Archive for August, 2013

Path to the Cozy Cottage

Posted by Jamie on August 29th, 2013


8×10″, varnished acrylic on sealed, archival artboard (frame without glass like an oil painting)
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is a painting I did as a plein air demo during the three day workshop I taught at Olana a couple of weeks ago. I did it to show participants some indirect painting techniques. The path was actually paved, but I wanted to turn it into an inviting path through the trees that was more welcoming for a lazy afternoon walk than a drive along a paved road. The scene was overwhelmingly green, which is another reason why I wanted to have a warm-colored path.

We were using a three color palette of slow-drying Golden OPEN Acrylics, so I mixed the basic color for the path from the three primaries, then used OPEN Gloss medium to create a glaze. I laid down a thick layer of the orangy glaze over the whole panel, and sketched in my composition by drawing in the glaze with the wooden handle tip of a brush. I then pulled out lights and added darks, subtracting and adding paint until I was done.

Below is an image that you can click on for a larger, clearer view:

We’re into Labor Day weekend, so I’ll resume posting on Tuesday. Best wishes for a wonderful weekend to you all!

Great Blue Heron on the Brook

Posted by Jamie on August 28th, 2013

110104-Great-Blue-on-the-Brook-7x5-500v-ls

7×5″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$130.00 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 an older painting that I hadn’t seen for awhile, so I decided to pull it up to the top. Every once in awhile, it’s good to look back. 🙂

This little brook runs behind my house, from its source on the lake to the reservoir. It is the favorite hunting ground of this Great Blue Heron, who is never far away, and often perched on our lawn as you see him here, enjoying his latest meal. It sure was hard to paint him tiny enough to be in scale in this small painting! This was a test drive for a larger version that I’m considering.

My palette:
Titanium White (RGH + Griffin)
Cadmium Yellow Lemon (Rembrandt)
Cadmium Yellow Deep (RGH)
Cadmium Orange (WN Artist)
Bright Red (Pyrrole — WN)
Ultramarine Blue Deep (Utrecht)
Transparent Red Oxide (RGH)

Hudson River Atmosphere

Posted by Jamie on August 27th, 2013

101024-Hudson-River-Atmosphere-5x7-450

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

This was painted on an atmospheric day along the Hudson River at the Hastings-on-Hudson Waterfront Park. I could just barely make out the George Washington Bridge and New York City skyline on this hazy day, but the mood was wonderful!

Nearing Sunset at Olana 2

Posted by Jamie on August 22nd, 2013

8×10″, acrylic on sealed Arches hot press board
$260.00 plus $15.00 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.

Whenever I haven’t been to Olana for awhile, I have to do at least a couple of paintings from the top overlooking the Hudson River. This one was done in the late afternoon, just as the warmer color started moving into the atmosphere. Every day tells a different story here at the top of the hill. The clouds are always moving, and the landscape changes with the time of day and the seasons. The spot always has a freshness to it, even if I’ve painted it a hundred times.

If you’d like to see a larger view of the painting, you can click on the image below:

Stranded

Posted by Jamie on August 20th, 2013

5×7″, acrylic on linen panel
$165.00 plus $15.00 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 gathered with a group of painter friends one morning out by the lake in front of my house. We had a wonderful time together chatting and relaxing while painting the lake in the morning light. This little boat gave the scene a nice focal point. I wondered for awhile how the owner got to the boat. Upon closer inspection, I saw that he had devised a clever pulley system from the shore, which could draw the boat to the land for boarding, and then pull it back out to the post in the water after disembarking. I considered putting those rope lines into the painting, but decided instead to leave the viewer guessing about how the boat could be accessed, just as I had to when first encountering the scene!

On a side note, it never ceases to amaze me how far behind I can get on photographing, adjusting and posting images of my paintings. I thank my lucky stars every day that I am a painter and not a photographer! (Though I often wish I had a better photography skill set.)

Fall Sunset at Olana

Posted by Jamie on August 16th, 2013

110216-Fall-Sunset-at-Olana-6x6-450-darker

6×6″, Oil on Ampersand Gessoboard (archival panel)
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I can’t even count how many sunsets I’ve witnessed at Frederic Church’s homestead, Olana. Sometimes the sun just drops like a stone and the lights go out. Other times, I’m treated to a magnificent festival of light and color. Photos from those occasions become the inspiration for many paintings in various sizes, formats, and mediums. Such was the evening of this particular sunset. The yellow light blazed behind the Catskill Mountains, and there was a red rim of fluting along the edge where land meets sky. On these evenings, one can feel Frederic Church’s passion for the view that he was fortunate enough to call “home”.

090718-Sunset-in-Thomas-Cole-Country-8x10-6in-dk-hs2

8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$200.00 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.

I drove up the mountain to South Lake, where Thomas Cole did his famous painting, Lake with Dead Trees, and many other Hudson River School painters did their renditions of Round Top Mountain’s peak looking down upon the lake. It was my intention to finish a painting I’d started there on Friday. However, the light was totally different, and I saw a beautiful sunset emerging. I decided to do this new painting instead, and chased the sunset to the very end.

Portrait in Red

Posted by Jamie on August 4th, 2013

11×8.5″, mixed media on paper
$200.00 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.

This is a portrait of Rebecca West, painted from an old book of black and white celebrity photos. Working from black and white images can be very liberating, as it frees up my color sense and gives me all the information I need in the form of values only. This background was done in acrylic in several layers using many different printing and painting techniques. Over that, I painted the portrait with fairly thick watercolor, allowing the spatters and drips to happen where I felt they would most benefit the piece. I’m planning to do a series of these, but probably won’t be able to do more of them for a few weeks.