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!

7×5″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard, custom framed to 11×9″
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This is a painting I did some time ago. It is seasonal and has always been one of my favorite little garden/fountain paintings, so I am reposting it today.

Although this scene was an enormous challenge to paint, I think I had an even more difficult time trying to get the photo right! I can’t seem to get the dark trees in the background light enough without bleaching out the foreground flowers. This painting will be available here on my website for only a couple of weeks.

Since this scene presented so many interesting challenges, I decided to take a few extra pictures to share.

Here is a photo of the scene:

I was immediately drawn to the strong contrasts, and the L-shaped composition created by the flowers, fountain and figure. I also love painting stone walls, so it was a plus to have that in the composition as well. Fitting all this onto a 5×7 panel didn’t prove to be easy.

Here’s my pack stool and lightweight painting box. The umbrella clamp is affixed to my stool. I was using a Pittman bag, which can hold my box flat so the paint won’t shift as I change locations. My panel carrier and extra paints fit in there too, and even the umbrella.

Here’s a closeup of the box, ready for paint. The panel is affixed to the box lid with blu-tac. It works great. The panels and paper stay put, and there are no clips or clamps obscuring parts of the painting surface. My paper towel is clipped onto the box lid to allow more room alongside the palette for paints and my sprayer.

The plastic paint storage containers were purchased in the camping section of Sports Authority. They have a rubber seal around the outside so the paint stays fresh. I find it much easier to set out paint this way, rather than having to search for a tube and open caps.

The box further to the back contains my standard plein air palette:
Cadmium Yellow Primrose
Pyrrole Red
Transparent Red Oxide
Phthalo Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White

The box in the front contains add-ons that I use in the figure studio. I bring it along for plein air too, just in case….It has
Naples Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Red Light
Oxide of Chromium
Cerulean Blue Chromium hue
Permanent Alizarin
I also carry quinacridone magenta with me for these garden scenes.

Whoever said that every painting has to have an ugly stage sure knew what they were talking about. There’s mine! I toned the upper part of the painting with transparent red oxide, and painted the figures a dark, greyed blue. That way, even in the underpainting, I could judge the figures more carefully. Then I worked in the green background. I blocked in the area of strong yellow below to reserve it—-a useful tip given to me by wonderful plein air artist, Lee Haber.

From there, it was lots of fun getting the painting to emerge. I feel like my painting process doesn’t really get underway until after this block-in step is done and I have a layer of paint down. Getting this much done didn’t take all that long, but I forgot to stop and get more pictures once I got past this beginning stage. It did eventually get done.

I started another painting later in the afternoon, but it started to rain and I had to pack up. I’ll finish it from a photo on a rainy day later in the week. I hope you’ve enjoyed these extra photos!

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

Gouache in my 10×10″ kraft paper art journal

Text: The forsythia came and went before I even had a chance to paint it this spring. I only saw my beautiful hyacinths blooming in the distance from the studio window! I went outside the studio this morning and cut these lilac blooms, determined to capture some of the essence of spring from my yard before it was too late! Hopefully the cherry blossoms at Boscobel will still be blooming tomorrow.

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

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

This was painted from a photo I took while vacationing in Virginia and Washington DC. The magnolias and cherry blossoms were absolutely stunning! There was no time on the busy family trip to paint or even sketch, but I stopped outside The White House and some of the monuments to take some photos for spring paintings. No signs of President Obama out on the lawn that day!

My palette for this painting was:
Cadmium Lemon
Raw Sienna
Permanent Red Medium
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Chromatic Black
Titanium White

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

I saw this couple walking among the cherry blossoms in Washington DC. It was the perfect photo op! Blossoms were everywhere—on the path, on the grass, and even on the trees!

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Light
Permanent Red Medium
Permanent Alizarin
Phthalo Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Viridian
Chromatic Black
Titanium White

Golden Fluid Acrylics, 2″ x 1.75″, including frame
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is the third time I’ve painted this little Monet copy of Red Poppies at Argenteuil in miniature format. I love doing these little jewels! There are a couple more I want to do soon. They’re such a nice change from my larger pieces. I take them as far as I can with just my glasses on, then switch to a lit magnification lens to finish, all with teeny tiny brushes!

These miniatures are always sent out in gold gift boxes and make elegant gift items for that special occasion. You can commission a scene of your choosing, a scene from one of my other paintings, or a copy of an Old Master that is no longer under copyright protection.

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

This little waterfall presents a nearly perfect composition from any angle. I think I’ve painted it from five different spots now, and I feel I’ve only just begun to explore it’s potential as a painting subject. This past weekend, its charm multiplied as the phlox bloomed profusely along the shoreline of the creek.

With all the rain we’ve had this season, the mosquitoes have been out in full force. I doused myself with heavy-duty bug repellent and stayed out painting for as long as the mosquitoes would let me!

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard, unframed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This was painted from a home high up on a hilltop in North Salem, New York. There were beautiful views of distant hills to the west, but when I saw these bright pink flowers against the dark foliage, I knew I’d found my painting spot!