Archive for the 'Monochromatic Paintings' Category

Turquoise Waters

Posted by Jamie on July 22nd, 2020

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24×36″, acrylic on sealed archival foam board
$3000.00 plus $125 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 wanted this Hudson River painting to depict the colors of a summer day on vacation, and to take me to that “happy place” with all the time in the world, and without cares. I think I captured the warm Caribbean feel I was after, while maintaining the strong sense of the Hudson that the mountains of the Hudson Highlands provide. The photo for this painting was taken out on the river near Beacon.

Below is an image that you can click on for a larger view of the painting.
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Approaching Storm

Posted by Jamie on January 8th, 2017

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6×9″, acrylic on board, unframed (Custom framing available for an additional cost.)

$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.

This painting was done from a photo that I took at Innisfree Garden in Millbrook NY. It’s a scene that lends itself to many different approaches in light, color, and atmosphere. In this case, I used an analogous palette of mostly yellows, golds and earthy orange tones to cast a warm glow on an impending weather event, with a path to lead the eye into the painting.

Below is an image you can click on for a larger view of the painting:
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Weathered Maple

Posted by Jamie on November 9th, 2016

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16×12″, drawing media on Rives BFK paper (archival rag paper), matted and with backing board

$280.00 plus $25.00 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.

This is one of the many stunning, old trees at Olana, home of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church. This tree is right near the site of Church’s old studio. I went on a drawing/painting spree with trees this year, and especially enjoyed working in these warm sepia colors on toned paper.

This drawing is one of a series of three trees, all done in the same sepia tones. They can be purchased individually, or subtract 20% if you’d like to have all three to hang as a triptych. They make a beautiful grouping in a classic style.

Weathered Pine

Posted by Jamie on November 8th, 2016

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16×12″, drawing media on Rives BFK (archival rag paper), matted with backing board

$280.00 plus $25.00 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.

This weathered pine leans over North South Lake, nestled in the Catskill Mountains. I loved its character, and the opportunity to draw in the company of friends on a beautiful day by the lake.

This drawing is one of a series of three trees, all done in the same sepia tones. They can be purchased individually, or subtract 20% if you’d like to have all three to hang as a triptych. They make a beautiful grouping in a classic style.

Weathered Cedar

Posted by Jamie on November 7th, 2016

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16×12″, Drawing media on Rives BFK (archival rag paper), matted with backing board

$280.00 plus $25.00 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.

A few days ago, I posted a painting of a tree from Olana, titled Cedar Overlooking the Hudson. This is a drawing I did of the same tree. As I said previously, I can’t seem to get enough of this one!

This drawing is one of a series of three trees, all done in the same sepia tones. They can be purchased individually, or subtract 20% if you’d like to have all three to hang as a triptych. They make a beautiful grouping in a classic style.

Copper Sunrise

Posted by Jamie on September 20th, 2016

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24×36″, acrylic on Ampersand Gessoboard, framed

$3000.00 plus $125 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 a long time in the planning! Several years ago, I went to a Hudson River overlook at Bear Mountain very early in the morning. It is on the western side of the river, so the sun was coming in toward me. The light streaming from the east silhouetted the land forms, and warm color streamed toward me from the eastern sky, reflecting in the water. I did a 5×7″ plein air, attempting to catch the fleeting light and color, while knowing it would all be gone in ten minutes. You can see that painting at this link.

Since then, I’ve done a few paintings based on that study, featuring the view over Iona Island and the warm, early morning light. The one at this link was a 6×9″ color study in golden hues. Another 6×9″ color study, with the orange hues as in the larger painting featured in this post, is currently at RiverWinds Gallery. I liked them both and it was hard to decide which one to go with for the large painting. In the end I decided to use the copper tones, building multiple layers of warm glaze colors over a monochrome underpainting.

Below is an image you can click on for a larger view of the painting.
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Hudson Valley Golds

Posted by Jamie on September 11th, 2016

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6×9″, acrylic on panel

$180.00 plus $12 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 is from a series of small works that I did as color studies for large paintings. It was painted with many transparent and opaque layers. A scene from Innesfree Gardens provided the inspiration for the painting, though numerous liberties were taken in the translation from location to photo and then to the painting. It is so representative of the beautiful scenery that surrounds us here in the Hudson Valley.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Posted by Jamie on May 2nd, 2016

His Eye is on the Sparrow 600v

7×5″ oil painting in a cherry and gold, oval wood frame
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I’ve been wanting to do a series of bird paintings for such a long time! I bought a new camera with a long telephoto lens to get some good images to work with, and some beautiful, wood frames in cherry with a gold inner lip. Since it’s so difficult to get oval frames to fit, I figured I’d sell these already framed.

This first one is an Eastern Phoebe who has taken up residence under the gutter outside my kitchen window. The cute couple has a nest resting on a downspout there. This little guy is out there posing for me all the time. This one sold before I even had a chance to put it up here on my website, but there will be more to come soon if you’ve fallen in love with him.

The Big Chill

Posted by Jamie on February 24th, 2016

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24×36″, acrylic on paper mounted to hardboard (Sealed and varnished. Frame without glass like an oil painting)

$1500.00 plus $125 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 Great Blue Heron usually sticks around for the whole winter. I took a bunch of photos of him from my kitchen window, and painted him in a palette of cool winter blues, huddled against the cold. The painting developed a few small ripples in the process of wet-mounting the paper to a board after the painting was completed. With the painting hanging on the wall, you have to really look carefully to be able to even see them. With that disclosure, I am offering The Big Chill at a huge discount of more than 50%. In spite of the minor flaw, the painting is beautiful and is totally archival. It is varnished to be framed without glass, like an oil painting.

Click image to enlarge:
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The Many Faces of Olana

Posted by Jamie on November 18th, 2014

16×20″, oil on canvas board
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I like to believe that Frederic Church would have liked this concept of his home, Olana. This is one of those cases when the painting sold before I could get a decent image of it. Nevertheless, I thought it would be worth posting because I really want to do more of these monochrome-color compositions.

I began with a 9×12″ segment taped off for the centerpiece of the painting. I wandered around Olana, capturing scenes around the estate in shades of gray oil paint as they presented themselves. I figured that once I had the monochrome border sections done, I’d know what to paint for the colorful center to tie it all together.

I ended up painting all the black and white sections as Hudson River scenes. It made sense to use the brilliantly colored mansion as the centerpiece of the painting, set into the views of the Hudson River, just as Olana was the centerpiece of Frederic Church’s universe, surrounded by the gorgeous landscape and river vistas.

Here’s an image of it framed:

Below is an image you can click on to get a larger view of just the painting. (Though it’s the same bad cellphone photo!)

This was painted for the Olana Plein Air Event, and sold there.

Downriver from Above

Posted by Jamie on September 20th, 2014

12×16, acrylic on board
$535.00 plus $35 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.

Pratt Rock has a gorgeous view that overlooks a valley in the Catskills, with Schoharie Creek running through the farmlands between the mountains. I climbed up with all my painting gear, and set up on one of the rock ledges above the cliffs, facing east. I’ve been wanting to get back her to paint for a long time. It was such a thrill!

I started out working with just monochrome values in acrylic:

Later, I added transparent glazes of color to arrive at the finished painting. I compensated for all the blue-greens in the scene by pushing some yellows and reds for more varied color. You can click the image below for a larger view of the painting:

Back Yard Grays and Greens

Posted by Jamie on September 9th, 2014

5×7″, acrylic on board
$135.00 plus $12 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 using Neutral Gray paints that are made by Golden. After doing the sketch in monochrome, I decided to glaze color over some of it. I covered the painting with plastic wrap and experimented with a few different ideas by painting over the top of the transparent covering. Once I decided to bring some greens into the focal area of the painting, I removed the plastic wrap and glazed directly onto the painting. I liked the minimal burst of color added to the monochrome painting, though I like leaving these just monochrome too.

Below is an image that you can click on to get a larger view of the painting:

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.

The Studio Door

Posted by Jamie on June 18th, 2013


12×16″, Acrylic on archival canvas panel (hardboard)
$295.00 plus $30 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.

One afternoon, I was walking toward my studio door when I was struck by the light shimmering on the lawn and doorway, with the surroundings in shadow. I thought it would make an interesting value study, so I returned to the spot the next day with my Golden Neutral Gray acrylics. (As I’ve explained and showed previously, these are already premixed, so they make it very convenient to do the value studies that we all know we should be doing!)

I had a tough time getting the values to show correctly in the photograph. It’s ever so much easier to adjust the highlights and shadows in a photo than it is to do midtone adjustments. It looks so much better in person! In any case, I’m quite happy with the way the actual painting turned out. I am trying to use all my willpower to leave it as it is and not glaze it with color! Perhaps I will also do a color version in the future, and definitely there will be more monochrome paintings coming too.

Below is an image you can click on to get a larger, sharper view:

Artists Nest Falls in Monochrome

Posted by Jamie on June 11th, 2013

8×10″, Acrylic on archival canvas panel
$175.00 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.

Every so often, I really enjoy working in monochrome. Often that means sketching in sepia tones, or painting with a specific color base. But I also really like working in grays. Golden Acrylics makes that easy to do with their Heavy Body Neutral Gray series. I keep them loaded in this sealed container with dividers. Any time I want to work in black and white, I just grab the container and I’m good to go.

Here’s an image of my painting in progress at the scene. )This image should be clickable if you want to enlarge it.)

Even though these are traditional, fast-drying acrylics, I was amazed by how much working time I had with them while sitting by rushing water! The air must have been heavily laden with mist, because I could blend and blend to my heart’s content. It was like working with oils. I generally keep one of those sections in the container for Acrylic Glazing Liquid, which extends drying time, but I didn’t need to dip into it.

One of the best things about working this way out in the field is that I don’t need a palette! With all the values premixed, and no color mixing to do, I can dip right into whatever value I need as I go. Generally I’ve done these as studies in my sketchbook, but I absolutely loved doing them on panels, so you can expect to see lots more monochrome paintings on archival surfaces coming off my brushes. It’s the complement to my Color Inspirations series!

If you’d like to see a slightly larger view of the painting, here’s a clickable image of the painting: