Several weeks ago, I got a surprise package in the mail from my mom. I opened the brown, cardboard box, and inside was a beautiful red and gold silk box!

Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found this exquisite set of Sumi brushes:

I think I must be the biggest art materials junkie of all time, so of course I was more than thrilled with this new acquisition. I went to the internet and read up on Sumi brushes and how to care for them. I washed the starch out of them, and made a hanger for them to dry out of a clothes hanger and paper clips:

I’ve been so busy getting ready for my solo show that I didn’t have much time to play with them yet, but I wanted to at least doodle a bit and say, “Thank you, Mom!”

Sketches | 2 Comments »

6×8″, Oils
$150.00 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.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

5×7″, Acrylic on Strathmore 500 smooth bristol (100% rag, archival)
$115.00 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.

What a miserable, rainy day outside! I decided over the weekend that I’d like to start a series painted from windows, and what do you know—the very first day I go at it, it’s grey and raining. I really enjoyed capturing the remains of the fall colors from inside the warm, cozy space here. I’m amazed by how long the oak trees are hanging onto their leaves this year.

Palette:
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Red Light
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Burnt Sienna
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Available, Landscape | No Comments »

Today was the big day when they finally came to install the new wood laminate floor in my studio! I spent yesterday moving out all my art supplies and furniture. This morning, my parrots Lulu, Lucy, and Cookie were brought upstairs. They were not happy about the move! Fortunately, nearly everything in there is on wheels. There’s one huge cabinet that is not on wheels, but my dear husband is going to put them on tonight, so it’ll be easy to move it back in.

I love having everything in the studio so mobile. If I’m working on a larger painting, or have a model in, or just want a change of scene, I can have a new studio setup in minutes. Now that I’ll have the wood floor instead of carpeting, it will be even easier to rearrange at the slightest whim.

Needless to say, my computer in there is disconnected (I’m on hubby’s now), my camera software is inaccessible, and most of my art supplies are packed away in cabinets and drawers up against one another…. But the floor is done, and it looks fabulous!

I guess I’ll be moving furniture most of tomorrow and reorganizing.

Studio Tours | 9 Comments »

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

This little painting was done from a photo that I took at the Marshlands Conservancy in Rye. Sometimes there just isn’t time on location to paint all the beautiful scenes I see! Thank goodness for cameras at those times, so that I can paint them later. Photos never capture the brilliance of being on location, but I rely on my plein air paintings and my memories of the light and color to try and complete what the photos leave out.

8x10 and smaller, Landscape, Sold | 6 Comments »

Click for clearer image and to enlarge:

The vase and carnations on the left is gouache, and the other sketches are watercolor. These sketches from the past few days have been done in a Hand Book Journal, sold by Dick Blick and other art stores. The paper is very thick and holds up to water media quite well.

Sketches | 3 Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

From time to time, I really enjoy doing more sketchbook work while I shift gears. These are both watercolor sketches.

Now that plein air season is coming to a close, I’m exploring other possibilities for winter subject matter. I’m excited about diving back into portraiture and figure drawing. I’m also getting ready for my North Salem show. Today I pulled out a lot of my paintings from the area and started sifting through to decide what will go into the show and what I won’t have room for. I’ve got to start varnishing soon and selecting frames…like tomorrow!

Sketches | 2 Comments »

One thing I learned as a result of doing these sketches is that if you’re going to paint mannikins, you should at least learn how to spell it. Now I know that it can be spelled mannikin, manikin, or mannequin. Leave it to me, with so many right ways of doing it, to get it wrong on my sketchbook page.

Anyway, moving on to the sketch itself, I’ve had this little mannikin for quite some time. She finally emerged from her box to pose for me. The two left ones are in gouache. The two on the right are done in Prismacolor pencil, then blended with turpenoid and a Q tip.

I can see lots of potential for her to make an appearance in still life paintings, posing with all sorts of props. Unfortunately, this one does not come off the stand. I’ll have to find one that can be positioned in sitting poses, and which has more versatility.

I only have 66 pages left in my sketchbook now! I’m aiming to finish it by the end of 2007. That means a little more than a two page spread every day in addition to whatever paintings I do. I am determined to dig into a new sketchbook at the start of the new year.

Sketches | No Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

9×12″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Arches hot press watercolor paper (100% rag, archival)
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This was painted from a photo taken during the “Night of the Amazing Sunset”, which I will always remember. A huge double rainbow over the lake followed a late summer shower a couple of months ago. The sky glowed everywhere. The rainbow was to the east, and this amazing sunset was the south view that evening. It’s times like this when I consider myself so fortunate to live by the lake. I can run out at a moment’s notice to capture spectacular conditions when they appear!

I couldn’t resist “pushing” the color in this painting. It was so vividly colorful in my memory. Sometimes I just need to let loose and allow the color junkie in me to emerge. Sunsets present the perfect opportunity for that! I’d like to paint this scene again soon with a little more restraint too. 🙂

My palette for this painting was:
Hansa Yellow Opaque
Napthol Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Blue
Titanium White

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Sunrise/Sunset | 5 Comments »

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
$125.00 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.

Every fall, I start putting together ideas for what I’d like to paint in the winter. That way, when fall draws to an end, I’m enthusiastic about starting my new winter life in the studio. This little, old yellow jug was purchased at a flea market recently. It’s worn, warm, ochre finish and subtle variations in color led me to pair it with these hickory nuts that I collected on one of my plein air outings. Rather than putting them against a cool-colored background for contrast, I decided to go with a warm background and play with the subtle color shifts for a highly unified color scheme in the painting. The whole thing feels like fall to me. This is the little jug’s painting debut, though the hickory nuts did make it into a recent watercolor in my sketchbook!

My palette for this painting was:
Raw Umber
Yellow Ochre
Hansa Yellow Opaque
Napthol Red Light
Ultramarine Blue
Titanium White

Looking on as I painted were two of my studio mascots, basking in the warm sunlight streaming in through the window. Their names are Lulu and Lucy, though I affectionately refer to them collectively as “Double Trouble”. They are Jenday Conures. I leave their cage door open when I’m in the studio, and they go in and out as they please. Lulu (the closer of the two in the photo) likes to say “kiss” and “up”. She expects any visitors to pick her up and tell her what a good bird she is (even when she’s not!)

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Still Life | 3 Comments »

Whenever I have a big show, I send out a post card with an image of one of the paintings for the show on the front, and information on the location of the show on the back. Some of my customers and blog-watchers enjoy collecting the painting images this way and attending my opening receptions. I am in the process of mailing out the cards for my next show, which is a solo show at North Salem Library. If you’d like to receive it, please email me with your full name and surface mail address, and I’ll send you one. It’s a beautiful winter snow scene overlooking Peach Lake.

I do not share these addresses with anybody; they are for my own mailing list only. If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll have received a couple of these within the past couple of months. If you didn’t get them, then you’re not on the list!

Shows and News | No Comments »

Come explore Second Saturday in Beacon! All the shops are open late, and the galleries have their openings tonight of all the new shows. You can see six of my paintings at the wonderful Riverwinds Gallery, and then walk a block west to 150 Main Street, to see 19 more of them at the Bannerman Gallery! I’ll be around to say hi between 4 and 7pm.

Shows and News | No Comments »

6×6″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sealed, primed hardboard
$125.00 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.

Here is yet another beautiful view from the Open Land Foundation property on Baxter Road in North Salem, New York.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Fall, Landscape | No Comments »

8×10, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Multimedia Artboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Finally this painting is done. Here is the painting demo, as promised. My palette consisted of:
Hansa Yellow Opaque
Hansa Yellow Light (fluid acrylics)
Napthol Red Light
Transparent Red Oxide (fluid acrylics)
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Blue
Titanium White

I started with the Transparent Red Oxide, using Golden Fluid Acrylics. After a few placement lines, I blocked in my midtones and darks:

Next, I added Ultramarine Blue for the coolest darks, and Hansa Yellow Light for the lightest areas.

Then I laid in my sky, using Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White, and a touch of Phthalo Blue to bring the sky back to a mid-blue and give it a little chroma boost. (I apologize for the glare in this image.)

Once the sky is in, I start working local color, allowing my underpainting to show through in places. This is where I left off the other day, when I posted the image:

From there, I added more variations to my colors, filled out the textures of the trees, and pushed the lights and darks to create more contrast. Then the finishing touches went in, like the tree trunks and the stone wall in the background. Voila…done!

I hope you enjoyed following along with me in the painting process!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Landscape | 7 Comments »

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!

8x12 to 12x24, Pastels, Pets Wildlife Animals, Sold | No Comments »

2×2.75″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas, easel included
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This tiny gem of a painting features Bannerman Island Castle glowing in the afternoon light. It towers above the Hudson River and is one of the most awesome sights in the Hudson Higlands. Access to the island is restricted to public tours, so I consider myself very lucky to have been able to go out there to paint for Bannerman Island Gallery, and take photos to paint from too.

This painting will be available exclusively through the Bannerman Island Gallery beginning on Saturday, November 10. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this painting go to the upkeep and restoration of Bannerman Island Castle, structures, and grounds.
Bannerman Island Gallery
150 Main Street
Beacon, NY
For gallery hours, sales and information, contact gallery owner Neil Caplan at 845-234-3204, or email Neil at NeilCaplan@aol.com.

8x10 and smaller, Bannerman Island, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Miniature Paintings, Sold | No Comments »

Click image to enlarge:

8×10, acrylic on Multimedia Artboard
$260.00 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 on location from Cold Spring, New York, along the shore of the Hudson River. Crow’s Nest Mountain is actually 42 feet higher than neighboring Storm King, but doesn’t get as much of the publicity. The moon was setting over the cliffs, presenting an irresistible scene. I thought I’d show a demo of my process, so I took some photos along the way.

I started by mixed up a painting “medium” of Golden Acrylic Flow Release in a ratio of 1:10 with water, poured some of that into a little palette cup, and added about 25% Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (Gloss). I used that to dilute paint for my underpainting, so as not to underbind the paint, and to help the flow of the color.

I began drawing in a couple of lines with heavily diluted Transparent Red Oxide. Once the placement lines were in, I started blocking in darks with thicker paint, and used thinner washes on the midtones. Then I used Transparent Yellow Oxide over the light areas (except for the sky). Areas of this photo appear blue due to sky reflection; those areas are actually white.

Next, I pulled out some Ultramarine blue, and used that combined with the transparent yellow and red oxides to block in cool darks and start a green wash on the foreground. Adding Titanium white and just a dash of phthalo blue to the ultramarine, I blocked in the sky and some sky holes in the tree.

Below is a photo of the painting on my easel, with the scene in the background, so you can see what I was working on. Compositionally, I’d have needed a wider canvas to fit in these elements if I wanted to keep everything to scale. Instead, I compressed the scene, shortening the width of the mountain, and bringing the moon over and down toward the peak. (You can just barely see the moon in the photo of the scene, in the upper right corner.)

I added Hansa Yellow Opaque and Napthol Red to my palette, and started working on the local color. I wanted to bring out the warm tones in the cliffs, so started putting in the pinks and violets early on. The red underpainting helped with that, as well as giving that orangy fall atmosphere. Here it is at the “almost done” point:

Lastly, I added cooler colors to the cliff face and did a once-over throughout the painting, adding finishing touches and making adjustments.

I hope you enjoyed the demo and plein air painting with me!

8x10 and smaller, Acrylic paintings, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »