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    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.

    ------------------------------------- CUSTOMER REVIEWS

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    "Happy" with it is an understatement! My sister's husband said, "Wow, it's beautiful!" That's a lot of emotion coming from him! haha. And my adult daughter said, "OMG MOM, ITS GORGEOUS!". You have added to your fan club!

    "Jamie, your painting arrived in perfect condition! And, as I expected, it looks even better ‘in person’ than on the computer screen. Thank you so much for your careful packing and wonderful painting."

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    "I love the new painting! It's actually a little more golden and fluid than it looks in the pic and I love the movement; everything in my house is a little on the warm and yellow and gold side so it could hang pretty much anywhere. It's going to the framer shortly and I look forward to having it up :-)"

    "Jamie, it's lovely!!! Thank you so much for all the time and love you've put into it! You have no idea how much joy your work is bringing to me. I'm very grateful!"

    "I just wanted to share that my father-in-law absolutely LOVES your painting. He loves the frame and said that he's never owned a real oil painting. ???? But most importantly, he loves the subject matter and he and my husband spent a lot of time reminiscing this morning about hikes they took there years ago. This part of the Hudson is, by far, their favorite! Thank you SO much for making this Christmas gift PERFECT."

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    "Your beautiful "Autumn at Rockwood" arrived in perfect condition two days ago. It is even more lovely in person than I ever could have imagined. Thank you so much for your artistry and your many kindnesses to me..... I will treasure both of my paintings very much ..."

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    "Hi Jamie, I received painting yesterday. It's really beautiful! Thank you for sending so quickly. I'm sure it will give my friend hope and strengthen as she faces this battle with Parkinson's. Thank you!"

    "Jamie, My painting arrived Thursday and I love it. I will definitely order from you again."

    "[They] love the painting. They were so surprised. They really appreciate it and the thought and artistry behind it. They received many [wedding] gifts, and said this was one of their two favorites."

    "[My husband] loved loved loved the painting! It is hanging on the wall in my great room. It's just beautiful!"

    "Hi Jamie! The beautiful paintings arrived safe and sound this afternoon. I love them! (Boy you don't mess around with packing them ;) Thank you."

    "Hi Jamie –I thought you’d enjoy seeing “The Red Barge” framed. Until I give it to my husband on his birthday, I have it hanging in my office. I LOVE looking at it all day!"

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    "Wow, it looks AMAZING! They are going to love it. I love the name too. Perfect. ... Thanks again!"

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    "The painting is beautiful! I love it! "

    "Just a quick note to let you know your [miniature] Monet arrived in perfect condition. It looks fabulous!!! Thank you again so much."




    ------------------------------------------ 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 'Pastels' Category

Plattekill Falls in Pastel

Posted by Jamie on June 22nd, 2014

12×9″, pastel on Wallis paper
$290.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

On Thursday morning, I went to Platte Clove with a friend. It was a hot day and we wanted to find a cool spot. We hiked past the charming red cottage of the Platte Clove Conservation Area, down the steep, slippery path, and were rewarded by the sound of rushing water and sparkling falls in the morning light. The rocks glistened red and orange in the morning, though they started to cool in color temperature in the afternoon. The greens and rusts in the water were captivating. I don’t know how tall this waterfall is; I’ll have to research that. But I’d guess it’s over 100 feet high. I stayed at a spot about halfway up the slope. My friend went down to water level.

I was there with my husband a few weeks ago and did a watercolor sketch. This time, I brought my ultra-light pastel setup. Sometimes I arrive on location and wish I’d brought different media than what was in my pack. This time I felt like I had the perfect medium to capture the contrasts and strong colors I saw.

As for trying to find a cool spot on a hot day, we actually ended up being chilly there by the waterfall! There was cool mist in the air that seemed to stay within the bowl formed by the rocks surround the falls. Every so often, water would splash on my pastel from somewhere above. I think it accumulated on the leaves until droplets let loose, and they always seemed to have to land on my painting!

Bastion Falls in Pastel

Posted by Jamie on June 11th, 2014

12×9″, pastel on Wallis paper
$190.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

People pass by this beautiful waterfall around the horseshoe bend on Route 23a, heading through Kaaterskill Clove into the mountains. There is a big sign next to it that says, “Kaaterskill Falls”. But this is not Kaaterskill Falls; rather, the trail that leads up the mountainside to the base of Kaaterskill Falls begins at this point! This significant, but smaller charmer, is Bastion Falls. I’ve walked past it many, many times on my way up the trail to paint the famous Kaaterskill Falls. For once I decided to stay at the trail head and sketch Bastion Falls.

I had my little dog BB with me, and I’d spent the entire morning working on a larger painting from a second tier of this waterfall. I went home for a late lunch, returning with my dog, lightweight pastel setup, and a gardening cushion to put on a rock to sit on. I have to say, I really loved working on this one. It’s still in a sketchy stage and I was considering finishing it; but some things are best left with the spontaneous freshness and expressive strokes that further refinement can so often obliterate. I’ve decided to call it “done” just the way it is. It has the energy, movement, and high contrast that I wanted to capture. And I want to go back and do another!

Pink Mist at Sunrise

Posted by Jamie on July 18th, 2013

9×6″, pastel on Art Spectrum paper
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Sometimes a scene that we see every day can become extraordinary. I’ve had my life enriched by pink morning mist on several occasions, and was fortunate to have my camera with me for some of them! It’s quite a site to behold, and doesn’t seem to stick around for long. As they say, the early bird gets the worm, and I’ve only seen this around sunrise! I think I need to get up early more often.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Jerry’s Artarama in West Hartford. I saw a box of 48 Charvin “Water-Soluble Pastel Painting Sticks” at a price I couldn’t resist. My friend Melissa came over the other day and we pulled them out to play. I used the Art Spectrum paper because it behaves so well with wet media. I used the pastels to lay in the underpainting, and then used a wet brush to liquify the color. Melissa and I were both impressed with how pigment-rich they were.

My initial plan was to do this little pastel start to finish using those Charvin sticks, but I ended up needing to amplify the selection with more muted colors, better and less chalky darks, and softer pastels. I finished it with a combination of Faber-Castells, Mount Visions, Giraults, and Senneliers, and Conte pastel pencils for a few sharp lines and details.

Mossy Falls in Pastel

Posted by Jamie on June 16th, 2013

15×11″, pastel on Rives BFK rag paper
$295.00 plus $20 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I posted a photo of this scene the other day with the waterfall in progress. I keep thinking it’s done, and then end up reworking sections of it. Maybe it is done now, but if not, you’ll see it posted again with revisions!

It sure does seem like “Waterfall Week” here on my blog. Actually, only two of the ones I’ve posted this week were done this week. For some reason, the others just didn’t make it up on my website until this week. However, it is true that I never seem to tire of the challenge of painting waterfalls. We’ve had tons of rain this week, and they are predicting a lot more over the next couple of days, so I think it’d be a safe bet that more waterfall paintings will be coming off my brushes in the near future!

Work in Progress by the Waterfall

Posted by Jamie on June 9th, 2013

15×11, Pastel on Rives BFK Tan
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I started a large painting on paper, and while waiting for my first layer to dry, I decided to do a monochrome sketch using some Cretacolor Sepia Powder. This just arrived with my last art supply order. It looked like lots of fun and I couldn’t wait to give it a try! I started laying in tone by brushing the powder onto the surface of a pristine sheet of beautiful Rives BFK — a 100% cotton rag paper that is one of my favorite toned surfaces. It wasn’t long before I needed to work in some lights, and realized that I didn’t have a white Conte in my sketch box with the powder! Uh oh!

I remembered that I had some pastels in my car, so I figured I’d take the white from that pastel kit. Well, you know me — the color junkie! With all those gorgeous pastels in front of me, there was no way I was going to resist adding some splashes of color, and then some more. Before I knew it, I was way engrossed in creating a pastel painting instead of the monochrome sketch I’d intended as a time-filler while my other painting dried! I wasn’t all that happy with the way the other one was turning out, so I persevered for awhile with this one and really liked where it headed. I went back this morning and tweaked it a bit to finish it off. I’ll post that image as soon as I can get a photo of it.

As for the other painting, it only went from bad to worse. I went back at it again today, but couldn’t save the beast! Plein air painting can be a very humbling experience. However, I’m pleased with this one. I never would have thought to use Rives BFK for pastels, and I hadn’t initially intended to do this as a pastel piece. It turned out to be a pretty awesome pastel surface. I might even do it again on purpose sometime!

Occasionally, a painting or a sketch will go in unexpected directions due to unforeseen circumstances. When that happens, it can be disastrous. But sometimes, when we get lemons, we can make lemonade. I’m really glad that I let this become a pastel painting instead of a monochrome sketch. (And to make up for that, I did monochrome work in the afternoon.)

Click to enlarge image:

100830-Greens-and-Rusts-in-Devils-Kitchen-11x15-P-600

10.5×13.5″, Soft pastels on UArt 600 archival, sanded paper
$295.00 plus $10 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I was back up in Platte Clove today, painting the exquisite waterfalls in Devil’s Kitchen. We finally got a good, long rainfall a week or so ago, and all the waterfalls have been running strongly since then.

I haven’t broken out the pastels for a really long time, and this was so much fun! Can’t wait to do more pastel work.

The new studio is coming along. Expect a studio tour here on my website in the near future!

Portrait Sketch of Troy — Left Profile

Posted by Jamie on November 19th, 2009

Left-Profile-Sketch-Troy-12x9-450v

12×9″, Pastel on Art Spectrum sanded paper
$325.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This is my first portrait since last winter — a two hour sketch from life. The model sits for three consecutive sessions, but I prefer to use them as sketching opportunities, and generally try to wrap up in a single session if possible. This model, Troy, is new to the art center. We’ll have two more sessions with him, so I plan to do others from different angles.

I’ve always felt that portrait and figure drawing and painting keep me honest as an artist. When painting landscapes, we can move a tree from one side of the scene to the other, enlarge a mountain, and put in clouds where there are none. But with portrait and figure painting, you can’t transplant somebody’s nose to where their mouth should be, or put a foot on the end of their arm!

Once the cold weather gets underway, I go into the portrait or figure studio a couple of times a week, using the winter to sharpen up my drawing skills. It really helps my winter doldrums too, since I’m not fond of plein air painting in the frigid weather. By late fall, I start looking forward to the change of subject and venue that winter brings. After a winter of studio landscapes, and portraits and figures from life, I feel really charged up about getting out for plein air work again in the spring.

Today I dove in for the first time this season, both in subject and medium. I hadn’t broken out the pastels for quite some time (although I’ve been talking about it for a month or so), and it’s my first portrait of the season.

Canoeing 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
$450.00 plus $50 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

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!

Sunbathing — Gourds Series No 4

Posted by Jamie on June 26th, 2009


8 x 12″, Pastels on Wallis professional sanded paper, unframed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Below is a picture of my setup, with the painting in progress.

Red Tree at Peach Lake

Posted by Jamie on September 12th, 2008

red-tree-at-peach-lake-400

11×15″, Pastel on LaCarte sanded pastel card
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This used to be my favorite tree along the lakeshore here. It had such an interesting shape, and the colors were beautifully vibrant as they changed with the seasons, leaving the intricate branchwork in winter. The entire left part of the tree came down in a storm last winter, and I miss it! It was one of my favorite painting subjects. Now the fullness of the leaves is gone, and the shape is not as inviting. This one was done from a photo taken before the tree’s mishap.

Three Hour Pose in open studio

Posted by Jamie on June 11th, 2008

080608-david-pastel-18×12-600-desat.jpg

18×12″, soft pastels on Wallis
$395.00 plus $20 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

I haven’t done any pastel work for quite some time, so I decided to bring my large Dakota box of pastels to open studio this week.There’s everything under the sun in that box, all mixed together and sorted by value and color.

This has been a tough week. My poor husband got food poisoning, and I hurt my back yesterday trying to move a cabinet, so my artwork may well be a little sporadic for the next week or so. I miss it already.

Yellow Roses in Pastel

Posted by Jamie on April 19th, 2008

yellow-roses-pastel-done-600.jpg

12×9″, soft pastels on Art Spectrum sanded pastel paper
$325.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

Everybody loves visiting an artist’s studio and seeing paintings come together, so I thought I’d share part of the process of this painting.

yellow-roses-pastel-setup1-500.jpg

Here’s a photo of my setup in my studio, along with the pastel in progress. The pastels on the paper towel are the ones I selected from my huge box of colors. Setting them aside like this makes them easier to find, and helps maintain a unified palette with good color harmony.

yellow-roses-pastel-setup2-500.jpg

Above is a photo of the full area of my studio where I was working on this piece, so you can see the whole pastel box. I think now you can see why I find it necessary to separate the colors I’m using in a particular work; otherwise I’d be forever looking to find them again!

yellow-roses-pastel-wip1-450.jpg

This is an image of the painting about 1/3 of the way through the process. The basic color plan has been made and the objects blocked in. Following this stage, it’s time for refinement. Most of my time on a painting is spent in the refining stages.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip to my studio!

Portrait of John in pastel

Posted by Jamie on February 7th, 2008

080207-john-12×9-done-600.jpg

12×9″, soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix
$325.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This was painted in two sittings from life. I may make some minor adjustments next week, but it is basically finished. I had a wonderful time playing with the warm and cool colors. There was a warm floodlight on, but also cool blue light from outside streaming in through the windows. The combination of light types made for some interesting challenges and color combinations.

Evening in the Figure Studio

Posted by Jamie on January 31st, 2008

080131-night-figures-2c-800.jpg

24×18″, charcoal and pastel on brown craft paper
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

It seems I’m spending a lot of time in the figure studio this week…..

080131-night-figures-1-600-crop.jpg

24×18″, charcoal and pastel on brown craft paper

Morning in the Figure Studio

Posted by Jamie on January 30th, 2008

080130-marshall-1-18×24-600.jpg

18×24″
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

We had Marshall back in the life drawing studio this morning. He is such a great model, with wonderful expression, a vivacious personality, and knows how to hold a pose! These are both 19×25″ on Canson MiTientes paper, charcoal and pastel. You can click either image to enlarge it to 600 pixels. The pose below was a lot harder to draw than I thought it would be!

080130-marshall-2-600.jpg

18×24″

Portrait of Jean (from life)

Posted by Jamie on January 24th, 2008

080125-jean-12×9-500.jpg

12×9″, pastel on Wallis sanded paper
$325.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This pastel of Jean was done start to finish in a three hour pose, minus breaks. I really loved the way the light hit her face from this nearly backlit position, and the influence of the burgundy velvet on her skin, combined with the warm light.

David in Pastel

Posted by Jamie on January 17th, 2008

Click to enlarge:

080117-david-9×12-pastel-done-600.jpg

12×9″, Pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix
$325.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

This painting was done from a live model over the past two weeks.

Marshall—Life drawings in charcoal and pastel

Posted by Jamie on January 9th, 2008

Click image to enlarge:

080109-marshall3-25-600-adj.jpg

18×24″, on brown craft paper

Marshall is a fabulous model with oodles of personal charm and charisma, and interesting features to draw. Here are some of my sketches from today’s life drawing poses.

080109-marshall-25-500b.jpg

Above: 36×24″

Below: 18×24″ (click to enlarge image)

080109-marshall2-25-600-adj.jpg

Pet Hamster, pastel

Posted by Jamie on November 4th, 2007

Click image to enlarge:

Pastel on Canson pastel paper, unframed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This adorable pet hamster, painted in pastel, is the perfect piece of art for the young pet-lover’s room!

Morning Sky Over the Hudson

Posted by Jamie on May 16th, 2007


9×12″, pastel
$295.00 plus $15 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.

The purple and pink clouds over the Hudson River were stunning. I knew they would dissipate fast, so I put those in first, then did the rest of the painting. This painting was done on the property of The Brass Anchor in Poughkeepsie, NY.

This painting is double matted in gold and ivory, and framed in a lovely cherry wood frame with a thin gold border. Price is for the framed painting. Please email me if you are interested in purchasing the painting unframed.

Life Drawing 45 minute pose 36×24"

Posted by Jamie on January 10th, 2007


The image above is a cropped version of the 36×24″ sketch of Amy. I never feel I come away from a life drawing session with a “finished” piece since the poses are so short, but it’s great practice to keep going after that elusive goal. This sketch was done on my favorite brown crinkly craft paper, which makes it hard to get a good photo. I tear off 24×36″ sheets from a huge roll and clip them to a big piece of foamcore. I like working on the midtone surface, since I can just add my lights and darks. Amy is a fabulous model and also an artist, so she always thinks about how a pose will fill the page. The medium is charcoal and pastels. The full image is below.

Morning Moon Over St. Basil

Posted by Jamie on September 11th, 2006


$440.00 plus $20 shipping and insurance within the Continental United States. For local sales, shipping charge will be allocated to NYS Sales Tax. Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com for International purchases or with any questions.


12×18″, pastel on sanded archival paper, unframed

St. Basil’s Academy is a residential facility for children that overlooks the Hudson River. They are having a fundraiser at the end of September, so I’ve been doing some paintings here to make some sets of note cards for them to sell at the fundraiser and hopefully after as well. This morning the light was spectacular, with the fall color just emerging and the moon still visible in the western sky.

Sunny Morning at the Lakeshore

Posted by Jamie on September 9th, 2006

12×9″, pastel on sanded archival paper, unframed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Good day, sunshine! What a beautiful morning out by the lake. I needed to capture the ‘big sky’ view of the surroundings.