6×6″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard
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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!
5×7″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
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I opened up my little 5×7 pochade box, and nestled inside was a painting I’d totally forgotten about. It was a painting of my driveway upstate on a foggy morning, but overall the painting was too light, and didn’t convey the heavily overcast, dull atmosphere as well as I’d like. So, I took it out and completely repainted it. Much happier with it now!
16×20″, Acrylics on archival board
$695.00 plus $30 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.
This is a painting done partially on location during the summer. I drove around with my friend Karen looking for a painting spot near the Hudson, and we finally came upon this marina view in Catskill. Around the bend in the painting lies the Hudson River. I loved the blue of this sail cover, and the colorful floats piled up on the bow, waiting for adventurous souls to go out for a sail. I didn’t have time to finish it on location and it’s sat in the studio for a few months now, just waiting for the finishing touches! I finally pulled it out this morning and finished it off.
Many of my finishing touches are done at this ArtQuest desk. The easel part adjusts to any angle, and there is a support for a monitor/laptop. I use the keyboard shelf for my palette. I love this thing!
Here is another image which you can click to see a larger view of the painting:
These images are looking quite dark to me, but the painting is not this dark.
12×12″, Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
$425.00 plus $20 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.
“First Warm Day at the Falls” might sound like a funny title for a painting that I’m posting in late autumn. This painting was actually started in the spring, on location. It needed a few touch-ups in the studio, so finally that’s been done and it’s ready to be revealed at last. It so nice to see it finally finished up. This painting will look fabulous in a warm-toned, wood frame. I have just the one!
Here is a photo of the work in progress on location:
8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.
It was a little tricky setting up my gear on an island in the creek to do this painting, but worth the trouble I think!
Here is a clickable image, so that you can see it a little larger:
5×7″, oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
This tree in my yard is next to the bright yellow one that I posted a couple of days ago. I set up on my patio to grab the morning backlighting. The dark background and light filtering through the tree made for a bright, fall spectacle. It’s a fall version of a Christmas tree!
8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.
The trees here have been unbelievable this week! This bright yellow maple laid down a carpet of golden leaves, and the purple mountain behind it made it all the more striking. The weather has been warm and beautiful. I wish fall would hang on for a couple more months.
Here’s a clickable image which will take you to a slightly larger photo:
8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$260.00 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 wanted to paint this scene backlit, but by the time I got myself out there this morning, it was a bit sidelit, and not as heavily silhouetted as my vision. Still, it wasn’t hard to motivate myself to make the most of the beautiful scene looking out through the treeline to the meadow and beyond. Pathways are always so inviting, and the fall foliage in the Hudson River Valley is nearly at peak.
I’m continuing on my journey to thicker paint application, which results in brushwork changes as well. I’m liking the three dimensional paint surface and mixing up huge piles of color!
Here’s an image that you can click on to enlarge it:
5×7″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.
What a gorgeous fall day it turned out to be today, following a few days of dismal, rainy weather. Our waterfalls are gushing and the foliage is nearly at peak. My dog sat beside me, impatient as usual when I’m painting instead of paying attention to him.
I’m trying to constantly remind myself to put down more paint, more paint, more paint. I’m reminded of quotes I’ve heard here and there, such as, “Put out twice as much paint as you think you need and use it all!” A quote I’ve heard attributed to Robert Gamblin (of Gamblin Oil Paints) is, “Paint like you own a paint company!” I’m eager to add more of that third dimension to my work in oils. My paintings will be taking a little longer to dry, but it will be worth it!
5×7″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
I’ve been wanting to paint this view of the Thomas Cole house from the garden path for years! I had some friends visiting from out of town, so I finally got to do it while they took the house tour and strolled around the grounds. The flowers were so gorgeous, and the yellow exterior of the house glowed, even under the porch roof! That honey locust tree really is that huge; it’s 200 years old! There were a dozen on the property in Cole’s time, hence the name of the estate— Locust Grove.
Catskill Serenade
16×20″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on archival board
$695.00 plus $25 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.
Here a clickable image, if you’d like to see a larger version of the painting:
This painting features a view of the famous of Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top mountains as seen from the Hudson Valley, where one enters Kaaterskill Clove. I did a small, 6×8″ version of this scene a few weeks ago and liked it so much that I returned to do a larger version.
Click image to enlarge:
16×20″, Acrylics on archival board
$695.00 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 went back up to the Catskill Mountain House site, eager to do a larger painting overlooking the Hudson River Valley from up there. It was a fairly overcast morning, and looking out from the cliff’s edge, the most striking feature below me was the silver ribbon of the Hudson River off in the distance. The Berkshire Mountains merged into the sky beyond the river. Bits of farms and buildings peeked up from below as the morning went on and the haze started to lift, so I put some of those in too as they came into view.
This Canson MiTientes board has a fabulous surface texture, varnished to a beautiful sheen, and can be framed without glass like an oil painting. It’s my favorite surface for acrylics. Stay tuned for a special series on this surface sometime around November!
9×12″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
This was another painting done pulled off to the side of a country road while out exploring. I love this scene and definitely want to go back to do a larger version sometime. I’ll bet it will be even more beautiful in fall, but then again, winter would be gorgeous with the red barns against the white snow. This time of year, I’m usually so tired of the green, green, green of summer; but this summer I seem to have found lots of elements to balance the greens in my paintings, and I will actually be sad to see summer come to an end.
12×16″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.
My friend Karen and I like to drive around looking for locations to paint; then we pull off the road and set up when we find something that appeals to us both. We came upon this spot the other day that we’ve been admiring. The problem has been that there is no good, safe spot from which to paint this scene. We decided to throw caution to the wind and set up in the middle of the bridge. It’s around a hairpin turn, so we figured the traffic couldn’t move too fast there anyway, and the drivers would have plenty of time to see us. Fortunately for us, we didn’t encounter a situation where two vehicles had to be on the bridge at the same time! We made sure to only take up half the road; It’s a good thing that it’s the road less traveled! The bridge up in the distance is the New York State Thruway (I-87).
Here’s an image that you can click on for a slightly larger version:
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
After painting the pond and mountains in monochrome, which you can see in yesterday’s post, I did painted it again using a limited palette of colors. This was done with just Transparent Yellow Oxide, Transparent Red Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, and Titanium White. Most of the lights were pulled out with a rag rather than painted in with white or a tint. Light colors portrayed this way have more luminescence.
I’m looking forward to revisiting this scene for a full color version, especially in fall!
6×8″, Golden Fluid Acrylics on archival museum board (frame like an oil painting)
$165.00 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 on location on the cliff of the former site of the Catskill Mountain House on South Mountain. On a clear day, the view overlooks 60 miles of the Hudson River and a vista that extends all the way to Massachusetts. However, on this day, we were treated to a spectacular display of atmospheric clouds both below and above us, with occasional peeks through to farmland below and glimpses of the river. I love revisiting this location. It always has something special and new to offer. I guess that’s why Thomas Cole and Frederic Church kept coming back here too!
Another thing that made this day so special was that I was accompanied by friends L. Diane Johnson from North Carolina, and Ruth Ann Sturgill from Ohio. It’s not often that I get to paint with friends from so far away! We spent a wonderful couple of days together, and I’ll be posting more about what we did and painted as I have a chance to finish up and photograph the paintings.
I’ve been so busy painting up a storm out on location over the past couple of weeks that it’s been impossible for me to keep up with photographing work, blogging, and putting on finishing touches. Now things are settling down, and I’m hoping to get all these things up for you to see!
8×12″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
This is the farm where I buy all my fresh produce. Nestled in the Hudson Valley just to the east of the escarpment of the Catskills, they have acres and acres of strawberries, corn, zucchini, and all other kinds of vegetables. The beautiful setting against the mountains is an artist’s dream, and it makes for a dramatic scene under any weather conditions. I happened to catch it this time just as a storm was getting underway. I took a picture and then painted it from the photo, under the roof of my patio in the rain.
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$165.00 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 may seem like I’ve fallen off the face of the earth lately, but actually I’ve been so busy painting that I haven’t had a chance to post the paintings! This painting of Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top was done very early one morning. The contractor who is building my new studio wanted to beat the heat and cut through a masonry doorway at 6:30am! That gave me good incentive to make the most of the early light in the mountains.
There were cows out in the field. I was hoping they’d come close enough for me to be able to see them well enough to put them into the painting, but they stayed way off in the shade. Of course, as soon as I was finished, they all sauntered over to the fence to say hello and see the finished product!
5×7″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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 was one of those mornings with more atmosphere than I could dream for. The conditions kept changing dramatically every few minutes, so I picked out what I could of the sky, ground and water, and challenged myself to try to make a cohesive whole out of all those bits!
The highest peak in the painting is Kaaterskill High Peak, and to the right is Round Top. These two peaks dominate the landscape of Kaaterskill Clove, home to the Hudson River School painters…and me!
12×24, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
If you think you already saw this recently, you did! I decided to work on it more in the studio, so above is (hopefully!) the final image of the completed painting. These long, horizontal formats show so small on the blog page, so here is another image that you can click on to enlarge it a bit:
I love this view of the barns against the eastern escarpment of the Catskill Mountains. This was painted on location, on this warm, breezy day of changing clouds and moving light. I loved the contrast in color temperature between the orangy fields and blue-green mountains, with the red spots of color contributing a nice focal point.
16×12″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
I posted the red oxide underpainting start of this work a few days ago. Today I finished it up in the studio. Hopefully it conveys at least a little of the magic that I feel beside this waterfall below the mountain. It is not an exact depiction of the location, but rather an attempt to capture the essence of the elements that lure me to this spot time after time. Pretty soon the foliage will be in full bloom and the scene will change dramatically, providing an opportunity to capture the vista in its newly-transformed state.
9×12″, Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico
$160.00 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 my first go at painting this particular waterfall, but it won’t be my last for sure! I had to tiptoe across stepping stones to a little island in the creek to arrive at the ideal vantage point. The painting location was shaded by an overpass while the waterfall was in sunlight, so this will be a fabulous spot on a hot day! There’s been a lot of rain, and combined with the snow melt off South Mountain, the waterfalls were gushing this weekend.
12×9″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
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.
8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
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!
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.
8×10″, oils on canvas covered hardboard
$250.00 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 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
6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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.
All the leaves are down now, and the temperature has dropped substantially. I fear that we won’t be seeing anymore 60+ degree days until spring emerges! I sat outside with my little pochade box this afternoon and painted this with just three colors (and white):
Winsor Newton Cadmium Yellow Pale
Winsor Newton Bright Red (Pyrrole)
Utrecht Ultramarine Blue Deep
Utrecht Titanium White
7×5″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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 friend Claire came to visit a few weeks ago. We both set up our easels in my driveway to catch the dramatic foliage against the cooler blue-greens of the mountain. The late day light was fleeting and the mosquitoes were fierce! I didn’t quite have time to finish on location, so I finished this up in the studio today.
The leaves are already gone from that bright foreground tree on the top of the rock. Fall always passes so quickly!
12×15″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.
Today I brought my new Beauport easel down to the beaver pond. I tried to send progress images to my Facebook page from the painting location, but it doesn’t look like they arrived there. I’ll have to get help from my daughter the expert! I don’t have my imaging software here, so the photo above is shown without any adjusting of the image.
Below are images I took with my camera phone and attempted to email to Facebook. It’s not the greatest camera, but at least I remembered to take progress images this time! My viewers are always asking for them, and I never remember to take them.
Just as I got this easel set up, it started to sprinkle. The Beauport sets up easier than you’d think. It can hold a really BIG canvas! Look at how small this 12×16 looks on this big easel! LOL
Fortunately, the sprinkles were short-lived. The sky was looking better and better, though it doesn’t show up in the photo. That’s one of the wonderful things about painting plein air. We see so much better than a camera lens. I started blocking in my darks and then local color.
I waited to put in the sky because it kept on improving. I was glad I waited, because by the time I decided to put it in, it was much better than it was when I started the painting. I was surprised by how much fall color there was out by the pond. The rest of the property is barely showing hints of fall. Here is the painting nearly finished.
I am really loving this easel. I used a covered Masterson palette with a pad of 12×16″ palette paper in it. That and a 12×16″ panel carrier fit into a Creativo backpack, along with my paints, brushes, camera, paper towels, and brush washer. I was surprised by how quickly and easily the easel set up and broke down. The lid of the Masterson palette worked out well to hold my turp container and some paper towels. I found the holes in the easel legs to be handy brush holders!
5×7″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
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!
