This is another entry in my Shades of Gray, monochrome value study book. It was painted en plein air while out sketching with my friend Karen the other day. I’d already done the full color sketch of the red barns (which I posted a couple of days ago), and was waiting for Karen to finish up her painting. That was the perfect opportunity to pull out my container with the acrylic values already laid out and look for a second composition. I loved this curvy road going off into the distance, and it presented me with a wide range of values to work with.

Sketches | No Comments »

I went out painting with my friend Karen on Friday, and decided to do some sketches rather than a focused effort on a single painting. This was my first sketch of the day — beautiful barns up on the hillside that we’d been admiring on our painting outings for quite some time. This one was done with Golden Fluid Acrylics in my 10×10″ Kraft paper sketchbook.

Farm Scenes, Sketches | 1 Comment »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

The little monochrome painting above was done at a pond up the road from me that has wonderful mountain views. I asked for permission to park and paint there, and the gentleman in the driveway said that his wife was also an artist, and that I should go knock on her studio door and say hi! Well, I did that and made another new artist friend in the area! It turns out that she will be in a show with me next weekend. Such a small world! Her studio overlooks this dramatic view, and she had an especially beautiful winter scene that she’d done from the window.

I used the opportunity to do a monochrome painting, then a limited palette painting. I’ll go back again and do a full color version.

In addition to the value paintings I’ve been doing in acrylic, I have an oil painting setup to do monochrome studies easily and quickly in oils. I use the Judson’s Guerrilla Painter 6×8 watercolor box, Gamblin Light, Medium and Dark Portland Grays, plus Ivory Black and Titanium White. I also keep three colors in here for limited palette studies: Transparent Yellow Oxide, Transparent Red Oxide and Ultramarine Blue. (You can click this image to enlarge it a bit.) It has a cover, and fits right inside my 6×8″ Guerrilla pochade box.

I’ll post the limited palette version of this painting tomorrow.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Demos/Work in Progress, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Painting/Pochade Box, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sketches | 1 Comment »

Golden Neutral Gray Heavy Body Acrylics in a watercolor sketchbook

I’m starting to really love doing these monochrome studies. They are such wonderful practice for improving the way we see values. Having the pre-mixed Neutral Grays has made all the difference in the world, and has turned this from a tedious chore into a fascinating adventure.

I sat outside in the yard in a comfortable chair after standing up and painting all morning, and painted this study under the shade of my favorite tree, with a cool breeze blowing.

Sketches | 1 Comment »

Continuing on with my monochrome value studies in acrylics, this one was added to my Shades of Gray sketchbook this morning. This was also done with the Golden Neutral Gray acrylics plus black and white. I think I’m starting to really enjoy these, much to my surprise!

Sketches | 1 Comment »

I set out Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Titanium White, Carbon Black, and all the Neutral Grays in between that Golden makes in a plastic container with compartments and a seal. Value studies are so important, but premixing all those grays ahead of time can be cumbersome enough to put it off time and time again. Now I have no excuses, and this container makes it so easy to pop the lid and paint at a moment’s notice.

This book is about 6×9″. I’m reserving it for my value studies in acrylic, and have dubbed it “Shades of Gray”.

Here’s the first page. The cow was painted from a photo I took on Friday. The little landscape was painted here by the lakeshore this morning.

Demos/Work in Progress, Sketches, acrylic paintings | 1 Comment »

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.

Flower Gardens and Flowering Trees, Sketches, Still Life, spring | 3 Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

10×10″, Golden Fluid Acrylics in my kraft paper art journal

Text:
Betsy’s Bouquet
Thanks to friend and neighbor Betsy Ryder, I got a tour of Ryder Farm today, complete with an invitation to come back and paint anytime. Betsy picked flowers as she walked with me from one beautiful scene to another. She showed me the old farmhouse, which dates back to 1795. Stepping through those doors was like stepping back in time, with old, original furnishings and plein air paintings on the walls done by an ancestor named Ferris.

Trees and flowers there are just beginning to bloom. We checked out peas just sprouting, fruit trees, meadows being converted to hay fields, and views of Peach Lake from the vantage point of the farm. Betsy presented me with the beautiful bouquet after the tour!

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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!

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sketches, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 3 Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

These Wetcanvas Scavenger Hunts are so much fun that I can see how participants could become addicted. I enjoy participating whenever I can. This page was done with a Lamy Safari extra fine ink pen, filled with Noodlers Bulletproof Black Ink, and Winsor Newton watercolors. My dog was Not Happy that I took his squeaky toy away in order to paint it!

If you’d like to check out the other entries to the Scavenger Hunt or participate, click here. Below is a photo of what I was working with. (You can click to enlarge this image too.)

Sketches | No Comments »

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

I was eager to work in a medium that would enable me to layer quickly today, so I grabbed my Golden OPEN Acrylics and a 16×20 canvas covered board for open studio portraiture. I left most of my acrylics upstate, so had to make due with what I had: Cadmium Yellow Primrose, Pyrrole Red, Transparent Red Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, Carbon Black, and Titanium White.

These paints are just sooooo much fun. I prefer them on paper or smooth hardboard rather than canvas, so next time I’ll have to remember to size some watercolor paper or matboard before I go.

Leigh was a really great and beautiful model. We’ll have her for another sitting in January, so I’ll get to sketch her again!

16x20 and larger, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Portraits and Figures, Sketches | No Comments »

20×16″, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

You may remember two weeks ago when I sketched Troy in pastel. We had no open studio last Thursday since it was Thanksgiving, but today I went back, oils in hand, for another sketch. I used Rembrandt Ivory Black, Gamblin Torrit Grey, and Winsor Newton Artist Titanium White with a little Winsor Newton Griffin Titanium White mixed in to speed drying. I also used Weber Res-n-gel medium.

Troy will keep the same pose for three weeks, and most of the artists are keeping their spots and working all three weeks on the same painting. I waited until after the posing started for any returning artists to reclaim their previous spots before setting up in a new position, but go figure…. (Yes, you know what’s coming!)… As soon as I got set up, someone came in late and said, “You’re in my spot!”

I didn’t really care where I painted from; I just didn’t want to miss the posing time. There is never enough time with the model! Anyway, this ended up being about two hours of posing time altogether. I always seem to have difficulty getting the head situated exactly where I want it on the canvas. This time, I really took my time with placement and it ended up right where I wanted it to be! Amazing!

I like this model, Troy, very much. We’ll have him for one more week.

16x20 and larger, Available, Portraits and Figures, Sketches | No Comments »

These sketches were done on October 21, along with the one I posted that day, although they are displayed out of order. The sketch posted on the 21st is #1. The post above is #3. Below is #2, and the last is #4–my last one of the day and a real quickie.

I didn’t get a chance to finish up the writing and take the pictures until today. Normally I also type out what I’ve handwritten, but with my hand/arm in a cast, it is a long and painful process to do either (not to mention drawing and painting!) Once I’m out of the cast, I’ll edit this post to include all the text.

Bannerman Island, Sketches | No Comments »

10×10″, gouache in my kraft paper sketchbook

I had the good fortune to spend today out in the middle of the Hudson River on Bannerman Island, sketching the castle ruins. Because of my recent hand surgery, I couldn’t carry much gear. I just brought my sketchbook and some gouache. This was my first sketch of the day. The tide was very low, and the boat captain told us it was still going out. So, I walked out on a spit of land that jutted out into the river, and provided a great view looking back at the castle. Apparently the captain was wrong; the tide was coming in, not going out! It wasn’t long before my friend Laura called out to me, “Oh my gosh, Jamie, you’d better move right away!” I’d been so focused on my sketch that I didn’t notice my pathway of land had nearly vanished! I quickly threw my gear into my bag and walked back to land. I had to wade part of the way. When I’d reached shore, the spur of land was entirely underwater. I didn’t get to finish my sketch, but it’s a good thing I left the spot before it was done!

I still need to photograph the other sketches and finish the writing part of the journal pages. I’ll be posting them as they are finished.

Bannerman Island, Sketches | 2 Comments »

Gouache sketches, 11×8.5″

Handwritten text:
Palenville Overlook, Sept. 26, 2009

The colors were showing the emergence of fall. We walked to the old boarding house site and to Point of Rocks before heading home.

Catskill Mountains, Sketches | 1 Comment »

8.5×11″, Watercolor

Text (continued from yesterday’s post):
….typing, inventory lists, printing and mailing post cards, shopping for receptions….It was so great to wake up this morning and be able to just go out and sketch! I didn’t even have to be concerned about turning out a finished painting. There is so much freedom in a sketchbook!

I used a palette laid out with old paint, which I misted as I went along. But there’s nothing like truly moist pigment, freshly laid out on the palette. I think it’s time to either scrap these dried globs of paint, or at least add new color to the old. I was also finding that these old colors (at least some of them) are no longer regulars on my watercolor palette. Manganese blue hue and phthalo green definitely need to go!

Sketches, Tilly Foster Farm, Watercolor | 2 Comments »

11×8.5″, watercolor

Text:
Tilly Foster Morning

My dear friend, Jan Blencowe, has a wonderful watercolor sketchbook with thick paper, not too rough and not too smooth. Just a few days after I complimented it, a box arrived in the mail for me. Jan ordered one of these great sketchbooks for me!

It’s been sitting around, waiting patiently for me to finish my work for the shows that opened this past weekend. It takes a special kind of day to break into a big, new sketchbook. Today was that kind of day, with blue skies, some clouds, warm but mild temperature, and a hint of fall color making its way into the foliage at Tilly Foster Farm.

I’ve painted this little shed and pond from the other side, looking toward the mountains. Today was the first time walking around to the west side of the pond, to examine the potential for future paintings.

I’m exhausted from framing 50 paintings for shows,

(…to be continued tomorrow….)

Sketches, Tilly Foster Farm, Watercolor | No Comments »

3×5″, ink and watercolor on cp watercolor paper
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

I am finally back from my painting trip! I’ll be posting those paintings during the week as they are photographed and finished. Some were completed on location, while others need some studio work to finish them up. I wanted to post them as I went about my trip, but time and imaging software didn’t allow! Much as I wanted to take photos of the paintings and scenes like I did at Boscobel, I completely forgot the rest of the time! I’d get back to the house and realize I never took out my camera while I was painting. It seems I get that one track mind once I have brushes in my hand.

I took a trip to Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole Historical Site, with a group of 11 painters last week. I’d done the house tour before, and commented here that I saw the River Views show there a few weeks ago. But the show was so wonderful that I was happy to be able to see it again with so many of my plein air friends. Visiting the home of the father of the Hudson River School is a pilgrimage that I like to do from time to time.

The day started out overcast and drizzly, so most of us just sketched rather than setting out all our equipment and not being able to pack up fast in a downpour! A few of us sketched the Thomas Cole house together from the same angle, sitting side by side. Here’s my version.

I’m using an upgrade of my image editing software, which sizes images differently than the previous version. I hope this image comes out large enough to see!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Greene County, Hudson River School, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sketches, Watercolor | No Comments »

Whenever I’d drive along farm roads in spring, I always admired the bright yellow fields of Alyssum. Imagine my surprise, when spring came along, to find I now have my own field of them here at the new house! I hope I get to paint them before the flowers die. I snipped one of the last of the apple blossoms to paint.

Here’s my sketching stuff out on the porch. I did the little gouache sketch of the apple blossoms first, then put the alyssum into a small pitcher and painted that.

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10×10″, gouache in my kraft paper sketchbook

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10×10″, Cretacolor sepia and white leads in my kraft paper sketchbook

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10x10", gouache in my sketchbook

Sketches | 3 Comments »

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10×10″, gouache in my sketchbook

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10×10″, gouache in my sketchbook

Sketches | 5 Comments »

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10×10″, Winsor Newton and Holbein gouache in my sketchbook

Text:

Good Things Come in Small Packages
Feb 07 2009
What’s in the Box?

Few things are as much fun for an artist as that brand new box of art supplies waiting on the front doorstep when you return home. Today I was surprised by this box from Dick Blick that arrived two days early!

Inside were kneaded erasers, some Golden mediums that I’m running out of, plus a few new things to try, like these tubes of Holbein gouache. I got Viridian, Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Yellow Orange to round out my gouache assortment. There was also a great deal on Simmons Titanium brush sets, so I’m trying some of those too.

Sketches, Still Life | 4 Comments »

10×10″, Gouache in my kraft paper sketchbook

As you can see, I’m still having way too much fun with gouache in my new sketchbook. I know the text can be difficult to read when I post these pages from my sketchbook. Here’s what today’s page says:

It’s not often that I paint from photos, and it’s even less often that I paint from photos I didn’t take myself! However, this weekend’s Wetcanvas WDE (Weekend Drawing/Painting Event) had some that I just couldn’t resist. Seeing them here now in gouache makes me wonder if I should have painted them in acrylics or oils on a more archival support, or at least so they could be taken out and popped into little frames. Maybe I’ll do another version of these.

Seeing how these gouache landscapes look on this paper makes me think that this could be a fabulous way to work en plein air. I did both of these with only a single, round synthetic brush and a pre-filled Mejillo palette. Pre-cut Canson boards, or other archival matboards with a a similar color to this, would also be lightweight and easy to travel with. They dry instantly, and could be stored in a plastic zip-lock bag for protection.

You can click here to see the reference images uploaded by Wetcanvas member “Upnorthtim”. You can see that I made a lot of changes to the photos in content and composition. Sometimes I do stay more true to a photo, but I never hesitate to change elements, leave things out, or move them around to create my own vision, or to change color and sometimes values. It’s where and how we use that artistic license that creates our individual styles and preferences.

Every Friday, a Wetcanvas member is host of a Weekend Drawing Event in which they upload 16 photos. Members have a week to create art from those photos and post it to the forum. They are not supposed to spend longer than two hours on a painting. Give it a try sometime! It’s great fun to see what so many different artists can do with the same set of images.

Landscape, Sketches, Sunrise/Sunset | 3 Comments »

10×10″, Gouache sketch of a hydrangea for a future painting, coming soon!

My husband adores these colors. I’ve prepared a panel with a lighter, scrubby, warm yellow background upon which I’ll paint the blue vase and violet flowers, as my second in this little series of floral works for Valentine’s Day.

Sketches, Still Life | No Comments »

10×10″, Gouache in kraft paper sketchbook
Oil/acrylic painting of this sketch coming soon…Stay tuned!

I am having way too much fun with gouache sketches on this paper! I am thinking of ways to achieve this look with oils/acrylics on a more archival surface. I think I’m going to give it a whirl for tomorrow’s daily painting.

Edit: To see the final painting of this subject, click here.

Sketches, Still Life | 3 Comments »

I’ve always wanted one of these sketchbooks with the heavy, brown kraft paper. I have a huge roll if it, which I tear off into 24×36″ sheets for figure drawing. I was in Borders yesterday and saw this one on a “discontinued” rack for 50% off. It was “now or never”! It’s a great size at 9-3/4″ square. That’s too large to keep in my purse, but a great size for small gouache paintings, charcoal and pencil drawings, with room to write on the same page too.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this paper is archival, but sometimes the freedom to create something on “junk” leads to something special, which can then be recreated in the studio using better materials. This neutral background gives a midtone against which one can bump lights and darks very effectively. This was just what I needed to get me back into my grove of the Saturday/Sunday Sketches. I even painted my little “Bluebird of Happiness” to show how thrilled I am with the new book!

Sketches | 2 Comments »

6×8″, Sepia ink pen and watercolors

My daughter and her friend had a photography class today, so while they were in class I pulled out my sketchbook in a shady spot and did a “Saturday Sketch” at Tilly Foster Farm. I struggle with architecture, so it’s always a great challenge for me when I’m out sketching.

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