Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Brooklyn Heights is one of my favorite neighborhoods in New York. It's located near the Brooklyn Bridge and surrounds the beautiful Promenade which hangs above the waterfront and two-tiered Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The walkway is a popular spot for tourists and locals alike. I took a long walk through the area yesterday snapping photos as reference for my drawings (or so I told myself ;)

Above is one of the many entrances to the Promenade from various quaint, tree-lined side streets. There is a playground located at the base of Montague, the main street and busiest, lined with shops and restaurants.

This "Heritage of New York" plaque was on one of the many historic buildings in the area. This was located on Willow Street, which is where Truman Capote wrote "In Cold Blood" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in his basement apartment. Brooklyn Heights was also home to such renowned writers as Walt Whitman and Norman Mailer, who was lucky enough to have a home right on the Promenade.

Always loved this corner building above!

Browning Frames & Prints at 37a Cranberry St. specializes in custom archival framing and prints. Frames are handmade by local craftsmen. Such a charming facade!

I took this picture because of the little plaque that reads circa 1820. Sometimes referred to as "America's 1st Suburb", Brooklyn grew by leaps and bounds in the 1800s. It attracted many wealthy investors and in 1814 Robert Fulton began operation of his steamboat from Brooklyn to Manhattan. If you are interested in reading more about the history, visit this South Brooklyn website. Brooklyn became a city in 1833.

This yellow house is one of my very favorites. It's just perfect to me :)

This is the side entrance to the Hotel St. George on the corner of Henry and Clark St. It was once a grand hotel, the largest in NYC and now provides residence for students. Part of "The Godfather" was filmed here! The NY Times wrote an interesting piece, "The Hard Life of a Brooklyn Heights Grande Dame" a few years ago. John Manbeck wrote a terrific story for the Brooklyn Eagle about it's salt water pool which is now part of Eastern Athletic Club. A small portion was saved, as a fresh water (chlorinated) pool.

Some of my favorite street names are located in the Heights-- above is Pineapple Street, below is Orange Street :D Cranberry, Love Lane are others...

Here is the city view from another entrance to the Promenade. It extends from Remsen St. to Orange along the East River.

Staten Island Ferry above :)

New Park Construction began in 2007. This park will extend from the one under the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge in the neighborhood of Dumbo. *Piers 1 through 6 will be replaced by floating pathways, fishing piers, beaches, playgrounds and restored habitats (*SouthBrooklyn.net)

Here are some of the trees to be planted.

Across the way is South Street Seaport.

Below are the fabulous homes that line the Promenade.

I rarely walk past a Vespa without taking a photo of it... Orange You Cute!

This is a small part of a huge apartment complex along Joraleman St leading into Heights area.

There are quite a few old homes built in the 1800s that have been well maintained and often cramped between newer architecture. This one looks so sweet and really stands out despite it's small stature.

There are lots of converted carriage houses in and around Brooklyn & NYC.

Like this grand window & doorway!

You'll also see lots of homes with wood slat (slatted?) facades. I'm particularly drawn to these, I think because they look like they could be out on the countryside.

The Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA), founded in 1910, is focused on maintaining the quality of life and neighborhood character of this historic part of Brooklyn.

Of course, I love Carroll Gardens, but I am so glad I can walk here for extra research ;)

Congratulations Roger Federer and Serena & Venus Williams!

Hope everyone had a fun 4th of July weekend! I spent some of mine watching tennis :)

Roger Federer won his record breaking 15th Grand Slam Title at Wimbledon today!!!!! Andy Roddick played an incredible and much improved game, but Roger pulled it out in the end. He is a great and deserved Champion!

The Williams sisters were unbeatable this year at Wimbledon as they often are. Serena was victorious yesterday over Venus winning her 3rd Wimbledon Title and 11th Grand Slam! Here they are after winning doubles together later in the day!!

Floaty Gets Going @ SVA

I've finally started sketches for Floaty the Hovering Dog! I just finished a very fast, but motivating 5 week class at SVA with Rachael Cole called Publishing Picture Books for Children.

I enjoy looking at sketches of other artists' work and seeing how they get from point A to B. Below, an aerial floating dogs-eye view and pencil studies to color versions.

As you can see below, I'm trying various versions of street scenes, trying to loosen up some. I always admire illustrators whose work maintains that free, energetic feel in final, finished pieces.

Above is the original Floaty I painted many years ago. He's patiently hung around waiting for me to give him a life ;)

Here is my class above. I hate the bland institutional look of classrooms, but Rachael and my classmates' work spiced it up a little. Rachael Cole is an illustrator and the Art Director at Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House. Our 1st night, we discussed professional & practical sides of the business and she presented the numerous sketches & edits for the book below. Abe Lincoln Crosses A Creek is by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated beautifully by John Hendrix.

Rachael also designs and silkscreens these fabulous pillows. Each one is like a piece of a puzzle that comes together to form a quaint small village. I love them! You can see more and purchase them at Village Pillows. She also sells them at the Brooklyn Flea. Check her website for more information.

This class was part of SVA's Continuing Education Program, so the students are all professionals, usually in related fields. Below Patrick Dorian is talking about his work. This particular story is about a robot who steals candy and one child must seek his revenge! Really fun stuff and so well executed, always a pleasure to look at his work and he is very prolific.

Below is some of the work of Jack Harris, a very talented illustrator transitioning into the children's market. You've got to see the freaky, evil fish in his story!

This portrait is by Shay Grabowski. I found it on her website, full of eclectic work ranging from brand & logo design to animation, photography and painting. She wrote a story bursting with great visuals about an adventure in the jungle.

Above is the fashion illustration done by Lynsey Hirth. She is working on a story about a little girl following a day in her mom's life as a fashion designer. Her drawings are lovely and even better are her super fun & creative collages! Take a look at her blog, Hodgepodge illustration and see her prints for sale on Etsy (seller: hodgepodge prints).

This amazing illustration is by Doug Salati. He has been working on a Eugene Field poem, Norse Lullaby for class. Doug has sketched out a full book dummy for it. Even his sketches are beautiful and create a full and enchanting world for the story.

This is the business card for Sachika and her website is not quite up yet, but do check back because her work is sweet and very charming! She has completed a color book dummy about a mouse who wants to fly (little jealous of some of her handling of flight scenes, but that's ok-- moving on ;) Love this card, too.


Below is a print by Estrella Vega. She is an art director and showed us several wonderful pieces she's created using silkscreen. I love the clean, graphic style of her work. She's been working on a story about a small dog with big moxie! It's gonna be great for adults, too I think.

This little guy is also by Estrella and I had to add him because he is sooooooooo CUTE! I want him.

Now, on to illustrators living the dream... fast cars, big boats and exotic cities :D Not exactly, but it is the dream of an artist/illustrator anyway.

This book is brand spanking new by Sara Varon. She came and spoke to our class about her journey, jobs, promotional advice & current projects. Below is from her series of Chicken & Cat stories for kids. You must check out her site Chickenopolis. She also did a graphic, wordless book you may have seen called Robot Dreams. It's fantastic!

And finally, Brian Floca, illustrator/author extraordinaire! I took a class with him about 6 years ago (hard to believe that long ago) at SVA. He was a great teacher, thoughtful with criticism, thorough about the book dummy process and quite funny, as well! Moonshot is his new book about the Apollo 11 mission. Brian's work is so well researched, not a detail left out and he moves seemlessly between several styles. All of which are engaging and fun. I think the cover for Moonshot alone, is stunning!

I recommend taking a course in Continuing Ed at School of Visual Arts. I recently took a licensing and greeting card class with Cheryl Phelps that was also well worth it. She is a terrific teacher and person. Cheryl is moving to San Francisco this summer, but hopefully they will still offer the licensing course.

Again, I want to send a big ThAnKs out to Rachael for being so generous with her time, ideas and thoughts during each person's critique. She spoke about practicalities of the business without ever being discouraging and gave only the most constructive feedback. Only regret that the class was not longer, as will have to rely solely on my own motivation >:()