Clouds Over the Palisades: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 23
12×16″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This painting was posted a few weeks ago without the barge and tug. I feel the boats change the painting enough to warrant reposting it. I think they add a lot to the painting, don’t you? When the barge and tug went by, I wasn’t far enough along with the painting to put them in. However, I was quick to grab them with my camera, and so I had the reference image to add them later. They help give scale to the scenery, and are so typical of the boat traffic that goes up and down the river in the course of a day.

I spent a great day down in Hastings-on-Hudson. This wonderful, small park is right on the Hudson River, with the cliffs of the Palisades looming over the far shoreline. The morning started out overcast, but broke into big, billowy clouds by late morning.

This is Number 23 in my Hudson River Quadricentennial Series of paintings, commemorating the 400 year anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river.

Below is an image of the painting before I put in the barge and tugboat.

Here is a detail of the boats below the cliffs:

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

Big Apple Skyline: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 30
6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is the New York City Skyline as seen from a park along the Hudson River in Hastings-on-Hudson. I started this on location, and completed the painting in the studio. ‘Love those skyline blues! You can see the George Washington Bridge where it spans the Hudson just north Manhattan.

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

Breaking Blues at Olana: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 29
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This oil sketch was done from just outside the home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Church. He had this classic view of the Hudson from most of the terraces and many of the rooms in his beautiful Moorish-styled mansion. The land was nearly all farmland back then. The trees have taken over since he lived here, and many of the vistas he enjoyed have become obscured by the overtaking foliage. I’m told that they will be doing some clearing in the not too distant future, to bring back some of those farmland views present in Church’s time.

There were a lot of visitors to the site while I was painting this. Occasionally the blue sky would poke through the layers of clouds as I painted, and I would snatch the opportunity to include those hopeful, fair-weather breaks of cerulean in the painting. Two minutes later, it would be completely overcast again. I found myself having to explain to visitors more than once that I really, really did see that blue sky just a minute ago!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

On Saturday I had a show opening at the Palenville Library. From there, I drove up the mountain to South Lake, where Thomas Cole did his famous painting, Lake with Dead Trees, and many other Hudson River School painters did their renditions of Round Top Mountain’s peak looking down upon the lake. It was my intention to finish a painting I’d started there on Friday. However, the light was totally different, and I saw a beautiful sunset emerging. I decided to do this new painting instead, and chased the sunset to the very end.

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

Catskill Mountain House Vista: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 28
8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

When I arrived at the site of the Catskill Mountain House atop South Mountain early in the morning, I was above a heavy cloud cover. It felt like I was in outer space looking down at the earth! As I painted, more and more of the clouds gave way to the rolling fields below, and the Hudson River appeared out of the hazy covering.

It is from this exact spot that Frederic Church did his famous painting, Above the Clouds. This was a popular painting location for many of the Hudson River School painters.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

We packed up at Olana amidst the thunder and lightning and crossed the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, heading to my Palenville house. Once we arrived there at the foot of South Mountain, we were greeted by a beautiful sunset even though we were facing east from the back porch. I pulled out a panel and set down colors and shapes, then finished this in the studio on Sunday.

A week before, my husband saw a bear back here in the late afternoon! No signs of Smokey while painting this!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

Layers of Blue Mountains: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 27
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

After visiting the Thomas Cole Historic Site, we crossed the Hudson River to tour the home of another famous Hudson River School painter: Frederic Church. A fabulous guide led us through his Moorish-style home, where we admired the eclectic collections and intricate wall stenciling. A second tour there brought us to a show of his works done on site at Olana, which just opened recently on the second floor of the estate.

Following that dose of inspiration, Gretchen Kelly and I wandered down a trail near the parking lot and came upon this beautiful view of the Hudson River and Catskills. We set up to paint in the strong, warm, late day light, but it wasn’t long before these beautiful, billowy clouds turned into thunderheads. I don’t think I’ve ever packed up my gear so quickly in my life!

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

3×5″, ink and watercolor on cp watercolor paper
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I am finally back from my painting trip! I’ll be posting those paintings during the week as they are photographed and finished. Some were completed on location, while others need some studio work to finish them up. I wanted to post them as I went about my trip, but time and imaging software didn’t allow! Much as I wanted to take photos of the paintings and scenes like I did at Boscobel, I completely forgot the rest of the time! I’d get back to the house and realize I never took out my camera while I was painting. It seems I get that one track mind once I have brushes in my hand.

I took a trip to Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole Historical Site, with a group of 11 painters last week. I’d done the house tour before, and commented here that I saw the River Views show there a few weeks ago. But the show was so wonderful that I was happy to be able to see it again with so many of my plein air friends. Visiting the home of the father of the Hudson River School is a pilgrimage that I like to do from time to time.

The day started out overcast and drizzly, so most of us just sketched rather than setting out all our equipment and not being able to pack up fast in a downpour! A few of us sketched the Thomas Cole house together from the same angle, sitting side by side. Here’s my version.

I’m using an upgrade of my image editing software, which sizes images differently than the previous version. I hope this image comes out large enough to see!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Greene County, Hudson River School, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sketches, Watercolor | No Comments »

You can click this image to see a larger view of the painting.

Summer Greens at Boscobel: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 26
6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Today began my five day painting trip. I started out this morning at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, New York, on the Hudson River. This was my first visit to Boscobel this year since the summer greens took over the landscape. The day has been picture perfect, and I had a wonderful time doing this painting!

I don’t have my image editing software on my laptop yet, so during this trip, I’ll have to just post the images as they come out of the camera, without any adjustments. I tried to take this picture to take in part of the scene as well as the painting, so you’d get an idea of what I was painting. When I get back to my desktop system next week, I’ll add adjusted images of all the paintings to their posts.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Painting/Pochade Box, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 3 Comments »

When I walk into my future studio in Palenville, I get discouraged by how much renovation work there is to do, and how long it’s going to take before I can get this space up and running. It’s got great potential, with 14 windows and two exterior doors, and about 600 square feet of working space.

But what’s an artist to do on these rainy days without a working studio? My dear husband suggested I temporarily take a room in the basement, and set it up to use in the meantime. He took me out to buy a rug, and it has all these great built in shelves for my supplies.

It even has South Mountain as one wall of the room!

It may not be an ideal working space, but I am so happy to have a place upstate where I can work indoors now, in addition to my plein air painting. I have a great studio in Brewster; now I have no excuse not to paint when I go upstate either!

Studio Tours, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Yay! I got my PayPal buttons back up. Finally you’ll again have the convenience of not having to ask for pricing information unless it is not listed for a particular painting, and can just click to pay. I do offer a combined shipping discount for more than one painting, so if you’re purchasing in multiples, you can expect the second painting to add half or less of the shipping cost. Please email me for an invoice in that case, so that I can give you an adjusted total. Following a terrible experience many years ago, when five paintings were destroyed in a single box, I generally do not ship more than two in a box.

As always, feel free to email me with any questions; I always love to hear from all you art-lovers out there.

Jamie

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Late Day Light on the Hudson: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 25
10×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

‘Gotta love the color and light along the Hudson River in the late afternoon. The grass and rocks glow, and there is always soft color above the horizon. There were lots of boats and ships going by too. I took photos of them and I’ll add one to the painting, then will repost it. If anybody chooses to purchase the painting before then, you get to pick the boat that goes into the painting!

I see in posting it here that the color is a little hot-looking. The coloring in the actual painting is softer and more subtle. I will correct it once I paint in the boat (probably next week or the following week) and reshoot the image.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Boats and Ships, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sunrise/Sunset, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

5×7″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
I’m sorry that I don’t yet have my Paypal buttons reinstalled, so please just email me for a Paypal invoice if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I hope to have the buttons up again before the end of the week. Since my laptop died, I wasn’t able to work on it over the weekend! Now I’m up and running again with a great MacBook Pro.

This boat belongs to my friend Mary. It’s so convenient for me that she has her boat moored out here, as it gives me a wonderful painting subject!

I just finished preparing a batch of 65 panels using a new sealer, different gesso, and slightly different application process. This painting is the first one from the batch and WOW, I just love the way these panels are taking the paint!

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 1 Comment »

7×5″, Watercolor on Arches HP
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

What a wonderful holiday weekend! I didn’t paint much, and since my laptop died while I was away, I couldn’t post anything either, or even check email. Sometimes that’s a blessing in disguise. I enjoyed family time, worked around the house, took lots of long walks, and finished preparing a batch of new painting panels.

We have a wildflower meadow upstate and it’s always interesting to see what’s in bloom. I went out early one morning and gathered these flowers for a bouquet. They were a nice sketching subject for a rainy day. I haven’t done much in watercolors lately, so really enjoyed breaking out my little travel set for this one.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Flower Gardens and Flowering Trees, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »