Love is a canvas, furnished by Nature, and embroidered by imagination — Voltaire

4×2″, Golden Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, miniature easel included
The quote above is inscribed around the stretcher bars on the back of the canvas. Quarter is in the image for size reference only.
$100.00 via PayPal, $10 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

I immediately thought of this quote when I set up to do this painting. The canvas is gallery wrapped, and the image is painted around the sides of the canvas, so that it can be viewed from all sides. The miniature easel will be shipped with the painting.

It is so difficult to get good photographs of miniatures. They always look much better in person. This one has a fairly dark background with some sheen, so it was impossible to get rid of all the glare from the lights when I took the photo. Here’s another image of it, with a Coke can for additional size reference:

For such a little painting, I used a tremendous palette! Colors:
Cadmium Yellow Primrose
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Pyrrole Red
Cadmium Red Medium
Alizarin Crimson hue
Cerulean Blue hue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Oxide of Chromium
Jenkins Green
Titanium White
I had a few other colors out there as well, but the ones listed above were the ones I used.

I toned the mini canvas and the sides with a mix of Transparent Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue Golden Fluid Acrylics. Those dry quickly, so with a little help from my hair dryer, I was then able to use Golden OPEN Acrylics to paint the rest over that toned canvas.

I started working on the basic placement of shapes, and then worked more and more toward contrasts and details. I use blu-tack to adhere the mini canvas to a larger piece of foam board. That way I can hold it securely in one hand when necessary, while painting with the other.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Demos/Work in Progress, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Jamie's Jewels miniature gems, Still Life | 2 Comments »

In celebration of my birthday and Valentine’s Day, I am offering a free print with the February purchase of any painting from my website 8×10 or larger (or two smaller paintings valued at least $100 each). The print is an 11×17″ replica of my Boscobel Overview painting:

All prints are hand signed and will be mailed in shipping tubes. Offer good only till the end of the month, and while supplies of the print last!

Happy February to all my visitors and collectors!

Current Special, Shows and News | 1 Comment »

7×5″, Golden Acrylics on New York City map mounted to archival board, fits into standard frame
$115.00 via PayPal, $10 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

I had a great time preparing surfaces with cut up old maps. I glued the map pieces to archival, acid free foam board with Lineco acid-free bookbinding adhesive, rolled it with a brayer, and weighted it down to set. Then I applied a couple of coats of Golden Matte Medium, mainly because I love the working properties of the surface once the matte medium is applied, and it will also help to seal and protect the maps.

I painted this New York City map with roses for Valentine’s Day. What could be better than Love in the Big Apple? If you’d like to commission a similar painting of any size with your own city and choice of flowers, please contact me at JamieWG@aol.com for details.

This painting can be popped right into a standard 5×7″ frame.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Still Life | No Comments »

This is a progress image of the 28×42″ commission I’m working on. It all started when my client and her dear hubby met at Hunter Mountain in New York State! She saw this painting on my website, which I did from the top of Hunter Mountain, and purchased it through RiverWinds Gallery, where I had it displayed.

She decided that she wanted a large version to take up a wall of her dining room, and wondered if I’d be willing to incorporate some of her room colors in the painting, and omit some of the colors of that smaller version that didn’t go with her decor. She sent me these color photos of her carpets which displayed rich earth tones perfectly suited to landscape work, but far different from my usual palette.

Because both the color palette and proportional ratio of the painting were to change for the commission, I decided to do this third painting using the same ratio and colors as the commisioned work, which I posted the other day. (See below the previous post below or click the link.)

From there, I moved onto the full size version of the painting. Here’s the large, white canvas looming before me in the studio:

The first steps were to tone it, place the compositional elements, add the dark areas and pull out the lights.

Then I started going in with color. The first photo in this post shows the current state of the painting. From here I’ll be pushing the lights and darks, adding in more of the colors from my client’s samples, and making adjustments as I go. I’d like to drop that foreground horizon line a touch too….It keeps on creeping up all by itself when I’m not looking!

16x20 and larger, Catskill Mountains, Demos/Work in Progress, Greene County, Landscape | No Comments »

8×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

If you like this painting, please cast your vote for it in the Art Guide competition! You can do so by clicking the “like” button on this link.

This is a color and composition study for a 28×42″ painting that I’ll be starting soon. I wanted to keep the palette as limited as possible, and also to keep the colors a bit more muted and earthy than is typical for me. My colors for this painting were:
Raw Sienna
Venetian Red
Prussian Blue
Cadmium Yellow Pale (just a very small amount)
Titanium White

I tried to do the painting with just the first three colors, but in the end it really needed a bit of Cad Yellow Pale, so I gave in based on sheer need!

8x10 and smaller, 9x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Landscape | 2 Comments »

5×7″, Acrylics
$115.00 via PayPal, $10 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

Just a few miles from this location, Thomas Cole did his famous painting Lake With Dead Trees. That became one of the most important works of the Hudson River School painters. I saw this scene along Schoharie Creek nearby and snapped a dozen photos, determined to paint it at some point as an homage to Thomas Cole, who shared my appreciation of this little corner of the earth.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River School, Landscape | No Comments »

12×9″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$350.00 via PayPal, $15 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This is my favorite place to go for a walk, so it’s not surprising that I’m turning it into a series! You can see a progress image of this painting on this post. So far, the series consists of just this painting and The Road Home in Fall. Late winter, spring, and summer versions will be coming as the seasons emerge. I’ll probably paint those on location.

9x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Winter and Snow Scenes | No Comments »

Some of you may recall my recent painting, The Road Home in Fall. I liked that painting and the location so much that I’ve decided to make a series out of it. My plan is to do a 12×9″ painting in each season, possibly selecting one or two of those to do larger paintings as well. I am calling this “Early Winter” because I hope to do a late winter version too. I just can’t seem to get enough of this magical location! The winding, uphill path, evergreens on the right, and steep hill on the left offer a good composition with lots of variety.

This one is not yet completed, but shouldn’t take too much longer. I think I’ll have a finished version up this week.

Demos/Work in Progress | 2 Comments »

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$250.00 via PayPal, $15 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

I was out walking my dog through the snow-covered meadow when I spotted these long shadows leading toward the house. Fortunately, I rarely go out without my camera! Long shadows in the middle of the day are one of the benefits of winter. Although I’ve used many compositional elements to lead into my paintings, I don’t think I’ve ever used winter shadows like this. Now that I’ve given it a try, I want to do more!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Winter and Snow Scenes | 1 Comment »

6×8″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I had a true painting marathon on the day I did this painting, leaving the house at 7am and not returning until after 8:30pm. It was a fabulous day of great weather and beautiful scenery in Cold Spring, New York, along the banks of the Hudson River. I can well understand why some of the Hudson River School painters loved to paint from this very spot; I love to paint here too!

This was the last one of the day—attempting to catch the fleeting sunset colors during the few minutes before the light faded into darkness. There’s never enough time to “finish” one when painting sunsets on location. It’s really a matter of grabbing color as it emerges, and hoping for the best!

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sketches, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 3 Comments »

9×12″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Arches 100% rag hot press watercolor paper, double matted to 16×20.
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This was painted here in the Hudson Valley, by the lake next to my studio. I was so excited about getting out to paint that I ended up getting up at 4:30, while it was still pitch black. I dawdled at the computer and then all of a sudden realized it was already getting light out! Hoping to not miss my opportunity, I raced out the door just in time to catch this dramatic lighting on the lake and in the sky.

My palette for this painting was Hansa yellow opague, Ultramarine blue, Phthalo blue, Napthol red light, and Titanium white.

9x12 to 12x24, Brewster and North Salem, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

These Wetcanvas Scavenger Hunts are so much fun that I can see how participants could become addicted. I enjoy participating whenever I can. This page was done with a Lamy Safari extra fine ink pen, filled with Noodlers Bulletproof Black Ink, and Winsor Newton watercolors. My dog was Not Happy that I took his squeaky toy away in order to paint it!

If you’d like to check out the other entries to the Scavenger Hunt or participate, click here. Below is a photo of what I was working with. (You can click to enlarge this image too.)

Sketches | No Comments »

I have six paintings going up to Kaaterskill Fine Arts for this show in Hunter, NY. Hope some of you can make it there!

Click image to enlarge:

Shows and News | 2 Comments »

7×5″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I was out walking my dog on a snowy morning last week. The snow would start and stop, and there were some occasional, dramatic breaks in the clouds. I was fortunate to encounter one of those breaks as we came to where the path drops down a hill. I love this spot, with the tall evergreen sitting atop the rock outcropping as the path plunges downward. The cloudbreak added to the impact of the vista. I pulled out my camera and snapped a dozen pics! This was painted from one of those photos.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Sold, Winter and Snow Scenes | 1 Comment »

10×8″, Acrylic on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

It’s hard to believe that 2010 has arrived. Where did the year go? Each year seems to go faster than the next. You’d think I’d get tired of doing all these paintings, or run out of ideas, but I seem to feel more motivated as the years go by. I have so many exciting projects in mind for 2010; I can’t wait to get started!

You’ll be seeing some portraits as well as large commissioned paintings, and a number of larger landscapes, coming off my easel in the next couple of months. I want to get back to doing some of my “Jamie’s Jewels” framed miniatures too. Those are so exciting to paint and favorites among my collectors. I can’t seem to keep any of them “in stock”. I have some ideas for new working methods in acrylics too, so you will see a return to some acrylics over the winter as I experiment with new ideas, and large ones will emerge from outdoors when the weather warms up in the spring. I keep meaning to get some more paintings done of my pets — Lulu, Lucy, Mango, Coconut and Rondo. Then of course there are all those landscape locations that I’ve recently discovered; can’t wait to get back to those come the spring, and to do some larger studio works of those places during the winter. So, that should give you an inkling of what’s to come on these Hudson Valley Painter pages in the near future. I’m excited!

If you’d like to follow me around a bit more as I paint and share thoughts on the process, you can visit me here on Facebook. Just send me a friend request there, and let me know that you follow my blog. I often send mobile uploads from my painting locations, converse with my Facebook friends, and share my blog posts.

Occasionally I post on Twitter as well, with information not posted to Facebook or here on my website. You won’t find yourself flooded by tweets by me, but if you’d like to receive the ones I send, you can follow me @JamieArtist. I hope to be making more use of Twitter technology in the coming year for sharing art tips and pictures.

I wish all my viewers and followers and collectors a joyous and fulfilling New Year. Keep those New Years’ Resolutions coming!

The painting above will be at Kaaterskill Fine Arts Gallery on Main Street in Hunter, NY, from January 16 through February 7. I have five more going there too. The show opening is on Saturday, January 16 from 4-6pm.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Shows and News, Sunrise/Sunset, Winter and Snow Scenes | 2 Comments »

12×16″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$440.00 via PayPal, $20 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This is another painting that was started on location and completed in the studio this week. I showed the work in progress with an image of the scene in a previous post. The humped peak in the painting is Breakneck Ridge. The marsh is where Fishkill Creek empties out into the Hudson River.

When I brought the painting back to the studio and put it up on the easel to add the finishing touches, I pulled up all my photo references from this location. I’d gone there several times during the falll, so I had photos from much of the season. I decided to go back a few weeks in time to when there was more fall in the air and leaves on the trees. I think it added a lot to the painting to be able to fill out that foreground tree.

9x12 to 12x24, Available, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

Every nine days, a new painting and drawing Scavenger Hunt begins on the Wetcanvas website. These are so much fun at times like the holidays, when you don’t have the time nor inclination to do more serious work, want to hone some drawing/sketching skills, or test drive new approaches.

I printed out this hunt’s list in red ink, and another copy in larger, green lettering. I pasted that page into my spiral-bound, heavyweight kraft paper sketchbook, and pulled out the gouache to paint in a couple of the items. The dates were stamped with a sepia stamp pad. I cut out the “GIFT” and “FRUIT” labels from the green list I’d printed out, and glued them on.

Hope I get to do more this week. I’m going upstate to spend some time with my son. He’ll be working remotely with his office this week, so that should leave me some time for artwork. I’m taking along a few unfinished paintings too. It’s hard to get work done over the holidays!

Sketches | 1 Comment »

16×12″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$440.00 via PayPal, $20 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This waterfall is just inside the entrance to our property upstate. From here, the water runs under the driveway and converges with another stream and waterfall on the other side. After a rain, they are at their very best! There are two more waterfalls along this rock ledge that I’ve also wanted to paint for quite some time. I guess at this point I’ll probably get to them in the spring.

I started this painting en plein air several weeks ago. It was finished up in the studio this morning. Below you can see a photo of it as I worked on it outside. The waterfall was totally in shadow by the time I took this photo. That’s why I had to stop and complete it in the studio.

9x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Waterfalls | 1 Comment »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$150.00 via PayPal, $10 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This began as a plein air painting this past October. Just as the sun sank below the horizon, the sky lit up like a fireball. As often happens (especially with sunsets), color and light are just too fleeting to finish on location. I’m so busy painting outdoors at that time of year, trying to catch the last bit of fall color, that many of these don’t receive their finishing touches until winter sets in and I’m working in the studio.

I was so happy to pull this one out today and finally get to finish it up. I never get tired of painting these Olana sunsets. Every night there is so different; I can understand why Hudson River School painter Frederic Church chose this location for his exquisite Moorish castle on the hilltop. One of my favorite Frederic Church paintings is a winter view from Olana that he painted en plein air. I’ve never painted from there in winter, but I am determined to brave the cold and do it this winter!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location, Sunrise/Sunset, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

20×16″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I was eager to work in a medium that would enable me to layer quickly today, so I grabbed my Golden OPEN Acrylics and a 16×20 canvas covered board for open studio portraiture. I left most of my acrylics upstate, so had to make due with what I had: Cadmium Yellow Primrose, Pyrrole Red, Transparent Red Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, Carbon Black, and Titanium White.

These paints are just sooooo much fun. I prefer them on paper or smooth hardboard rather than canvas, so next time I’ll have to remember to size some watercolor paper or matboard before I go.

Leigh was a really great and beautiful model. We’ll have her for another sitting in January, so I’ll get to sketch her again!

16x20 and larger, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Portraits and Figures, Sketches | No Comments »

8×10″, oils on canvas covered hardboard
$250.00 via PayPal, $15 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This is one of my plein air paintings that hung around the studio for months waiting to be finished. Well, today was the day!

There is a magical, little brook that comes down from South Mountain and through our property upstate. It flows under a bridge that spans our driveway, and cascades down moss-covered rocks in a small waterfall. I didn’t even know it was there until after we’d bought the house, but I’ve been entranced by it ever since. It seems to be compositionally perfect from nearly any angle. So far in addition to this one, I’ve done one gouache sketch of it from the other side, a monochrome painting sitting on one of the rock ledges where the water cascaded past me, and an oil painting from the other side of the brook while the phlox was blooming in fall. In spite of all these views of the scene, I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of the hundreds of fantastic compositions possible from this special little place. There are numerous other waterfalls in and around the property, and although this one is the smallest, I feel it is by far the most beautiful.

I lost my favorite old palette and had to replace it this week. I went over to Jerry’s Artarama in Norwalk to check out what they had, and came away with this wonderful new palette. Today was my first opportunity to test drive it; I love it to bits! Now I’m glad I misplaced the old one.

The birds got to take turns coming out to play today. I love that I have more time with them during the winter months when I’m working more indoors. Here are the adorable ones: Mango and Coconut. They are extremely sweet and gentle. Mango goes to anybody and loves to socialize. Coconut is extremely handsome, but is not so well endowed in the brains department. LOL

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Waterfalls | No Comments »

My friend and fellow artist, Gretchen Kelly, is writing articles about some of her favorite artists. Please check out her blog post today, featuring yours truly! Many thanks to Gretchen for this special commentary. It’s been wonderful having Gretchen as a friend and painting buddy.

While you’re there, take a look at Gretchen’s expressive figure drawings and paintings, and her vibrant landscapes. I especially like her use of gold leaf in some of her multi-media landscape paintings.

Shows and News | No Comments »

Hudson River Splendor — Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 22
5×7″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is the gorgeous Hudson River view from Olana, home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Church. I was there one night when there was a stupendous sunset, and took as many photos as I could! This is a color study for a larger painting I’d like to do. It gave me a chance to see if the sky colors and values would work, and I’ve decided that they do!

Olana is one of my favorite places to paint, with this stunning overview of the river and the Catskill Mountains in the distance. On the right evening, the scene lights up like a torch.

In celebration of the Hudson River Quadricentennial, I am doing a special series of Hudson River paintings. This one is Number 22 of that series.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 1 Comment »

12×9″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I set out on a beautiful sunny day with my easel. When I came to this gorgeous spot, I set up in the middle of the road to paint.

As soon as I had my easel out and started to lay in color, the clouds thickened, shadows vanished, and colors changed!

I decided to stay with the moody, atmospheric day it had become. Most of this painting was done on location. I had plans to paint with a friend at Olana that afternoon, so I had to pack up before I was quite finished, and added the finishing touches in the studio today.

9x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

24×36″, Oils on stretched canvas
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This painting has been a long time in process. It started out with a small monochrome study, followed by a color study, both completed on location. I then did an intermediate stage in the studio at 1/2 each dimension of the large painting. (Intermediate size was 12×18″.)

After a day and a half of working on the large painting in the studio, I took it back to the location a week or so later to work on it outside, where I could gather more information directly from the source once again. I felt lots of things were improved after that session of on site painting, but it still wasn’t finished.

I’ve put in more time on it here and there as it’s sat on the big easel in my studio, and I think I can finally call it finished! Here it is up on my studio easel during today’s session, with the studies next to it for reference. The studies are a progression toward the finished painting, but as you can see, I changed things that I wanted to improve upon in each version.

16x20 and larger, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Tilly Foster Farm | No Comments »

I’d like to remind my viewers that I am also on Facebook and Twitter. I post things there about my day-to-day life as an artist, tips and thoughts about the artistic process, and things not posted on my blog. It also gives me a chance to communicate in a more direct way with my friends, clients, family, and fellow artists and art-lovers. You can find me on Facebook here . Just click to add me as a friend.

For those who have Twitter and would like to follow me as I tweet away (which is maybe once a day), you can find me here and click to follow me on Twitter .

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Bench with a Hudson View
7×5″, Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140lb hot press

$115.00 via PayPal, $10 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

This is a scene from a little park near the train station in Cold Spring, New York. I used a photo reference and a 5×7″ Fabriano watercolor block of their delicious hot press, rag paper. I began with a modified contour drawing alla Charles Reid:

8x10 and smaller, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Landscape, Watercolor | No Comments »

20×16″, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

You may remember two weeks ago when I sketched Troy in pastel. We had no open studio last Thursday since it was Thanksgiving, but today I went back, oils in hand, for another sketch. I used Rembrandt Ivory Black, Gamblin Torrit Grey, and Winsor Newton Artist Titanium White with a little Winsor Newton Griffin Titanium White mixed in to speed drying. I also used Weber Res-n-gel medium.

Troy will keep the same pose for three weeks, and most of the artists are keeping their spots and working all three weeks on the same painting. I waited until after the posing started for any returning artists to reclaim their previous spots before setting up in a new position, but go figure…. (Yes, you know what’s coming!)… As soon as I got set up, someone came in late and said, “You’re in my spot!”

I didn’t really care where I painted from; I just didn’t want to miss the posing time. There is never enough time with the model! Anyway, this ended up being about two hours of posing time altogether. I always seem to have difficulty getting the head situated exactly where I want it on the canvas. This time, I really took my time with placement and it ended up right where I wanted it to be! Amazing!

I like this model, Troy, very much. We’ll have him for one more week.

16x20 and larger, Available, Portraits and Figures, Sketches | No Comments »

1.5×2″, Golden Acrylics on 4-ply Rag Bristol, framed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

These miniature gems are too much fun to be legal! This is a miniature version of an 8×10″ painting that I did en plein air in the spring. You can see that painting by clicking here. I enjoy doing different size versions of the same scene. It gives me a chance to play with the composition and colors and try to turn out something even better each time. In this case, I shortened the peninsula so that the eye has a path around it to travel to the lighthouse.

My miniature paintings come with a gift box and buyer’s choice of either a little table easel, or a golden thread affixed to the back and a tack for hanging salon style.

Here’s a slightly larger, cropped photo so that you can see the painting better. I wish this camera had a better lens so you could really see all the teeny tiny brushstrokes in there!

So much goes into doing one of these miniatures. They take me longer than paintings many times the size. The first step in the process is to cut the support for the painting. In this case, I used four-ply Strathmore rag bristol. It’s a very expensive support, but at this size I could probably get 100 paintings from a sheet! I size that with Golden Matte Medium, because I love the way acrylic paint takes to that sized surface.

Using a template previously cut to size for that frame, I place it on the new support and draw the rectangle around it. When I finish the painting, I’ll cut to the lines and will have a painting that will fit perfectly into the tiny frame.

I put a tiny dot of blue-tack on the back of each corner, and affix my support to a piece of black foamcore that has also been sized with matte medium. The black helps reduce glare as I work, and makes it easier to support the tiny painting.

I set up my painting reference next to my easel, and put a photo reference of the scene up on the computer. I can zoom in and out of the photo reference to help me with the details, while using the color from my plein air piece.

I sketched in my composition with just a few pencil lines, the coated the whole surface with Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide. That served the dual purpose of sealing the drawing and killing the white of the support.

This is as far as I was able to get without magnification! I have a goose neck lamp with a flourescent bulb and a built-in magnifying glass. I brought that over and worked a couple more hours to finish off the painting. The painting was then cut with an Xacto knife to fit in the frame.

For the sake of the photo of the finished painting, I put it into the frame temporarily. It will actually have to come out to be sealed and then varnished in a week or so. Once that is dry, it will be glued into the frame, and a backing put on that will cover the painting and frame from behind, so it will look like it came straight out of a high end frame shop!

Hopefully you now have an idea of what goes into turning out one of these little gems. They make great gift items.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Paintings, Jamie's Jewels miniature gems, Landscape, Lighthouses, Olana and Hudson NY, Sold | No Comments »

10×8″, oils on panel, unframed
$250.00 via PayPal, $15 shipping within the US. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for international rates.

Painted on location at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster, New York. I’ve bumped up this painting because it just made it into the local paper! Take a look!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Landscape, Tilly Foster Farm | No Comments »