.

I took the photo that this painting is based on at the end of the day, when the sun was casting beautiful golden tones on the older building reflected in the facade. If you find yourself at Astor Place one day, this is a building you definitely will not miss.

D's Brooklyn View

"D's Brooklyn View" (study)
Oil on panel
6 x 6 inches

I've been working on a painting that was commissioned by a collector over the summer which I've just completed. While it is drying, I've decided to work on some small studies, a nice change of pace. This small painting is the view from a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. The buildings of Manhattan are in the background with smaller apartment buildings on the Brooklyn side. This might become a larger painting one day, but for now, I'm enjoying capturing this slice of life on a small scale. Hope to paint a bunch of these little paintings and possibly offer them on eBay later this Fall.

A NYC quilt

I've discovered the wonderful world of quilting and here is my very first completed project. It's a New York City-themed quilt, hand pieced using several vintage NYC postcards that had been reproduced on fabric. The Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler building, Times Square, the Flatiron and the Brooklyn Bridge are represented. I have been learning a lot over this past year, with the help of my friend Diane, who first introduced me to the art of the quilt and to classes I've taken at the City Quilter, one of my all time favorite places.

"My NYC I"
Hand-pieced quilt
26 x 26 inches

This journey started several years ago when Diane, a wonderful quilter, invited me to an exhibit of the Empire Quilt Guild in New York. We've since attended many quilt exhibits and at the last one I was blown away by a NYC-themed quilt. Diane suggested I try making one of my own, and she offered to help. At that point I was someone who could barely thread a needle, and I'd never had a sewing class in school, so I was a total newbie. Diane helped me design this wall-hanging and started me off sewing several of the sections. After awhile she realized how little I knew about sewing and that she really wasn't cut out to be a teacher. She suggested I check out a class at the City Quilter taught by Judy, an excellent teacher. A wise move. I learned the basics of quilting by hand and soon became enamored of the various processes. I love, love, love looking at the colors and fabrics and coming up with ideas. Now all I have to do is learn the various techniques and I am doing just that, slowly but surely.

I enjoyed the class so much, I signed up for another class, all the while working on this wall hanging. My stitches improved, I could thread a needle and I was rolling along. Then, in one session, there was a technique done by machine. Now, I'd NEVER been near a sewing machine, and never intended to be. After the class, I started thinking that it might not be a bad idea to learn how to use one, as so many quilting techniques are done by machine. I mentioned this to my studio mate Tobi who just happened to have some old Singer's stored in the studio that had belonged to his aunt and grandmother. We moved one into my studio and I found a terrific place that serviced machines on the Upper West Side. The fellow came out to the studio as he was intrigued to work on the old Singer, circa 1938, and he got it running, in his words, "humming" and "working like a dream." I also purchased a new, small portable machine from his shop as I've signed up for a focus group for beginners, and will need to bring a machine with me. So, now I have 2 machines to learn how to use!

Quilting is for me, painting with fabric, and I find sewing very meditative and calming. Looking forward to the many quilting projects in my future. As you can tell from this post, I'm hooked :-).

A painting for summer

"Coney Island Daughters"
Oil on canvas
24 x 36 inches

Didn't want the month to go by without posting a new painting. Just finished this one yesterday and while it's drying I'll see if it needs more tweaking, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Last year I took the subway to Coney Island with 2 friends. As a child I spent many happy Sundays there with my Dad and brother, eating lunch at Nathan's and playing skeeball at Playland, but it has been many years since I've been back. Not much is left of the Coney Island of my youth. I had painted a small study last year and thought this subject of the boardwalk and the summer feel of a concession at the beach would work well on a larger scale. There was talk that this scene was slated for demolition, but they received a reprieve for another year. While working on this painting, I could almost smell those franks grilling, that sticky sweet cotton candy and the fresh lemonade, along with the feel of gentle sea breezes. Ah, summer in the city...