• If you'd like to have my daily paintings delivered right to your email box, just.....

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner



    All images are Copyright Protected and the property of Jamie Williams Grossman. Paintings and photos displayed on this site may not be reprinted, copied, downloaded, displayed elsewhere, or used for any reason without her written permission.



    Jamie Williams Grossman's Profile
    Jamie Williams Grossman's Facebook Profile
    Create Your Badge






    -------------------------------------

    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 'Cold Spring and Garrison' Category

Morning by Garrison Train Station

Posted by Jamie on July 7th, 2010

Click image to enlarge:

100522-Morning-by-Garrison-Train-Station-8x16-650

8×16″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This is a plein air painting that I did in May at Garrison Landing. It needed a few minutes of tweaks in the studio before posting and still needed signing, so I had to wait until I had the Fluid Acrylics out again!

I really enjoyed doing this painting; I need to do more street scenes! I so love the serenity and natural beauty of the Hudson Valley that it’s hard to pull myself away from that in order to paint more of our contemporary and man-made environment.

Fluid acrylics are so much fun. When I first started using acrylics, I used heavy bodied paints and diluted them to a more fluid state. It was very frustrating that this would also dilute the pigment load, and the paints would go streaky on me. Then I learned that the Golden Fluid Acrylics are formulated to have a very high pigment load already in that perfect fluid state. I was in heaven! I’ve loved using these ever since. They do dry quickly, so on a warm, dry day of plein air painting, I switch to Golden OPEN. The Fluids are also perfect for underpainting because they dry so quickly. Then I can finish the painting with Golden OPEN, which gives me extended working time and stays wet on my palette. These two products are so much fun that I sometimes wonder why I ever bother with oil paints!

Cherry Blossom Path — Hudson River Composite

Posted by Jamie on May 21st, 2010

100521-Cherry-Blossom-Path-done-GFA-18x24-4501

18×24″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This was painted on location at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, NY a few weeks ago. It needed a few finishing touches and signing in the studio, which I finally got to do today.

This painting is not an exact scene, but rather a composite of elements that were there at the time. There was a row of cherry blossoms in full bloom that were stunning. There was also a path alongside them; however, that path is actually on the other side of the trees, and runs parallel to the river, rather than toward it. I wanted to switch things around for a change, have the pathway lead the viewer’s eyes to the overview of Constitution Marsh, and bring the cherry blossoms into the painting as well. Fortunately, as artists, we can use our artistic license to have our cake and eat it too!

Spring Afternoon at Boscobel

Posted by Jamie on May 16th, 2010

100430-Spring-Afternoon-at-Boscobel-GO-8x16-done-450

8×16″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

With the cherry blossoms gone at Boscobel Restoration, I turned my attention back to the Hudson River, and the channels weaving through Constitution Marsh. The afternoon light turned the marsh a beautiful, dark reddish color.

I used three of the new Golden OPEN Acrylic colors coming out this month for this painting: Diarylide Yellow, Quinacridone Crimson, and Prussian Blue Hue. I also added Raw Sienna and Cadmium Yellow Primrose. I love these new colors.

If you think you saw this painting before recently, it’s because you have! I posted it a couple of weeks ago, but decided to do some additional work on it. While I was painting on location, a wonderful ship went by out on the river. It was too early in the process to put it into the painting at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it in the painting. I added the ship the other day from a photo, and reworked a little of the foliage too while I was at it.

Here’s a photo of my setup and the painting with the scene, before I put in the ship. It’s always fun to see the painting and vista together!

100430-Spring-Afternoon-at-Boscobel-GO-scene-450

West Point from Garrison

Posted by Jamie on May 15th, 2010

100515-West-Point-From-Garrison-8x10-scene-adj-450

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I dragged myself out of bed this morning with a sinus infection, ear infection and strep throat (That’s why you haven’t seen any paintings coming off my easel for a few days!) and drove to Garrison to participate in the twice-a-year Artists on Location event. It was cold and windy along the river. I didn’t want to travel far to do my painting, so I set up right on the landing behind Garrison Art Center and painted this view of West Point. I loved the way the deep shadows cast by the foreground trees set up the painting.

There were several other artists painting on the landing too. Everybody was having difficulty holding onto their stuff with the stiff gusts of wind. Several paintings blew off the easels and of course we couldn’t use our sun umbrellas. I was cold and not feeling so great already, so I just did a small panting, finished it up as quickly as I could, framed it in the car, and brought it into the auction venue.

Of course, leave it to me to forget my camera. Grrrr! I took a quick photo of the scene and painting with my camera phone, since I won’t get it back again to photograph it if it sells at the auction. The painting ended up in the shade with most of the scene in the light, so it looks dark, but is not in real life. My phone takes terrible photos; it also can’t focus on something this close, but at least you get a little idea of what I did out there this morning. The auction is at 5:30pm tonight.

Palette:
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Yellow Medium and Deep
Pyrrole Red
Prussian Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White

100430-Cherry-Blossoms-and-West-Point-GO-9x12-450

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

On Friday morning, I dashed back to Boscobel, hoping that the cherry blossoms would still be in bloom. To my dismay, most of them had come down in the strong winds during the week. I found this one tree that still had blooms on it, and pulled out my artistic license to add a few more.

From this vantage point at Boscobel, Constitution Marsh stretches out below, and the West Point Military Academy is on the hillside across the Hudson River. You can barely make out the buildings of West Point on the hillside in the painting.

Palette: Hansa Yellow Opaque, Diarylide Yellow, Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Crimson, Transparent Red Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Titanium White

100423-Leaning-Toward-Breakneck-Ridge-wc-11x15-450

11×15″ (quarter sheet) watercolor on Fabriano Artistico
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

It was a beautiful evening on Friday along the Hudson River in Beacon, NY. My painting buddy, Sue, went with me to Long Dock after we left Boscobel, and I did this quarter sheet watercolor before sunset. Facing Cold Spring, this cluster of trees was leaning toward Breakneck Ridge, creating a wonderful composition.

I love my new Plein Air Pro watercolor easel. Since it has the little shelf, I’m thinking I can probably use it for smaller oil and acrylic paintings too, though I haven’t tried that yet. Here’s a photo of the scene and the easel:

100423-Leaning-Toward-Breakneck-Ridge-wc-11x15-scene-500v

Bright Boscobel Blossoms on the Hudson

Posted by Jamie on April 22nd, 2010

090427-bright-boscobel-blossoms-hrq3-11x14-425

11×14″, Oils on mounted Multimedia Artboard (ready to frame)
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This was painted on a gorgeous, warm spring day. I headed out to Boscobel Restoration overlooking the Hudson River in Garrison, New York, and took in the spectacular cherry blossoms there. The saturated pinks against the blue sky were intense! Going back tomorrow……

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Raw Sienna
Permanent Rose
Alizarin Crimson
Cerulean Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Viridian
Titanium White

Spring Beginnings at Boscobel

Posted by Jamie on April 13th, 2010

100413-Spring-Beginnings-at-Boscobel-12x16-4501

12×16″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Today was one of those early, overcast spring days, with the foliage just emerging, and the flowering trees starting to bud. As always, the view overlooking Constitution Marsh and the Hudson River was spectacular.

100413-Spring-Beginnings-at-Boscobel-scene-450

In order to maintain the limited color out in the marsh, I stuck to a two-color palette of Transparent Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue until the very end, when I added a touch of Cadmium Yellow — just enough to mix a hint of green for the foreground shrubs and treetops.

Rising Mist at Daybreak Over the Hudson River

Posted by Jamie on April 10th, 2010

100410-Rising-Mist-at-Daybreak-Hudson-5x7-GA-450

5×7″, Golden Acrylics on Ampersand Gessoboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Every once in awhile, we see something so extraordinary that we almost can’t believe it, even when witnessing the scene with our own two eyes. This pink, rising mist on the Hudson River that I saw one morning in Cold Spring as I arrived to paint, was one of those occasions. Initially, it totally obscured the mountains of the Hudson Highlands. As the pink shroud lifted from east to west, the towering hills emerged from the mist.

Sunset Sketch Over Storm King Mountain

Posted by Jamie on January 14th, 2010

080911-sunset-over-storm-king-6x8-3-400

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!

Watercolor Wednesday

Posted by Jamie on December 4th, 2009

081001-bench-with-a-hudson-view-7x5-wc-450v

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

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

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:

081001-bench-with-a-view-7x5-drawing-wc-400

Lifting Haze in Constitution Marsh

Posted by Jamie on November 23rd, 2009

081031-lifting-haze-in-constitution-marsh-6x8-400

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

I hiked into Constitution Marsh on the Hudson River while the skies were overcast, but they didn’t stay that way for long. Keeping up with changing light as I painted was a real challenge! I brought just my oil paints and my Guerrilla Painter Thumbox in a backpack. That’s about all one could comfortably carry in over the hill and along the trails and boardwalks.

Breakneck Ridge and a Yellow Sky

Posted by Jamie on November 18th, 2009

091118-Breakneck-Ridge-and-a-Yellow-Sky-9x12-450

9×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

Today I returned to the location where I painted yesterday. When I first arrived there, the sky was totally blue. I had to run back to the car to get my glasses, and by the time I returned, there were white clouds. Twenty minutes later, there was this dramatic yellow sky. I decided to stick with that! It wasn’t long before the sky changed yet again, but I really liked the drama of the yellow. When plein air painting, at some point we need to stick with the plan; otherwise we risk spending the day chasing the light and never finishing a painting!

I’m really loving this spot where Fishkill Creek empties out into the Hudson River, and the mountains of the Hudson Highlands loom in the distance. I’m so glad I found this place! After so many years of painting in the Hudson Valley, it’s always exciting to find a spot that offers new and varied scenery.

Painting Along the Hudson

Posted by Jamie on November 17th, 2009

091117-Fishkill-Creek-Hudson-River-12x16-scene-450

Today I was painting along the Hudson River and it was quite the challenge! I went with two friends to this beautiful marsh/river view, where Fishkill Creek empties out into the Hudson River. The big hump-like mountain is Breakneck Mountain. It’s rather distinctive!

I didn’t have time to finish my painting before the light started to shift too much to continue, but I don’t think there’s all that much left to do. It will mainly be a matter of working on the foreground tree, a little sky finishing, and some adjustments to the background. I’ll repost it when it’s done. Here’s how far I got today on location:

091117-Fishkill-Creek-Hudson-River-12x16-wip1-450

This is the time of year when I’m trying to reap as much as I can out of what’s left of the milder weather. There will be plenty of bad weather days ahead to complete these in the studio, so I try to gather as much information about color and composition as I can while on location.

Moody Day at Tioronda Falls

Posted by Jamie on November 16th, 2009

091113-Moody-Day-at-Tioronda-Falls-450

9×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This painting was started on location and finished up in the studio. It was one of those cold, overcast, pre-winter days that generally lack excitement, but the falls were spectacular and made all the drama.

Below is a photo of the painting showing what was completed on location. I tried my best to capture all the information I’d need to finish it in the studio. There wasn’t really much left to do—mostly filling in some background color and tweaking a bit here and there.

091113-Moody-Day-at-Tioronda-Falls-wip1-450

My palette for this painting:
Red Oxide Transparent (RGH)
Yellow Oxide Transparent (RGH)
Cadmium Scarlet (Winsor Newton)
Permanent Carmine (RGH)
Prussion Blue (RGH)
Ultramarine Blue (RGH)
Cadmium Yellow Primrose (RGH)
Titanium White (RGH & WN Griffin mixed half and half)

Show Opening at Bannerman Island Gallery November 14, 4-8pm

Posted by Jamie on November 13th, 2009

While out painting at Bannerman Island with friends two weeks ago, we were offered a show at Bannerman Island Gallery! The opening is this Saturday, November 14, 4-8pm. I’ll have some of my new fall works there, including the one featured below.

BannermanInvite.11.09.JWG

Fall Along the Hudson River

Posted by Jamie on November 11th, 2009

080904-fall-along-the-hudson-5x7-400brighter

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This beautiful view of the Hudson River was painted from a photo I took. I love the look of the Hudson Highlands as the trees lose their leaves. They take on the most beautiful pinky-violet color until the greens of summer re-emerge. I have done an 18×24″ painting of this scene as well.

Canoing the Hudson River in Fall

Posted by Jamie on November 5th, 2009

081125-canoing-the-hudson-in-fall-12x16-600

12×16″, Pastels on Wallis sanded paper, custom matted and framed to 16×20
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I did a tiny, 6×6″ acrylic painting of this scene and liked it so much that I’d been meaning to do a larger version for quite some time. I broke out the pastels for this 12×16″ rendition. I hadn’t worked in pastel for quite some time, and really enjoyed the immediacy of the medium and color brilliance. I think perhaps there is a still larger version to be done at some point down the road!

Storm King and Breakneck Ridge

Posted by Jamie on October 25th, 2009


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

This large painting was done on location in Cold Spring, New York over a period of several days. It was pretty windy some of that time, and I thought the painting was going to act as a sail and carry off the entire easel from time to time! I was exhausted by the time the painting was completed, with the long days and long drives over to the location, but it was worth it.

Statue at Saint Basil on the Hudson River

Posted by Jamie on October 10th, 2009


7 x 5″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard, unframed
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

There’s quite a collection of wonderful objects, architectural treasures, and river overviews to paint at this favorite spot along the Hudson. I was drawn by the strong contrasts of light and shadow as the sun began it’s shift to the west, and the rusty undertones of the statue.

Fall Stroll in Garrison

Posted by Jamie on October 8th, 2009

36×24″, Oils on stretched canvas, unframed
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

This large oil painting is a scene painted from a photo I took on Indian Hill Road in Garrison, New York. It is a mostly-unpaved road that leads down to Constitution Marsh. The fall foliage there is always the best anywhere!

For those who like to see things in progress, below is an image of how things began. I worked off both a computer monitor and printed photo, and used them more or less as a springboard to create the painting. I washed the background with yellows to start. This would give the feeling of the light filtering through the fall leaves as I added more layers. Once that yellow wash was on the canvas, I went right to the darkest darks and mapped out the painting in light and shadow.


The image below gives you an idea of how I go about laying in the leaves and colors.

091003-Morning-at-Castle-Rock-450

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This was painted early yesterday morning for Artists on Location in Garrison, NY. There was a misty drizzle on and off, so I found a spot off to the side of the dirt road where I could paint in my car! Each time it started drizzling, I’d take my pochade box into the car, only to re-emerge as the precipitation paused. When I was nearly done, the police asked me to move because they were afraid I was going to get run over! I moved over to that field on the right to finish the painting.

I’d really like to go back there soon to do a larger version of this painting. If anybody wants to commission it, please email me! This one is sold.

Fog, Haze, and Sunlight on the Hudson

Posted by Jamie on September 9th, 2009

090908-Fog-Haze-and-Sunlight-on-the-Hudson-5x7-450

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

It’s not often that you can paint fog, haze, and bright sunlight simultaneously, but that’s what was happening at Boscobel yesterday! The fog was rolling down the river from north to south, so the southernmost mountains of the Hudson Highlands were still completely obscured by the fog. The closer hills were faded by the remaining haze, and the clearing skies overhead let the sun shine through onto the marsh and water.

Constitution Marsh is just starting to turn color. I could see the oranges and shades of rust beginning. Soon they will overtake the green and the marsh will be ablaze with its fall splendor.

What a time I had with this photo….The painting is warmer and brighter than I seem to be able to adjust for. I think maybe it’s time to start using a better camera to photograph my paintings!

Gateway to Storm King Mountain

Posted by Jamie on August 18th, 2009

090818-Gateway-to-Storm-King-16x20-450losat

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

Below is the painting in its initial form, as it came home from my plein air expedition. I was always bothered by that large piling so close to the center of the painting. Adjusting the composition, in this case, was very simple. By enlarging the piling to the right, I was able to remove that focal point in the center, rebalancing the painting. I think it works very well now! Below is the original, so that you can compare. Color and value differences that you see are due to the paintings being adjusted on different computers. (That gives you an indication of how different paintings can look from one computer to another, depending on our monitors and settings.)

080911-gateway-to-storm-king-16x20-done-800

This was painted on location in Cold Spring, New York, facing Storm King Mountain. I paint all over the Hudson River Valley, and the Hudson Highlands region certainly rates as one of the most dramatic along the river. I had to wait a long time for the clouds to break before they struck the mountain, but once the sun broke through it was quite spectacular.

For those who like to see some of the process, here is a photo of the Quinacridone Gold underpainting that I did for this one:

080911-gateway-to-storm-king-16x20-wip2-400

Summer Greens at Boscobel

Posted by Jamie on July 14th, 2009

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

100_1028

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.

Sunset Over West Point

Posted by Jamie on June 17th, 2009

090617-sunset-over-west-point-hrq21-hs-425

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

I’m doing a lot of small studies for larger paintings lately. This is a scene painted from a photo I took up at Garrison Castle, overlooking the Hudson River. It’s not surprising that Frederic Church of the Hudson River School painters selected this site for the Osborn family to build their castle in the sky!

This is a view straight up the Hudson River, where the currents are the most treacherous, and the river channel narrows and wraps around West Point Military Academy. Those are the buildings of West Point silhouetted in the painting in the foreground peninsula.

The scene is so complex, and takes in many of the most famous spots in the Hudson Highlands. You can see the point of Breakneck Ridge on the right, and Bannerman Island even further upriver. The mountain farthest back on the left is Storm King, and the Catskills are straight ahead off in the distance. The Hudson illuminates at sunset from this high vantage point.

I think this sunset view through the Hudson Highlands from above is deserving of a really, really big painting sometime in the not too distant future!

This painting is Number 21 from my Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, celebrating the 400 year anniversary of Henry Hudson’s travels up the river.

090516-rainy-day-at-boscobel-hrq11-6x8-425

6×8″, oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Today was the big Artists on Location event in Garrison, NY. I was expecting the skies to clear, but that didn’t happen, and this was painted in the rain. Fortunately, I had my big “ShadeBuddy” umbrella with me, and the winds were calm enough that I could use it!

The huge sailboat off in the distance came by at just the right time, and provided the perfect element to scale the painting and give it a focal point.

090512-morning-view-over-constitution-marsh-hrq9-18x24-425

18×24″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Today was another stunning day at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, NY. The Cherry Blossoms are all gone now, so I turned my attention to the overview of Constitution Marsh and the Hudson River. It was amazing how fast the light changed. The light and shadows on the hills reversed itself, and the marsh became cooler and darker as it was silhouetted by the light coming from the south. I kept my original plan with the morning light. The photo below shows the scene in the afternoon with my almost-finished painting.

090512-morning-view-over-constitution-marsh-hrq9-18x24-scene2-425

This painting has wonderful presence in its large size with the strong color and light. I can’t wait to see it in a frame!

Cherry Blossoms and a Dogwood

Posted by Jamie on May 3rd, 2009

080505-cherry-blossoms-and-a-dogwood-8×10-600.jpg

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on 8 ply 100% rag board
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

The Cherry Blossoms at Boscobel wind around this little path. It goes along the Hudson River, and then circles around behind the herb garden, where the Cherry Blossoms are joined by dogwoods in bloom and apple trees.

080430-may-blossoms-8×10-600.jpg

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Saunders Waterford 100% rag watercolor paper, 300lb cp. Painting will be beautifully varnished and will be mailed with a backing board, to frame it exactly like an oil painting (without glass) if desired.
For purchase information, please email me at JamieWG@aol.com.

Every spring, it’s a race to paint the Cherry Blossoms before they go. It seems that as soon as they bloom and rain comes along, which it does constantly this time of year, they are gone until the following spring. I love this view of them against the mountain.