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    If you haven't seen the two-DVD set, "The Impressionists", you don't know what you're missing!

    the-impressionists.jpg


    I rented it from Netflix and absolutely loved it. It is an enactment of the lives of Monet, Renoir, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, and other Impressionist painters living at that time around Paris. Fascinating and eye-opening!





Archive for the 'Catskill Mountains' Category

Olana in Crimson

Posted by Jamie on February 6th, 2012

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(Sorry about the slight glare on the lower left; that’s not on the painting, but just a reflection of the rebounding room lighting here on the wet paint.)
8×10″
Oils on archival linen panel
$265.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I’ve used this color combination in acrylics and watercolor, but I think this is my first go at it in oils. It’s interesting how the mood of the painting is affected by the bright crimson underpainting. Even though almost all of that color is covered over by other paint colors, the air still breathes the warmth of the strong pinky-violet undertones.

Hudson River School artist Frederic Church’s Olana estate remains one of my favorite vistas along the river. I never get tired of painting from there. It seems that when I do tire of a certain view there, a dozen more magical scenes from the property seem to appear!

A number of viewers have written to me recently, commenting on the fact that I haven’t posted any paintings for awhile, and wondering if I fell off the face of the earth! Actually, I’ve been painting up a storm. Winter brings changes with it, and I do lots of experiments with assorted media, commissioned paintings, and charge through countless pages in my sketchbook, using ink and watercolors, visiting places like the Bronx Zoo, Maritime Aquarium, pet stores, Adams Fairacre Farms in Wappingers — any warm indoor location that will have me, with something interesting to draw or paint! I post new work almost daily to my Hudson Valley Sketches site (click here) this time of year. Please do check it out and say hi over there!

If you’d like to see a slightly larger version of the painting, you can click the image below:

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Backlit Meadow in Fall

Posted by Jamie on October 26th, 2011

Click image for a larger, clearer view:

111025-Backlit-Meadow-in-Fall-7x9-wc-600

About 7×9″, Watercolor on paper
$150.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I paint this scene at least once or twice every year as the morning sun streams through the backlit trees. I never get tired of it! This was my first time painting it in watercolor. I did a miniature first, which I’ll post tomorrow, and then this slightly larger version. I feel like I’m finally getting that sparkle in my watercolor work that I’ve been chasing for so long!

Backlit Old Maple Tree in Fall

Posted by Jamie on October 25th, 2011

111025-Backlit-Maple-in-Fall-gouache-7x11-450

7.5×11.25″, Gouache on Stonehenge paper
$175.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I’ve really been enjoying observing and painting these brightly colored, backlit fall scenes. Capturing the brilliance of the color this time of year is an annual fall challenge that I always look forward to, made all the sweeter by the fact that it precedes the period of winter hibernation.

This old, convoluted maple tree has been the subject of many of my sketches and paintings this year. I’ve been watching it for years, thinking about how much I wanted to paint it someday, as I’d walk the dog past it. Finally that temptation became a reality this year, and I did it from many angles in pencil, Cretacolor leads, watercolor, and now gouache. Next year, oils and acrylics!

I’ve been posting ink lightfastness tests to my other blog, Hudson Valley Sketches. If you’re interested in seeing those results, here’s a direct link to yesterday’s post.

Fall from the Top of Hunter Mountain

Posted by Jamie on October 19th, 2011

111010-Fall-from-the-top-of-Hunter-Mountain-5x7-450

5×7″, Oils on archival linen panel
$130.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

The red in the distance in the image above isn’t as strong in the painting as it’s showing on my monitor, but when I adjust that, the foreground goes green! So, you’ll just have to imagine that distance as being much softer in the actual painting.

My husband and I took the “Skyride” (chair lift) up to the top of Hunter Mountain, then spent a few hours hiking at the top and taking photos. Since we were able to ride up there, I brought along some painting supplies. However, I was having way too much fun chatting and walking, having a picnic, and snapping photo references to pull out the paints. This was done from one of my photos instead. My husband is just now downloading his photos taken that day with his Nikon. I’ve been peeking over his shoulder and there are definitely some there I want to paint also!

Three Fall Paintings from Home

Posted by Jamie on October 18th, 2011

Click image for a larger, clearer view:

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I had to wait around the house yesterday for my oil burner to be serviced. Since I didn’t know what time they’d be coming, my friend Jani said she’d come over and paint outside with me for the day. It turned out that the repair guy showed up at 8:30am and was done within a couple of hours, but we were content to stay and paint by the house anyway. Both of these are subjects that I have painted before in one form or another. I’ll discuss that more once I’ve had a chance to do some touch-ups and photograph them individually. This is a photo I snapped with my cellphone camera after coming inside at the end of the day. The paintings seemed to make a nice colorful, autumnal grouping.

Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

The Road Home in Fall

Posted by Jamie on October 8th, 2011

091209-The-Road-Home-fall-12x9-adj-500

12×9″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$335.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

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.

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

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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.

Olana Sunset in Watercolor No. 3

Posted by Jamie on October 5th, 2011

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5×6″, Watercolor on Arches 140# Rough paper
$100.00 plus free shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I painted this on location at Hudson River School painter Frederic Church’s estate, Olana, in Hudson, New York. It is one of the best sunset spots, and many visitors come late in the day just to see the sun setting over the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. On the evenings when the sky doesn’t light up with bright colors, the beauty of the late day light effects still makes it worth the trip up the hillside.

View Southeast from Sunset Rock in Watercolor

Posted by Jamie on October 4th, 2011

You can click the image for a larger, sharper view:

110931-Southeast-from-Sunset-Rock-8x10-wc-720

8×10″, Watercolor on 140# Fabriano Artistico Cold Press paper
$175.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This painting was done from photos that I took on a recent hike with my husband up to Sunset Rock. The most famous view from there is overlooking North South Lake, with Kaaterskill High Peak and Roundtop in the distance. It was a popular painting location even back in the days of the Hudson River School painters. I decided to look for some alternate vistas up there, and it wasn’t too hard to find some that appealed to me — like this one! You can not only see west to the lakes and Catskill Mountains from this vantage point, but also southeast to the Hudson River Valley below.

Tonal Sketch of Artist’s Nest Falls

Posted by Jamie on October 3rd, 2011

Click image for a larger, sharper view:

110926-Artists-Nest-Falls-Tonal-Sketch-7x11-720

Eighth sheet (about 7.5×11.25), colored leads on Stonehenge paper
$130.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

My regular viewers here have seen this waterfall painted from many different angles and seasons, in many mediums, and various sizes and formats. Now you can see the tonal sketch version! I am really enjoying working this way, with a light and a dark on toned paper. I sat on a gardening cushion on a rock at the water line to do this sketch, with my little dog Rondo wading in the pools of the waterfalls.

I’m disappointed with the way these toned drawings reproduce digitally. The paper color is so much warmer and more inviting than the color I’m able to capture with my camera, and the shadows have more depth. The tone of the paper is slightly darker than what I’m seeing on my monitor too, but when I adjust that, I lose the sparkle on the lights. All I can say is, the original looks much better than the image in this case!

Tree and Rock Sketch from the Studio Window

Posted by Jamie on September 27th, 2011

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Sepia and white lead on Stonehenge archival rag paper
1/8 sheet size (7.5×11.25)
$130.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This was a drawing I did from the studio window on a rainy day. I’ve been wanting to sketch or paint this view for a long time and finally got my chance! I was looking at sketches last week by Hudson River School artist BBG Stone, and became captivated by the way he would zero in on his focal point in a certain area of his drawing, leaving the rest in a more unfinished state. I liked the way it created a vignette within the scene, and I’m looking forward to exploring this style in my drawings and sketches.

Usually I use this approach of a dark and a light on midtone paper in the figure studio, but BBG Stone employed it very successfully in many of his landscape sketches, so I had to give it a go too. I loved working this way! More like this will definitely follow in the near future!

Here is an image you can click on to get a larger, sharper view:

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Thomas Cole House

Posted by Jamie on September 7th, 2011

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Click painting for a larger, sharper image.
9×12, Oils on archival linen panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is a new painting of the Thomas Cole House, done from a small plein air painting and a photo as references.

Hidden Falls

Posted by Jamie on September 6th, 2011

110902-Hidden-Falls-8x10-GF-450-c

8×10″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on archival Canson board
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Deep in the woods is a stunning waterfall with clear water, rusty colors, and striking rock outcroppings, set in a hemlock grove. I often hike there with my husband, but this was my first time going with paints and an easel. I also used the opportunity to test drive a new easel setup, which I loved. More on that coming soon!

Here is my easel and painting at the scene when I was almost finished. You can see that by then the sun had shifted quite a bit. Much is in shadow in the photo that was very visible to the human eye:

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Here’s an image of the painting that you can click on to get a larger, clearer view:

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Now that I know I can easily hike there with this easel, I’m looking forward to going back and taking on a bigger painting!

Late Day at South Lake in Watercolor

Posted by Jamie on August 1st, 2011

Click image to see a larger, clearer photo of the painting:

110730-Late-Day-at-South-Lake-WC-720

7×10″, Watercolor on Arches paper
$150.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This is one of my favorite late day/sunset locations. It was also a favorite spot of Hudson River School painters Thomas Cole and Jasper Cropsey! I haven’t done many watercolor paintings lately, so I pulled those out for a nice change of pace.

Pomeroy Falls in Shadow

Posted by Jamie on July 8th, 2011

110630-Pomeroy-Shadow-8x10-GF-550v

10×8″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on archival canvas panel
$275.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

Late in the afternoon, the sun ducks behind the tree line, and Pomeroy Falls lies in shadow for the rest of the day. The foreground, further out from the tree line, is still able to catch the sun’s rays for another hour or so, illuminating the tree in front and some of the ground foliage. I thought it would be interesting to paint this scene with the subdued waterfall, which would be the natural focal point in light, and letting the foreground steal the show.

After the Rain at Pomeroy Falls

Posted by Jamie on July 6th, 2011

110630-Pomeroy-After-the-Rain-16x20-GF-450

16×20″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on Canson Board
$750.00 plus $30 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

The day after a big rainfall, my friend Gretchen and I decided to venture to Pomeroy Falls to experience the waterfall at its most dramatic. It did not disappoint! We planned for a full day of painting, so I had enough time to pull out a large panel. I love painting with Golden Fluid Acrylics and Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid. When I get immersed in this medium, I often wonder why I ever paint with anything else!

Here is a larger image; just click it to enlarge:

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Story Farm

Posted by Jamie on June 22nd, 2011

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5×7″, Oils on Raymar linen panel
$125.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This is the farm in Catskill where I get all my fresh fruits and vegetables when I’m upstate.

Hot Day by the Waterfall

Posted by Jamie on June 9th, 2011

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5×7″, Oils on archival oil primed linen panel
$125.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

It was so hot out today that my friend Mara and I were trying to decide whether to stay in the studio and paint the wildflowers I picked this morning, or venture out into the yard in the heat. We went exploring, finding shade and irresistible views at the base of the little waterfall. It was surprisingly cool there with my feet in the cold water while I painted! I was attracted to the strong contrasts of the shadow side of the rock and white of the bubbling water catching the light, combined with the transparency of the cool pool below where the light penetrated the surface.

Here’s an image you can click for a slightly larger view of the painting:

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Rip Van Winkle Sunset

Posted by Jamie on June 7th, 2011

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5×7″, Oils on oil primed linen panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Anybody who’s ever driven across the Rip Van Winkle bridge over the Hudson River has been treated to this fabulous Catskill skyline vista. It’s even more dramatic at sunset, with the colors springing up from behind the distant mountains. I’ve been going there recently to take photos. I like the way the islands in the river enhance the composition at this location.

Mossy Falls

Posted by Jamie on May 23rd, 2011

110523-Mossy-Falls-16x12-550v

16×12″, Oils on archival oil primed linen panel
$495.00 plus $25 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I’ve been wanting to paint this waterfall for such a long time! Over half of it is this beautiful rock ledge covered with the most gorgeous green moss I’ve ever seen. I finally had my opportunity when the sun broke out briefly on Saturday. I did end up having to pack up quickly in the rain and finish it up in the studio, but it was a thrill to be out there painting for awhile. As far as I know, this waterfall has no name, so I call it Mossy Falls. I’d guess it to be about 25-30 feet high.

Spring View to Kaaterskill Clove

Posted by Jamie on May 8th, 2011

110506-Spring-View-to-the-Clove-8x10-450

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$200.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This was painted on location over the weekend in the Catskills. I definitely want to revisit this location a few more times.

Nick Painting at the Beaver Pond

Posted by Jamie on April 29th, 2011

110428-Nick-Painting-at-Beaver-Pond-5x7-450

5×7″, Oils on archival oil primed linen panel
$125.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

The beavers have been very industrious lately and built a second pond below this one. They backed the water up to this first dam and extended the height. It’s now probably about four feet, including what’s below the water in the foreground.

Nick made friends with a Canadian Goose that came to greet us, and put him into his painting. I was more interested in the splash of red color offered by Nick’s shirt, so I painted Nick painting the pond.

Artists Nest Falls

Posted by Jamie on April 28th, 2011

110428-Artist-Nest-Falls-5x7-450

5×7″, Oils on archival oil primed linen panel
$125.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I had five artist friends over to paint a few days ago and everybody chose to paint waterfalls! Sometimes it’s hard for me to paint when I’m the hostess, but I did manage to get this little one nearly finished, and just tweaked it a bit in the studio. Today it rained really hard all day. I just walked my dog past this waterfall and it’s now extended all the way across those ledges. I just might have to go paint it again!

Yesterday I was sketching in Hudson, New York with a couple of artist friends. What a great place to draw and paint! If you’d like to see those sketches, just click here.

The Lower Beaver Pond — work in progress

Posted by Jamie on April 15th, 2011

110413-lower-beaver-pond-18x24-wip4-800

18×24″, Oils on archival, oil primed linen panel

This is a larger painting that I’m working on from a photo reference of one of the beaver ponds on our property upstate. I hope I get to finish it before the weather gets too beautiful to work inside anymore. Perhaps I’ll have to do a spring version on location!

Through the Tunnel to Devil’s Kitchen

Posted by Jamie on April 12th, 2011

110330-Through-the-Tunnel-to-Devils-Kitchen-12x9-6-darker

12×9″, Oils on archival oil primed linen panel
$335.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

You can stand in this spot, turn in any direction, and see a scene worthy of a painting! This is in the Platte Clove area of the Catskills, known for its steep and dangerous cliffs and dramatic waterfalls.

For some reason, the foreground rocks photographed much higher in blue and purple chroma than they are in the actual painting. I wasn’t able to dull that down without killing the luminosity in the sky.

Color Study of North South Lake from Sunset Rock

Posted by Jamie on April 7th, 2011

110404-Sunset-Rock-Study-12x16-450

12×16″, Oils on archival linen panel
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, and many other Hudson River School artists painted this view from Sunset Rock. It is truly one of the most spectacular places in the Catskills, and well worth the hike to get there!

Contemplation

Posted by Jamie on March 29th, 2011

110329-Contemplation-12x16-450

12×16″, Oils on archival linen panel
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This is one of my favorite painting locations in the Catskills. You can sit on the rocks for hours and hear nothing but rushing water. The water is crystal clear, and so transparent that the pool looks a lot shallower than it really is!

This painting was done with a lot of transparent pigments, a few semi-transparent, a couple of opaque pigments, and a little help from artist extraordinaire, David Dunlop. As plein air season gets underway, I’ll have to see if I can cart enough extra tubes with me to keep a transparent palette for at least part of the process. You can see how it really makes the painting glow from within.

Here’s an image that you can click on to see the painting a little larger and clearer:

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Fall Sunset at Olana

Posted by Jamie on February 16th, 2011

110216-Fall-Sunset-at-Olana-6x6-450-darker

6×6″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard (archival panel)
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I can’t even count how many sunsets I’ve witnessed at Frederic Church’s homestead, Olana. Sometimes the sun just drops like a stone and the lights go out. Other times, I’m treated to a magnificent festival of light and color. Photos from those occasions become the inspiration for many paintings in various sizes, formats, and mediums. Such was the evening of this particular sunset. The yellow light blazed behind the Catskill Mountains, and there was a red rim of fluting along the edge where land meets sky. On these evenings, one can feel Frederic Church’s passion for the view that he was fortunate enough to call “home”.

Fishing at North South Lake

Posted by Jamie on January 27th, 2011

110127-Fishing-at-North-South-Lake-5x7-450

5×7″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

When I saw this scene, I wondered if the person who was fishing realized that he was standing right where Thomas Cole did his famous painting, Lake with Dead Trees. Whenever I’m here at North South Lake and the surrounding area, I can feel the spirit of the land that drew the Hudson River School painters to these locations. Both Cole and Cropsey painted here beside this lake, and I’m sure many others too. That’s Roundtop Mountain in the distance, although it’s often confused with nearby (and similarly-shaped) Kaaterskill High Peak.

I painted this one in my little 5×7 box — perfect for “stealth painting” in all kinds of situations! :)

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Sunset at the Beaver Pond

Posted by Jamie on January 26th, 2011

110125-Sunset-at-the-Beaver-Pond-16x20-450

16×20″, Oils on archival linen panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is one of my favorite places to paint. I’ve done several paintings of this beaver pond in all seasons, both from photos and on location. I never get tired of it! You can click here to see images of the painting in progress.

The subtle colors and textures are so much nicer in the actual painting. A lot doesn’t show up in the photo, but if you’d like to see a larger picture of this painting, click the image below:

110125-Sunset-at-the-Beaver-Pond-16x20-800

Beaver Pond at Sunset

Posted by Jamie on January 20th, 2011

110120-Beaver-Pond-at-Sunset-6x6-450

6×6″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

One summer evening, I was sitting in my house upstate at sunset when the most amazing color started to form in the sky. I grabbed my camera and ran out back to the beaver pond in time to catch the blues, violets and pinks reflecting in the water. I’ve been meaning to paint from that photo ever since!