Breaking Blues at Olana: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 29
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This oil sketch was done from just outside the home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Church. He had this classic view of the Hudson from most of the terraces and many of the rooms in his beautiful Moorish-styled mansion. The land was nearly all farmland back then. The trees have taken over since he lived here, and many of the vistas he enjoyed have become obscured by the overtaking foliage. I’m told that they will be doing some clearing in the not too distant future, to bring back some of those farmland views present in Church’s time.

There were a lot of visitors to the site while I was painting this. Occasionally the blue sky would poke through the layers of clouds as I painted, and I would snatch the opportunity to include those hopeful, fair-weather breaks of cerulean in the painting. Two minutes later, it would be completely overcast again. I found myself having to explain to visitors more than once that I really, really did see that blue sky just a minute ago!

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 1 Comment »

Catskill Mountain House Vista: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 28
8×10″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$250.00 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.

When I arrived at the site of the Catskill Mountain House atop South Mountain early in the morning, I was above a heavy cloud cover. It felt like I was in outer space looking down at the earth! As I painted, more and more of the clouds gave way to the rolling fields below, and the Hudson River appeared out of the hazy covering.

It is from this exact spot that Frederic Church did his famous painting, Above the Clouds. This was a popular painting location for many of the Hudson River School painters.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

We packed up at Olana amidst the thunder and lightning and crossed the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, heading to my Palenville house. Once we arrived there at the foot of South Mountain, we were greeted by a beautiful sunset even though we were facing east from the back porch. I pulled out a panel and set down colors and shapes, then finished this in the studio on Sunday.

A week before, my husband saw a bear back here in the late afternoon! No signs of Smokey while painting this!

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

Layers of Blue Mountains: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 27
6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

After visiting the Thomas Cole Historic Site, we crossed the Hudson River to tour the home of another famous Hudson River School painter: Frederic Church. A fabulous guide led us through his Moorish-style home, where we admired the eclectic collections and intricate wall stenciling. A second tour there brought us to a show of his works done on site at Olana, which just opened recently on the second floor of the estate.

Following that dose of inspiration, Gretchen Kelly and I wandered down a trail near the parking lot and came upon this beautiful view of the Hudson River and Catskills. We set up to paint in the strong, warm, late day light, but it wasn’t long before these beautiful, billowy clouds turned into thunderheads. I don’t think I’ve ever packed up my gear so quickly in my life!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

You can click this image to see a larger view of the painting.

Summer Greens at Boscobel: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 26
6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Today began my five day painting trip. I started out this morning at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, New York, on the Hudson River. This was my first visit to Boscobel this year since the summer greens took over the landscape. The day has been picture perfect, and I had a wonderful time doing this painting!

I don’t have my image editing software on my laptop yet, so during this trip, I’ll have to just post the images as they come out of the camera, without any adjustments. I tried to take this picture to take in part of the scene as well as the painting, so you’d get an idea of what I was painting. When I get back to my desktop system next week, I’ll add adjusted images of all the paintings to their posts.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Painting/Pochade Box, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 3 Comments »

When I walk into my future studio in Palenville, I get discouraged by how much renovation work there is to do, and how long it’s going to take before I can get this space up and running. It’s got great potential, with 14 windows and two exterior doors, and about 600 square feet of working space.

But what’s an artist to do on these rainy days without a working studio? My dear husband suggested I temporarily take a room in the basement, and set it up to use in the meantime. He took me out to buy a rug, and it has all these great built in shelves for my supplies.

It even has South Mountain as one wall of the room! 😀

It may not be an ideal working space, but I am so happy to have a place upstate where I can work indoors now, in addition to my plein air painting. I have a great studio in Brewster; now I have no excuse not to paint when I go upstate either!

Studio Tours, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Yay! I got my PayPal buttons back up. Finally you’ll again have the convenience of not having to ask for pricing information unless it is not listed for a particular painting, and can just click to pay. I do offer a combined shipping discount for more than one painting, so if you’re purchasing in multiples, you can expect the second painting to add half or less of the shipping cost. Please email me for an invoice in that case, so that I can give you an adjusted total. Following a terrible experience many years ago, when five paintings were destroyed in a single box, I generally do not ship more than two in a box.

As always, feel free to email me with any questions; I always love to hear from all you art-lovers out there. 🙂

Jamie

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Late Day Light on the Hudson: Hudson River Quadricentennial Series No. 25
10×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

‘Gotta love the color and light along the Hudson River in the late afternoon. The grass and rocks glow, and there is always soft color above the horizon. There were lots of boats and ships going by too. I took photos of them and I’ll add one to the painting, then will repost it. If anybody chooses to purchase the painting before then, you get to pick the boat that goes into the painting!

I see in posting it here that the color is a little hot-looking. The coloring in the actual painting is softer and more subtle. I will correct it once I paint in the boat (probably next week or the following week) and reshoot the image.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Boats and Ships, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sunrise/Sunset, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

5×7″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
I’m sorry that I don’t yet have my Paypal buttons reinstalled, so please just email me for a Paypal invoice if you are interested in purchasing this painting. I hope to have the buttons up again before the end of the week. Since my laptop died, I wasn’t able to work on it over the weekend! Now I’m up and running again with a great MacBook Pro.

This boat belongs to my friend Mary. It’s so convenient for me that she has her boat moored out here, as it gives me a wonderful painting subject!

I just finished preparing a batch of 65 panels using a new sealer, different gesso, and slightly different application process. This painting is the first one from the batch and WOW, I just love the way these panels are taking the paint!

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 1 Comment »

7×5″, Watercolor on Arches HP
$100.00 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 wonderful holiday weekend! I didn’t paint much, and since my laptop died while I was away, I couldn’t post anything either, or even check email. Sometimes that’s a blessing in disguise. I enjoyed family time, worked around the house, took lots of long walks, and finished preparing a batch of new painting panels.

We have a wildflower meadow upstate and it’s always interesting to see what’s in bloom. I went out early one morning and gathered these flowers for a bouquet. They were a nice sketching subject for a rainy day. I haven’t done much in watercolors lately, so really enjoyed breaking out my little travel set for this one.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

3″x2″ visible painting size, 5″x4″ including frame. Easel stand shown is not included, since the frame has an easel back so that it can stand up on its own. It also has a hanging hook on the back if you’d prefer to hang it.
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I ran out of varnish and had to drive all the way to Norwalk CT to get the kind I wanted! I spend the remainder of the day varnishing paintings and then priming panels…..No painting for the weary!

So, today’s painting is an older work that I enjoy a lot, which has not been shown here. It’s a 3×2″ miniature painting of my friend’s boat out on the lake. The painting is already framed in this elegant, gold wood frame. It is the perfect accessory for a side table, coffee table, dresser top, or shelf.

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Miniature Paintings, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold | 2 Comments »

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.

8x12 to 12x24, Demos/Work in Progress, Pastels, Sold, Still Life | No Comments »

11×14″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This painting was a composite of two photos. Often when I work from photos, I need to find several in order to satisfy what I feel is necessary to make a good painting. When I’m out on location, painting en plein air, I can always move trees, mountains, clouds, or other elements that lie outside of the “picture frame”. Even nature needs to be moved around a bit from time to time!

8x12 to 12x24, Landscape, Lighthouses, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 1 Comment »

10×8″, Oils on canvas
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is a plein air painting that I did at New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It was a beautiful day, and I set up in the courtyard garden facing the conservancy building. Just as I was finished setting up, an elderly couple came along. The man took a seat on the bench behind me, while the woman went off to further explore the gardens.

I lifted my brush to make the first stroke, and a strong voice behind me said, “Aren’t you going to draw first? I think you should draw first.”

I could see that I was going to have a critic on board for this painting. The woman had done a quick disappearing act, and already I suspected I knew why.

As diplomatically as I could, I explained to the man that I do my drawing with paint. He grumbled. And so, I began. Those who paint know that we generally start with the large masses and work to the details. I started laying in the dark foliage and the form of the building.

“What about the windows? You’re forgetting the windows! Put those in now!”

He continued to try to direct my painting, but I stuck to my methods. He became increasingly frustrated as I went about my work my own way. Finally his wife came back for him. The man turned to his wife, pointed to me, and said indignantly, “This lady didn’t want to paint the windows first.”

She asked me, “How is the painting going? Has he been giving you a hard time?”

“Well, I’m getting critiqued!” I replied.

She laughed and said, “I’m sure you are!”, as she helped him up and they went on their way.

8x10 and smaller, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 2 Comments »

12×16″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This is a late afternoon, early fall scene of the Shawangunkill River around sunset. This magnificent waterway courses through the town of Gardiner, New York, near New Paltz.

8x12 to 12x24, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

16×12″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Visiting the Hudson River School show at the Thomas Cole Historical Site last Friday made me think about many of my own paintings of the Hudson River, and how our contemporary, plein air pieces fit into the grand scheme of things. The Hudson River School paintings are filled with details, and tell a story about man’s journey—past, present and future. In the years before paint tubes, it wasn’t so easy to transport paints and equipment out into the field. As I looked over those paintings, I recognized many bits and pieces of the locations. The artists would go out into the field and sketch these bits and pieces, then come back into the studio and combine them into a grand work with a foreground, middle ground, and horizon, incorporating figures and animals representing man’s mark on the landscape and his journey.

I look at the Hudson River as a theme that flows through my work. I think those of us who paint plein air have been heavily influenced by many factors through the generations. While there are ateliers and painting schools that teach the techniques of the Hudson River School painters of past generations, there are also those who have been heavily influenced by the Impressionists, and the immediacy necessary to capture a scene on location under the conditions of changing light. It will be very interesting for those in future generations to trace back through these Hudson River styles as a more direct painting approach evolved.

As for me, I plan to go out and continue to paint my favorite river. I suppose I will leave it to the art historians to determine how we fit into the spectrum of art history!

This is a scene painted from a lovely waterfront park along the Hudson River in Nyack, New York. It faces the Tappan Zee Bridge, which was just barely emerging from the fog as I set up to paint.

8x12 to 12x24, Boats and Ships, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 1 Comment »

6×8″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on 300 lb Saunders Waterford watercolor paper
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Painting along the shoreline of the Hudson River has great therapeutic value! This was painted on location at sunset.

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

There is a show of paintings by the Hudson River School artists at Cedar Grove, the Thomas Cole Historical Site. The show is titled River Views of the Hudson River School, and celebrates the Hudson River Quadricentennial. There are fifteen paintings in the show which feature the Hudson River and its surroundings, mostly in the Catskill area where the show is taking place! The paintings are on loan from private collections and will be in the show until October 11.

I’m going to try to see this show asap….maybe even tomorrow! To read more about the show and the Thomas Cole Historic Site, click here to visit their website. There is a PDF file there that you can download with lots of information.

Shows and News | 3 Comments »

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

I’m doing a lot of small studies for larger paintings lately. This is a scene painted from a photo I took up at Garrison Castle, overlooking the Hudson River. It’s not surprising that Frederic Church of the Hudson River School painters selected this site for the Osborn family to build their castle in the sky!

This is a view straight up the Hudson River, where the currents are the most treacherous, and the river channel narrows and wraps around West Point Military Academy. Those are the buildings of West Point silhouetted in the painting in the foreground peninsula.

The scene is so complex, and takes in many of the most famous spots in the Hudson Highlands. You can see the point of Breakneck Ridge on the right, and Bannerman Island even further upriver. The mountain farthest back on the left is Storm King, and the Catskills are straight ahead off in the distance. The Hudson illuminates at sunset from this high vantage point.

I think this sunset view through the Hudson Highlands from above is deserving of a really, really big painting sometime in the not too distant future!

This painting is Number 21 from my Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, celebrating the 400 year anniversary of Henry Hudson’s travels up the river.

8x10 and smaller, Bannerman Island, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

Golden OPEN Acrylics on 100% rag board, framed
2″ x 1.75″ framed size
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
Painting will be sent with miniature display easel and gold gift box.

You can click here to see more of “Jamie’s Jewels Miniature Gems”. If you don’t see one you like, consider commissioning one from your favorite scene! They make great gift items, and are budget-friendly original works of art.

This miniature sunrise is the perfect size to wear as a pin, or to set on the miniature easel where it can be admired. It is set in a beautifully detailed, classic gold frame. The quarter is there for size reference, so you can see what a tiny gem this is!

Here is a closer view:

On my monitor, this is about actual size. Depending on the size of your screen and your resolution, it may show larger or smaller for you:

I think this is one of the best miniature paintings I’ve done, so I’m pretty excited about it!

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Landscape, Miniature Paintings, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

Yikes….I think I’m going to be very, very careful from now on when painting at the top of Kaaterskill Falls! The park rangers say that accidents like this happen every year. It is so tragic. From the top of the falls, the sides are very sheer. Climbing down there is extremely dangerous. It’s unfortunate that they cannot prevent people from attempting to ascend and descend the falls.

New York – NYSP SP Catskill Accidental Death Investigation
By admin • Jun 14th, 2009 • Category: News

Mullins had been hiking with one other person and was descending the slope when he slipped on loose shale and mud. Mullins fell approximately 60 feet off of a cliff and struck rocks below the trail. An autopsy was performed at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany and the cause of death was listed as multiple traumas due to the fall.

Shows and News | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

The DEC said that we couldn’t build a pond along the stream in the woods, but the beavers kindly did it for us! I set my stool out there yesterday and enjoyed listening to the frogs and birds as I painted this. Occasionally, a duck would come in for a landing, plunking down into the water.

I used my little 6×8″ Guerrilla Painter Thumbox. I love that thing! With the palette extension on, there is enough mixing space for 5×7, 6×6 and 6×8 paintings.

Palette:
Rembrandt Transparent Oxide Red underpainting
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Cadmium Red Medium
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Ivory Black
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

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

This was yesterday’s sunrise over the Hudson River, painted on location in Nyack.

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

6×6″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I painted down in Nyack this morning. The skies were mostly overcast, but periodically there would be a break of brilliant sunshine that flooded the landscape with bright light. One of the Tall Ships was sailing off in the distance. I think it was the Mystic Whaler. It didn’t make it into my painting, but was a wonderful accompaniment to my morning by the shore!

These are the same trees that have those beautiful purple blossoms in spring. I was so sorry that they were no longer blooming, but I did put some hints of the violets into them as a hint of what they are.

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

8×10, Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140#cp
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I’ve been so eager to work with watercolor this week, perhaps because of all the rain we’ve been having. This is painted from a photo of a tree out on a peninsula on the lake here at home. I loved the reflections of the colors and tree in the water, and the large, brooding clouds way above.

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset, Watercolor | 2 Comments »

9×12, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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 on location while the Onrust was docked in Newburgh. It is Number 18 of my Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, in celebration of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson 400 years ago. This beautiful replica ship was constructed in New York by 250 volunteers! You can read more about the recreation of the Onrust here.

Leave it to me to forget my camera when I went to paint this on Monday. Even though I have a note saying “CAMERA” posted on the door to the garage, I often forget to take it along. The painting needed a little studio finishing, which I had to do from memory, plus I used the watercolor painting I did that day.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Boats and Ships, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

5×7″, Watercolor, double matted in ivory/gold to 8×10″, framed in antique gold/black, Price includes mat and frame
$145.00 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.

Today I went to see the Tall Ships as they docked in Newburgh, NY. They are on their way up the Hudson River in a Quadricentennial Celebration. Leave it to me to forget my camera. Ouch! But at least I had paints and sketching materials with me. The Half Moon and the Onrust were there. I settled in to paint the Onrust, and I’ll try to do the Half Moon later in the week at one of the other stops it will make as it journeys northward. You can read more about the recreation of the Onrust here.

I started out with this little 5×7″ watercolor, and also did an oil painting that I need to finish up in the studio, hopefully tomorrow. I’ve double matted and framed this painting in a lovely ivory/gold double mat, and a black and gold wood frame. Price includes mat and frame as shown below. It looks soooo much better in real life than in the photo!

Here is an image of the painting alone:

I hope to have the oil painting completed to show tomorrow!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Boats and Ships, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Watercolor | 5 Comments »

8×16″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$350.00 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.

The other day, I saw these boats all lined up along the shoreline here by the lake and couldn’t wait to get out and do a wide-format painting of them. The clouds broke for a few hours today, so I dashed out during my window of opportunity. With rain this morning and more rain coming in later, I lucked out with a perfect midday break in the weather.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Fabriano Artistico hp watercolor paper, matted to 8×10″ (Mat and backing board included in price.)
$135.00 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 was painted from the Waterfront Park along the Hudson in Athens, NY. I actually went there hoping that one of the Tall Ships would be there that will be parading up the Hudson next week. Unfortunately, no ship was there, but these red benches looking out over the river under the Chestnut Tree captured my attention. Without a ship, they became the focal point of my painting. Two women came along and sat down on one of the benches, chatting and gazing out onto the water, so I popped them into the painting too!

8x10 and smaller, Acrylic paintings, Available, Boats and Ships, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Greene County, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 2 Comments »

6×8″, oils on canvas-covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I went to my friend Marcia’s house for lunch the other day. Next door to her, there’s a fabulous view with a red barn and distant mountains. It was very overcast in the morning, and raining later in the day. However, in between there, while I was painting, the weather was picture-perfect! Somehow I got that ideal window of opportunity. I knew the wet weather was supposed to move in, so I just did this little one. It started to rain just as I was finished and packing up to leave!

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on sized archival matboard
$250.00 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.

My friend Nancy and I went up to the top of Kaaterskill Falls yesterday morning. We didn’t expect it to be so cold and blustery out there on the ridge at the mountaintop! We weren’t dressed for those kinds of conditions. We thought we’d been there for hours because we were so chilled, but when we asked a passing hiker what time it was, we learned it was only 9:39am!

Back in the days of the Hudson River School painters, there was a dam constructed near this site. Tourists would pay to see the falls (from the bottom), and water would then be released from the dam for a spectacular display. The dam is no longer there, but there was still plenty of water rushing over the edge while I was painting!

For this venture, I used the foamcore pochade box I made. It weighs almost nothing, fits in my backpack, and even holds four wet panels. When I’m painting in the Catskills, I know I can always find a rock or fallen tree trunk to sit on, so instead of a stool, I carry a very light closed cell foam cushion in my backpack. They can be found in gardening centers; they’re actually made for gardeners to kneel on as they work.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Greene County, Hudson River School, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

Our back yard along the brook is too wet to mow this time of year. The sweet Forget-Me-Nots take over there and create an exquisite mass of tiny blue flowers beneath the Purple Martin house.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

I did it! I know I’m way behind the times, but I finally got onto Twitter. You can follow me by clicking the “follow” button on the JamieArtist widget on the left sidebar <---- . Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I'll be able to figure this thing out. I'm hoping this keeps me more in touch with everybody as I run around my crazy life! I didn't paint today, as I'm getting ready for my Rhinebeck show. The Opening Reception is June 5 from 5:30-7:30pm, at 6423 Montgomery Street, Second Floor, Rhinebeck, NY. You’re all invited! Come see Hudson River Valley landscape paintings done by four members of the juried, international Daily Painters group. There are 167 artists in the group, and four of us who are within a couple of hours of Rhinebeck are gathering ourselves and our work together to meet and greet our viewers. Come join us for a wine and munchies celebration with great art. Here is the front of our post card for the show. Can you pick out which painting is mine?

Shows and News | 3 Comments »

Custom framed in a gold plein air style frame
12×16″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
$600.00 plus $25 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 more amazing day along the Hudson River at Nyack Beach State Park….I was surprised to find the Royal Paulownia trees still in full bloom. Everybody was out walking along the path with smiles on their faces in the warm breeze.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Oil paintings, Plein Air--painted on location, Spring | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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.

I went to paint by a lake in Newburgh, New York with some friends from the Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters. This little boat by the shoreline beckoned me. I sure he was disappointed that he attracted an artist instead of a fisherman!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Boats and Ships, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

12×16″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
$600.00 plus $25 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 got to Nyack very early yesterday morning, while the sun was still very low in the sky. It glowed at the horizon, and struck the face of the Palisades cliffs head on. The purple Royal Paulownia trees were blooming all over the base of the cliffs. I had to walk a half mile along the path with all my painting gear, but as soon as I arrived at this location, I knew I’d met my muse for the day!

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Boats and Ships, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Oil paintings, Palisades, Plein Air--painted on location, Spring | 1 Comment »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

While painting this yesterday in Nyack in the cold and intense wind, many people stopped to chat and admire the painting. One woman, after commenting on the diversity of the New York landscape, said, “I love New York! I love the Hudson River, the fall colors, the skies, and even the snobby New York City folks!”

Aside from any snobby New York City folks (and I haven’t encountered many!), I have to agree with her. So, I named the painting I Love New York. It’s hard to beat a view of Paulownia Trees along the Hudson River with dramatic skies!

8x10 and smaller, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

10×8″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

My plein air painting buddy, Sue, wanted to go paint at Nyack Beach State Park this morning. Conditions were freezing cold, very windy, and overcast. I was honestly not thrilled about this idea, but didn’t want my friend to have to go alone. I packed my winter coat, a thermos of coffee and lunch, and hit the road at 7am.

Imagine my joy upon arriving there and seeing these exquisite Royal Paulownia Trees along the path beside the Hudson River as it wound through the park. (I confess that I didn’t know what they were, but I asked the Park Ranger!) We didn’t get much sunshine, but the skies were a lot more interesting than just those silvery, heavily overcast days. I’m so glad I went. In fact, I’m going back tomorrow!

8x10 and smaller, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Nyack Area, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

6×8″, oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Today was the big Artists on Location event in Garrison, NY. I was expecting the skies to clear, but that didn’t happen, and this was painted in the rain. Fortunately, I had my big “ShadeBuddy” umbrella with me, and the winds were calm enough that I could use it!

The huge sailboat off in the distance came by at just the right time, and provided the perfect element to scale the painting and give it a focal point.

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This charming lighthouse sits on a cement platform in the middle of the Hudson River between the towns of Athens and Hudson. I had the pleasure of viewing it from both sides recently. On this occasion, I chose to paint it from the Hudson side, but I’d like to go back and paint it from the Athens side soon too.

In case any of you think you saw this a few days ago, it’s not your mind playing tricks on you! I saw a bunch of things I decided to change. I added more darks into the foreground water, glazed the rocks there with some cooler color, popped in some extra darks in the tree, added greens and blues into the background, and popped the lighthouse a bit more. It was only about 20 minutes of touch-ups, but I feel it made a significant enough difference in the image to repost, and delete the old image.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Lighthouses, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

12×12″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
$425.00 plus $25 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 at the beautiful Hastings Waterfront Park on the Hudson River. There were a couple of fishermen there, and one of them was kind enough to pose for me. Thank you, Sean!

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Boats and Ships, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

8×6″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
$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.

I went to paint with a friend up in Clermont, New York along the Hudson River. Jan provided the perfect focal point for my painting, with her painting umbrella glistening in the strong morning light, and her rust-colored shirt against the spring greens. Clermont is a nice painting spot with mature trees, a lovely garden, and the Catskill Mountains rising beyond the river.

Jan and I have a show coming up in Rhinebeck, New York from June 5-July 15 with two other artists. The opening is on June 5 from 5:30-7:30pm. I’ll post more about it soon…Save the date if you can come! If you’re in the Rhinebeck area and interested in attending the event, I’d be happy to send you one of our show cards with images and location details. Please email your full name and surface mail address to me, and I’ll be sure you get one.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

18×24″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Today was another stunning day at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, NY. The Cherry Blossoms are all gone now, so I turned my attention to the overview of Constitution Marsh and the Hudson River. It was amazing how fast the light changed. The light and shadows on the hills reversed itself, and the marsh became cooler and darker as it was silhouetted by the light coming from the south. I kept my original plan with the morning light. The photo below shows the scene in the afternoon with my almost-finished painting.

This painting has wonderful presence in its large size with the strong color and light. I can’t wait to see it in a frame!

16x20 and larger, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 2 Comments »

6×8″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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.

The rain finally held off long enough and clouds parted to spill sunlight on the little field of alyssum through the trees. The backlit scene provided lots of contrast, adding to the warm yellow glow of the bright flowers. I sat in my folding chair with my new Guerrilla Painter 9×12″ pochade box in my lap. I love the additional palette space in this box. There’s an adapter to hold 8×10 and 6×8 panels, so I used that for the first time too, to paint this little 6×8. It worked out so well, and even carries the wet panel.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Permanent Alizarin
Burnt Sienna
Ultramarine Deep
Viridian
Ivory Black
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Available, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

9×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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.

What’s with the meteorologists these days? It was supposed to be overcast and raining, but I awoke to brilliant sunshine and mild temperatures. After all the rain we’ve had lately, I figured the trout stream at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation would present some good plein air opportunities. The water was rushing over the rocks, and the spring greens were out in force.

This was my first chance to try my new 9×12″ Guerrilla Painter pochade box. I absolutely love it! I sat with the box on my lap. It’s got so much more palette space than the thumbox, and as a bonus, an standard 9×12″ disposable palette pad fits right in the box, making clean-up a snap.

You can see that by the time I was nearing the finish line on this painting, it became overcast and I lost my light:

My palette for this painting was:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Permanent Alizarin
Burnt Sienna
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Viridian
Titanium White

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation | 3 Comments »

5×7″, Oil on Ampersand Gessoboard
$150.00 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 from one of the photos I took on a walk by the lake. The yellow tinge to the sky at sunset, and the little red boat, glowed all the more with the muted colors surrounding them.

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

Usually I don’t post if I don’t have a completed painting to show, but I’ve been thinking lately about how many fascinating things artists are involved in on the days when they don’t paint. Perhaps I should post about that sometimes, like right now!

Each spring, the U.S. House of Representatives has a high school art competition. The winners from each district are then hung together in the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Today I was one of five artists hanging the show for Congressman John Hall’s 19th Congressional District. We hung over 90 paintings by area high school students at the Putnam Arts Council gallery space at Tilly Foster Farm, in Brewster, NY. Congressman Hall will be presenting the awards on Monday, May 11. You can read more about it at the Putnam Arts Council site and also on Congressman Hall’s website. Congratulations to all the students who are in this show! Be sure to stop in to see it if you’re in the area. It’s always worth a trip to Tilly Foster Farm to see the newest arrivals in historical animal species, antique farm equipment, shows at Putnam Arts Council, and the change of seasons!

Other artistic ventures today included cutting a huge bouquet of lilacs from my yard. If it pours tomorrow as it’s supposed to, and I don’t feel like working from a photo, I’ll have these beautiful flowers to paint and smell in my studio.

Last but not least, I took a walk outside this evening, where I was hoping to get some photo references from which to paint the yellow sky I saw over the lake just before sunset. In the process, I inadvertently scared off a Pileated Woodpecker exploring a rotting tree stump, saw a Green Heron flying overhead, and enjoyed a cute muskrat swimming in the brook. I almost didn’t notice the deer on the other side of the brook. He was so well camoflaged that he was nearly invisible. He stood there staring at me for a long time, before turning around and trotting off. I took a picture of him, though I’m sorry it’s not a sharper image. Can you spot him?

Here’s a closer crop to show you where he was “hiding”:

Tomorrow I’ll be doing a frame inventory and ordering frames for some upcoming shows (more on that soon…), but hopefully there will be some time to paint too!

Shows and News, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

12×16″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This painting was started on location along the Hudson River waterfront in Athens, NY last weekend. I started setting up to paint at 9am, admiring the way the sun lit up the side of this little red building by the shore. Within an hour, the light was completely gone and the building was in shadow! Then the water got brighter and brigher, until by 11am, all the values in the scene were the reverse of when I began painting. Plein air work sure can be a challenge!

Fortunately, I’d taken a photo just as I started to paint. Working from that, what I had captured on location, and my memory of the way the scene appeared when I began, I finished this up in the studio.

There are a couple of other paintings I’d like to do from this waterfront park in Athens. I’d never been to this location before, but I will definitely go back again! I’m told that the recreation of Henry Hudson’s ship, The Half Moon, will be docked here permanently in the not too distant future! I’ll be wanting to paint that for sure.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on 8 ply 100% rag board
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

The Cherry Blossoms at Boscobel wind around this little path. It goes along the Hudson River, and then circles around behind the herb garden, where the Cherry Blossoms are joined by dogwoods in bloom and apple trees.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Spring | No Comments »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Saunders Waterford 100% rag watercolor paper, 300lb cp.
$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.

Every spring, it’s a race to paint the Cherry Blossoms before they go. It seems that as soon as they bloom and rain comes along, which it does constantly this time of year, they are gone until the following spring. I love this view of them against the mountain.

8x10 and smaller, Acrylic paintings, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

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

….Back to my favorite subject this time of year! Not to worry….The season for Cherry Blossoms is so short-lived. In a week the blossoms will probably all be gone, and I’ll have to wait another year to paint beside them again.

There are five Cherry Blossom trees in this arc by the Hudson River at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, NY. Each one has such character, and although they all have those bushy, bright pink blossoms, their shapes are quite unique, and the light hits them differently. I enjoy picking out different ones to feature in each painting, exploring their similarities and differences, and the way they fit into the total scene with the Hudson River and Constitution Marsh behind them.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

10×8″, Oils on mounted Multimedia Artboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Here’s a little break from all those Cherry Blossoms! I’ve painted this Dogwood overlooking Constitution Marsh in its bright red, fall splendor nearly every year, but never in the spring flowering stage. The real challenge for me was to decide how I could best display those white blossoms against the very light blue sky.

This painting is done on the new, mounted Multimedia Artboard. It is an archival support that can be framed just like a hardboard panel. I’ve enjoyed painting on this surface from time to time because of the way it takes both oils and acrylics. As the support itself is brittle, I back it with acid free foamcore for framing. They have just come out with a new version of the product which is already mounted on the foamcore, making it more durable for travel purposes while maintaining the lightweight benefit.

For small paintings, I sometimes feel the weave of canvas interferes with the painting. As you can see here, the smoother surface of Multimedia Artboard allows me to work without that concern. I don’t feel I need to fight with unwanted texture.

I tend to like fairly absorbent surfaces. I can put more paint onto them, and avoid some of the streakiness of slick surfaces. I give the Multimedia Artboard a coat of Golden Matte Medium diluted 20% with water to cut down on just a bit of the absorption. The paint applies beautifully to the surface.

I’ve used it now for both oils and acrylics, and highly recommend this archival material. You can read about the product at www.multimediaartboard.com. You can order it by writing to the company through the link on the website. I’ve put up a link to the site from the right sidebar on my blog too, so you’ll always be able to find it here.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Spring | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Today began with a light haze, giving a silvery glow to the atmosphere over the Hudson River. The cherry blossoms are in full swing at Boscobel, and the reddish color is coming into Constitution Marsh as it springs back to life from winter dormancy.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Permanent Red Medium
Permanent Alizarin
Transparent Red Oxide
Cerulean Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Chromatic Black
Titanium White

My apologies for the slight glare on the left side of the painting. I’m a terrible photographer. That glare is only in the digital image, and not on the painting.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 2 Comments »

Click painting for a larger, clearer image:

12×16″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
$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.

For the past several days, I’ve been craving a painting day up in the Catskills. I loaded all my gear into my car this morning and drove up to do this painting this afternoon, then turned around and drove back. It was worth the trip for the exquisite weather, spring buds on the trees, and beautiful mountain views. The grass was shimmering in the sunlight, and I could hear the rushing of a waterfall as I painted.

I need to get better at tree identification. I don’t know what kind of tree this is in the foreground. I know it’s not a maple because it doesn’t have those rich, red spring buds. I love the twists and turns of the branches, and the trunk glistened where the light hit. That’s South Mountain in the background.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Spring | 2 Comments »

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

I didn’t feel like straying far from home today, so I set my chair outside in the yard and took in the first blooms of spring under the stand of evergreens. My little dog kept me company, the temps were in the high 40s, and the sun was shining. It’s hard to ask an early spring day for more than that! I’ve been peeking at these hyacinths from the window for a week or so, and I’m glad I got to paint them before they disappeared for another year.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Light
Permanent Red Medium
Permanent Rose
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Venetian Red
Chromatic Black
Viridian
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Flowers, Gardens and Flowering Trees, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

Today was heavily overcast, with showers predicted. I had a hard time deciding whether or not head over to the Hudson River to paint at Boscobel. In the end, I figured that any day of plein air painting is better than a day without plein air painting! For my efforts, I was greeted by this striking yellow sky, and extremely dark blue background hills. I’ve done many, many paintings of this view, but have never seen it quite the way it looked today.

Boscobel Restoration is in Garrison, New York, along the Hudson River. The view overlooks Constitution Marsh and West Point Military Academy.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Raw Sienna
Permanent Red Medium
Venetian Red
Cerulean Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

3×5″, Oils on Multimedia Artboard
This painting will be sent beautifully framed in a gold, wood frame and ready to hang. If you’d like the painting unframed, please contact me.
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I found four gorgeous gold wood frames for miniatures in an art store, and am doing some paintings for these beautiful frames. It may sound a little bit backwards, but it works! The painting size is 3×5″, and with the frame it is about 6×8″.

This painting was done from a photo I took on a Lake George sunset cruise. The colors were just magnificent, and the little islands in the lake provided the perfect silhouetted foreground elements for the colorful backdrop.

Here is what the frame looks like with the painting, though I think the painting colors above are more accurate.

8x10 and smaller, Adirondacks, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Miniature Paintings, Oil paintings, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

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

This is the 400 year anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the Hudson River. I am doing a series of Hudson River paintings to commemorate that event, and this is the first! This fabulous, huge yellow ship came down the river past West Point as I stood on the shoreline in Garrison snapping photos. Some of the works for this series will be done en plein air and some will be from photo references.

My palette for this painting:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon (Winsor Newton)
Raw Sienna (Williamsburg)
Venetian Red (Classic Artist Oils)
Ultramarine Blue Deep (homemade from Lukas pigment and alkalai-refined linseed oil)
Cerulean Blue (Classic Artist Oils, drained on a paper towel)
Titanium White (Winsor Newton)

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Quadricentennial Series, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold | No Comments »

Click painting for a larger, clearer image:

16×20″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on archival canvas panel
$695.00 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.

I started this painting a couple of weeks ago from a photo I took in Palenville, and worked on it a few days since then. For some reason, it seems to have taken me forever to get this one off the easel, but I think it is finally done.

Fifty years or so ago, you’d have seen the grand Catskill Mountain House looming on the escarpment to the right of the peak of South Mountain. Today it’s just an amazing view from up there that extends for hundreds of miles, and takes in over sixty miles of the Hudson River. The spring melt cascades down the mountain in streams and waterfalls that gave Palenville its nickname as “The Village of Falling Waters”.

This painting was done with a limited palette of Raw Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Primrose, Red Iron Oxide, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue, and Titanium White.

For some reason, the left side of the sky looks darker than the actual painting. It’s always impossible to get the digital image to exactly match. The room lighting must have been darker on that side when I snapped the picture!

16x20 and larger, Available, Catskill Mountains, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Winter and Snow Scenes | No Comments »

5×7″, Watercolor and ink on Fabriano Artistico 140# hp
$75.00 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 so often, I like to play with paints and ideas like a child in a sandbox. Today I did some small plein air paintings, experimenting with different styles and ideas. This abstract landscape is based totally on design and composition. The idea was to support an energetic design with bold contrasts, adventurous colors, and strong lines. I looked for elements in my yard along the brook, and arranged them for a dynamic composition. I examined the color of each large section of the landscape, and selected a pure, higher-chroma color to represent that segment of the painting. The colors are cerulean blue, cobalt violet, cobalt blue, and raw sienna, plus waterproof black India ink applied with a brush.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

8×6″, Oils on Raymar canvas panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I painted at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation today, admiring the subtle spring colors by the trout stream. My palette consisted of:
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Light
Pyrrole Red
Transparent Red Oxide
Raw Sienna
Cerulean Blue
French Ultramarine
Ivory Black
Viridian

I’m sure I didn’t need so many colors to portray this subtle landscape, but they were already on my palette, so I figured I’d put them to work!

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation | No Comments »

8×6″, oils on Raymar canvas panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This magnificent spot, with the red barns nestled in the valley below the Catskills, is about five minutes from our house. There are mountains and rolling fields everywhere you look. Locations like this one are what make me realize why the Hudson River School painters were so drawn to this area!

It was only 26 degrees yesterday morning when I painted this, so it was done from the warm comfort of my car, parked off on the side of the road!

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

8×6″, oils on Raymar canvas panel
$85.00 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.

Monochrome studies are such a great way to work on values. When I don’t have time to do a full-color painting, a monochrome sketch is always a good way to spend the time. I mixed together leftover paint from a morning painting to create this reddish-brownish-purplish mix, took a seat on the nearest rock, and used that with titanium white for an oil sketch of a small waterfall.

Here’s a photo of my Guerrilla thumbox at work with this painting! Isn’t it the cutest thing? It holds everything I need for small paintings.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location, Waterfalls | No Comments »

$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.

8x10 and smaller, Available | No Comments »

7×5″, oil on panel
$150.00 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.

Painted on location (en plein air).

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Oil paintings, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

30×40″, oils on stretched canvas
This studio sale price is over 65% off! $1,050.00 plus $65 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 has never appeared on my website nor in a show. I just took a picture of it yesterday for the first time. My style has changed quite a bit since I painted this. I thought it would be interesting for my viewers to see something I did many years ago.

I am offering this huge painting for sale now for the first time, and at a great price!

16x20 and larger, Available, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook | No Comments »

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

A couple of years ago, there was an amazing sunrise over the lake on a winter morning. I grabbed my camera, dashed out the door, and took hundreds of photos for future paintings. Here is another painting of the “Majestic Morning” series, just off the easel.

My palette for this painting was:
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red
Permanent Rose
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Ivory Black
Viridian

I didn’t really need all those colors to do this painting, but since I’d put them all out on my palette, what the heck! I dipped into everything.

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Oil paintings, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

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

8x10 and smaller, Boats and Ships, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | 2 Comments »

12×16″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$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.

Kaaterskill Clove was one of the favorite painting locations for many of the Hudson River School artists. Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Jasper Cropsey and many others painted these mountains in centuries past. It’s easy to see why they were drawn to this dramatic location. The Hudson River provided easy access upstate from New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley. The mountains are only 10 miles inland from the river.

Here is an image of the work in progress, after the underpainting and initial color layer:

Here’s how I set up to paint from the computer for works larger than 8×10″. I prefer this to using printed photos.

The colors I used are:
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Lemon
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Red
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Ivory Black

These are the mediums I planned to use for the painting. It’s the first time I tried the Weber Res-n-gel, but it didn’t tack up as quickly as I’d hoped. I think I prefer just turp, or turp and a tiny bit of Liquin for the underlayers.

I use a glass palette in the studio with a sheet of brown kraft paper below it. It is so easy to clean. I had a glass store cut this 16×24 piece of 1/4″ glass for me and grind the edges.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the steps and materials used along the way.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Catskill Mountains, Demos/Work in Progress, Greene County, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Palenville and Catskill, Winter and Snow Scenes | No Comments »

$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.

This gorgeous bouquet of gerbera daisies is paired with a little bird sculpture that hangs around my studio and enjoys making an appearance in still life paintings from time to time.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Still Life | 2 Comments »

Click painting for a larger, clearer image:

Sketches | 3 Comments »

$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.

5 x 7″ beautifully double matted to 8×10″, Gouache on Fabriano Artistico 100% rag paper. Painting with mat will fit into a standard 8×10″ frame, or without the mat in a 5×7″ frame. Price includes double mat.

Many thanks to Connie van Winssen for use of a photo reference for this painting from her villiage of Westbroek in The Netherlands. I don’t generally paint from photos other than my own, but I was so captivated by the colors and mood of this scene that I just had to paint it!

I selected a warm, limited palette of colors: Yellow deep, Venetian red, Ultramarine blue, and white to bring out the rich warmth and glow of the scene.

Below, you can see what my palette ended up looking like when I was finished! I did wipe it off once during the painting process, after laying in the initial colors. When a palette gets too muddy, that mud starts making its way into the painting.

Here’s how it looks with the mat, ready for a standard 8×10″ frame:

8x10 and smaller, Available, Demos/Work in Progress, Landscape, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

6×6″, Oils on linen
$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.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Lemon (Rembrandt)
Cadmium Red (Williamsburg)
Cobalt Blue (Winsor Newton)
Titanium White (Winsor Newton Artist & Winsor Newton Griffin mixed)
Initial wash of transparent yellow oxide (Rembrandt)

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

6×8″, Acrylics on linen. Matted to 8×10″
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Whew, was this ever hard! I thought it would never get finished. Sometimes these little ones can take as long as a much larger painting to complete. This one certainly fell into that category, but I am pleased with the result.

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

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Personal Collection, Still Life | No Comments »

16×20″, Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140# CP
$450.00 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.

The vibrant colors of this painting make me feel happy! This is a fairly large watercolor painting at 16×20″, and I wish I could get the whites to be that bright white color in the photo, like they are in the painting! It’s a good thing I’m a painter and not a photographer. This was a lot of fun…and a lot of work!

Whenever I make a clickable image, the smaller one looks a little fuzzy, so I’m putting up this extra image that you can click on to see this painting in a larger size:

16x20 and larger, Available, Still Life, Watercolor | 1 Comment »

Sometimes I just can’t seem to get ready to paint. I use so many different mediums, and paint such diverse subjects, that my studio is forever littered with acrylics, gouache, watercolor palettes, sketchbooks lying around, canvases stacked up against the walls, still life objects lining the window ledges, and dirty water containers, not to mention all the things that end up in my studio that don’t even belong here!

I woke up this morning thinking about starting a large painting. When I got to my studio, I took out a 24×36″ canvas and put it on the easel. All the furniture is on wheels, so I started thinking about doing some “easy” rearranging. Hahaha! It never works out that way. I was putting things away and moving things around, and by the time that was done, it was way too late to start something big.

Here are my studio mascots, collectively known as Double Trouble!

Even Lulu and Lucy thought I was crazed. They were very curious about the changes in their surroundings, and wondered what Mom was up to.

I figured I’d set up a still life and paint in watercolors instead, since I’d lost the morning already. Even that process seemed to go on forever today. Blue cloth or striped? Two clementines or a little blue and gold box? Brass bird or horse sculpture?

I finally made my decision on the still life setup, but now we were already into the afternoon. The phone started ringing. My daughter came home from school. I have a meeting this evening and had to get dinner underway. The day was slipping away. It seemed the best choice was to take some more photos to share with my viewers.

The image above shows the area where I have my computer and do many of my small paintings. If I’m not working from life, I look at the images on the computer monitor instead of printing out photos. The color is so much better, and I can zoom in as needed and make color/value adjustments. Plus, it saves all that ink and paper!

My sister gave me this hanging storage device. I think it was designed to hang in a closet and store jewelry, but it’s perfect for paint tubes. My most-used colors are in a box near the easel, so this holds mostly tubes of less-used oil paint colors that I need only on occasion, and keeps them easy to locate, yet out of the way.

My brother-in-law built this beautiful spice cabinet. It has a glass door with a key lock. When he moved to California, he didn’t know what to do with it, so I promised to put it to good use. It serves as a display/storage cabinet for my small still life objects and some smaller jars of mediums and pigments.

Some time ago, I made and installed these drying rails in my studio for my small paintings. They can hold paintings up to 16×20″ in size. I bought the molding at Home Depot, painted it, and secured it into the wall. If I were to do it again, I’d add a 1×1″ strip behind it to make the shelves a little deeper, and the paintings more secure. I use a dab of blu-tack on the backs of the paintings near the top to be sure they won’t topple over, since my rails are so narrow.

Tomorrow morning I will have that nice still life setup and my watercolors all set to go, plus a large canvas ready and waiting. At least I won’t have to clean again!

Edit:
Some viewers have emailed comments and questions.

Hi, Jamie,
Thank you for these wonderful pictures of your painting room. There
are wonderful ideas in them, and hopefully one day I can implement
one or two of them. Right now my studio is too crowded to even work!
It’s an extreme project.
You are inspiring and refreshing to see!
Regards,
Marilyn
PS I love your two birdies. It must be nice to have them and their
chatter in the creative process.

Marilyn, thank you for your comment. Have you ever heard that annoying sound that a crow makes? Well, imagine that fifty times louder. And imagine two of them. Then imagine it in an enclosed room with little sound absorption. That’s what Lulu and Lucy sound like when they get on a rant! They do make cute sounds too, like a gurgling sound when I give them peanuts, and a purring sound when they sit on my shoulder sometimes. They make kissing noises and say “Kiss?” when they want me to come over. So, for anybody who’s thinking they are so cute and they should run out and get some Jenday Conures, be sure your neighbors live far away, and that you have earplugs within reach!
Jamie

Thanks for sharing your studio.
I have a couple of otherwise decent universities that say I am a sculptor. Lately I have been working on my studio. Sculpture studios never look as nice as yours, ever.
Thanks again
dave

Dave, I knew there was a reason why I decided to be a painter! 😉 I have to say though, mine rarely looks this neat. That’s why I had to take the pictures—so that I can remember it was once this way!
Jamie

Jamie – Your studio looks great. I feel inspired. Right now I can’t walk in the room.
How long did it take you? Do you keep all the mediums in separate places?
Kay
Kay, it took a whole day. Yes, I do keep my mediums separate, and I keep my main colors separate from my extra colors, for the most part. I generally keep my main colors in a zip-lock bag, one for each medium. The bags are great because they take up the least amount of space, and I can just grab the bag labeled “main colors” when I’m on the run to go out painting. Extra oil paint tubes are stored on shelves in the garage, since they can endure cold temperatures easily.
Jamie

Demos/Work in Progress, Studio Tours | 7 Comments »

7×5″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on linen, framed in a lovely silver wooden frame (included)
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

My husband came home today with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me! These purple carnations are so gorgeous; I had to paint one right away.

Palette:
Quinacridone Magenta
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Primrose
Titanium White

The linen is clear-sized, so the beautiful color and texture remain visible.

8x10 and smaller, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Sold, Still Life | 1 Comment »

12×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard, lovely gold wood frame available (not included in price)
$375.00 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.

What better way to brighten up your day than with a bouquet of sunflowers, paired with one of Louise King’s unique “Mud Pony” horse sculptures? I loved doing this colorful painting, with the strong color, high contrasts, and varied textures. It’s one of my personal favorites.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Still Life | No Comments »

Yesterday I related the story about Joshua Bell playing in the Washington DC Metro. Only one comment was left on my blog, but I did receive some emails on the subject. Some relate to the perspective of that comment left yesterday (which you can see on the original post in the Comment section), and others related to the story itself. I found all of them to be interesting points of view, well worth sharing. Here are a few of them, which I’m posting anonymously.

“I took the story to mean that context is everything. Our presentations, lessons, dress, demeanor can make a very big statement. True, quality is great, but it has to work in context.”

“Here is my two cents on this issue. I, too saw the video of Bell playing in the station. My first thought was: Wow! It’s incredible how people are ignoring him! Almost immediately afterwards I thought: if I were a serious busker, I’d be playing on the platform where people actually have to WAIT to catch the trains. That’s a captive audience and more likely to notice me.”

A few commented on the comment left on my blog post at the bottom:
“Wow that’s a slap of cold reality about life in the big city – make’s me glad I live in a relatively small city with plans to eventually move to a smaller town! A good lesson for us as educators to question whether there are other sides to the story. ”

“I saw this story last year and I can relate totally to it. When you are coming off the train you are usually in a hurry to get to where you are going. I don’t think the poster’s comments are off the mark. Trains may come in every 5-6 minutes, but they don’t come from everywhere that often. I take the train to doctor’s appointments in Philadelphia. I can either get into Philly 40 min. before my appt. or 10 min. before my appt. It is about a 10 min. walk to the doctor’s office, so that is the best choice, but I don’t have time to dally. Also, since I only do this every 3 months, I sometimes have trouble remembering how to find the right exit from the train station, so I am concentrating on which way to go and trying to not get mixed up in the crowd of people. I don’t pay attention to what is going on in the station. On the trip home, I sometimes have extra time and might stop to listen to a musician, but that will depend on what time I get done with my appointment. Trains going back home only run every hour, so if I don’t have time to kill, I am in a hurry to catch a train. If I do stop and listen to someone playing music in the station, I am going to be careful- “

Thank you all for your points of view. They bring up many factors at work on the scene, and issues I’d not considered.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

My friend MaryLou Roberts sent along this story today. It is a true story from the Washington Post. I think it says a lot about our society, and it made me realize that one of the things I love most about painting, and plein air painting in particular, is that it forces me to “stop and smell the roses”. How much do we really see and hear of the world around us? Feel free to enter your comments on this post.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the
violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for
about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was
calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of
them on their way to work.

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best
musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written,
how many other things are we missing ?

You can click the play button below to see the YouTube video of the event as it happened. It’s worth the listen if only to hear snippets of Joshua Bell playing the Bach Chaconne!

Shows and News | 2 Comments »

7×5″, Golden Acrylics on Archival Foam Board
$140.00 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.

Love is in the air just in time for Valentine’s Day! Surprise your sweetheart with art from the heart. There’s plenty of time for this to be in your mailbox to give to that special someone.

I just finished struggling with this little painting for two days, but finally got the effect I was after! Doing the gouache study yesterday helped, but achieving a scrubby background that I liked proved to be more of a problem than I’d anticipated. I’m very pleased with the way this turned out in the end. I think I’ll do a series with these little Marilyn Price vases (from the RiverWinds Gallery ) and different flowers, just in time for my favorite holiday.

This is painted on archival foam board, which has archival paper glued to both sides of an inert foam core. It can be popped right into a standard 5×7″ frame and framed like an oil painting, without glass. You won’t even need a backing board for it, since it’s on a sturdy support.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Still Life | No Comments »

I really did want to paint today, but here it is after 9pm and I am still tidying up in the studio. I work in so many different mediums and subjects that after awhile, this place becomes a confusing jumble of still life setups, photo references for landscapes strewn around, oils, acrylics and watercolors out on the tables, jugs of wash water and containers of mineral spirits, not to mention now-dry paintings which will get damaged if they’re not sorted and put somewhere safe.

I guess it’s a day in the life of an artist, even if it’s not painting. However, for your entertainment value, I did take a quick photo tonight of my studio mascots, parrots Lulu and Lucy, as they supervised the process from the playtop of their cage. They are female Jenday Conures, and quite a handful! Although conures don’t usually talk, they both say “kiss” when they want a kiss, and also make kissing sounds. Too cute! Lulu also says “up” when she wants to be picked up.

Hopefully there will be a painting to post tomorrow, with a clean studio to work in!

Studio Tours | 1 Comment »

18×24″, Oils on canvas
$1,200.00 plus $40 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 painting done from a photo I took while out for an evening stroll with my husband in winter. It was done with a limited palette of just four colors and white. I love the way this turned out, with the dramatic light, contrast of the snow and branches, and harmonized color. It’s one of my personal favorite paintings.

16x20 and larger, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Oil paintings, Peach Lake and Brook, Sunrise/Sunset, Winter and Snow Scenes | 2 Comments »

5×7″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard

$140.00 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.

These three, small vases were made by my favorite potter, Marilyn Price. Her work is at the RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon, NY, along with many of my own paintings. Very often when I go to the gallery, I see something Marilyn made that I just can’t resist. My latest acquisition was made last Saturday, when I purchased the blue vase in the back of this painting. I set it up with two of her other pieces and played with using a lot of strong, pure color.

Palette:
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Viridian
Ivory Black
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Available, Demos/Work in Progress, Still Life | 2 Comments »

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

I watched President Barack Obama’s inauguration today. It is the Dawn of a New Day.

My palette for this painting:
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red
Permanent Alizarin
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Ivory Black
Titanium White

8x10 and smaller, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold | 1 Comment »

10 x 8″, Oils on Canvas board, unframed
$250.00 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 title says it all. This is a favorite reading and napping chair at home beside the fireplace, with the snuggly blanket draped over the top to take off the winter chill. I don’t paint many interior scenes, and I must say I enjoyed this tremendously. The most interesting challenge, from my artist’s perspective, was capturing the combination of cool light entering from a large picture window on the right, with warm light from the incandescent floor lamp.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Interior Scenes | No Comments »

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

This painting is done from a photo I took along Platte Clove Road, between Saugerties NY and Tannersville. The road is narrow and winds around the mountain, with sheer cliffs alongside, and is so dangerous that this portion is closed in winter. The views are breathtaking. My husband and I pulled off to the side of the road to take some pictures. After years of looking for a vacation home, it was this drive around Kaaterskill High Peak that narrowed our search to this dramatic area of the Catskills.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold | No Comments »

I started making some of my own oil paint a few years ago when I was in search of a higher quality Ultramarine Blue. In using a limited palette at that time, I was dependent on the ultramarine for providing the basis for the dark side of my palette. I needed the deepest, darkest, most heavily-pigmented ultramarine I could find. The best solution to my problem was to make my own. I stay away from cadmiums and toxic pigments, and just buy those in the store. Some pigments mix up easier than others. Ultramarine is a cinch!

The photo above shows the materials I use for paintmaking. I made this batch of Ultramarine Deep today and took these photos as I went to show my process. Making paint is my version of playing in the sandbox.

I begin with a nice big pile of pigment (above) on a 1/4″ glass slab, and make a crater in the center. I fill the crater with alkalai-refined linseed oil.

I work the oil into the dry pigment particles. I add more oil a little at a time as needed. I suppose I could do this more scientifically by taking careful measurements, but as in cooking, I prefer to adjust as needed rather than following a recipe. Now it’s time to take out the glass muller.

Contrary to what you might think, the paint becomes runnier as it is mulled. The glass muller crushes the clumps of pigment particles apart, so that the individual particles will be surrounded by the oil binder.

Since the paint tends to liquify as the oil surrounds the individual pigment particles, you may find it gets too runny and you need to add more pigment. There is actually quite a fine line between too much and not enough.

You may think you need quite a bit more pigment to increase the body of the paint, and then in a flash the entire mass becomes dry and unworkable. (above) A little more oil does the trick.

This is what I consider mulled to perfection. The pigment is well mulled into the oil. You can tell from the sheen that there is enough oil so that the paint won’t be underbound. If I add more pigment at this point, it will likely clump together again.

I’m done! I store these small containers of homemade paint in the freezer, and clean up the implements with mineral spirits or Windex. The paint containers will keep in the freezer indefinitely, as the cold slows the oxidation of the paint and the containers are airtight. I could put it into tubes if I preferred. Ultramarine pigment can get stringy when left sitting in oil, and since I don’t use wax or other additives in my paint to counteract that tendency, I find it keeps a better working consistency in the freezer.

Now it’s time to go paint!

Edit: I have removed the step of adding any mineral spirits at all, even in small amounts. I have done it both ways, and I think it is easier to gauge the proportions of oil and pigment without additional ingredients. Mineral spirits can result in underbinding of the paint, and it’s better not to take that risk.

Demos/Work in Progress, How to Make Paint | 9 Comments »

5×7″, Oils on Ampersand Gessoboard
$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.

Welcome to my new backyard! As you can see, it’s going to be a pretty exciting place to paint. It felt great to pull out the oils again and get back to my favorite passion—landscape painting.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Oil paintings, Palenville and Catskill, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

7×10″, Watercolor on Arches 140# hp
$100.00 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 really the little box in which I keep my miniature paintings, but Little Box of Secrets is a much better title!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

9×12, Watercolors on Arches 140# hp
$195.00 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.

Stay tuned for my return to oil and acrylic landscape paintings very soon!

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

12×9″, Watercolor on Arches 140# hp
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

Available, Portraits and Figures, Watercolor | 1 Comment »

6 x 6″, Oils 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.

This proved to be a much more challenging subject than I anticipated! I had a wonderful time today working through the issues presented by the interesting shapes, angles, and reflected light and color. I got this fascinating little bowl at the flea market last weekend. I have no idea what its original purpose was. It’s hard for me to envision a use for it, but it sure did work well for the painting! The mahogany boxes have also proved to be wonderful props. I love the rich, warm color and the flexibility they offer in positioning subjects .

My palette for this painting was:
Williamsburg Cadmium Yellow Medium
Williamsburg Cadmium Red Medium
Winsor Newton Artist Cadmium Orange
Winsor Newton Artist Burnt Sienna
Homemade Ultramarine Blue Deep
WN Griffin and Classic Artist Oils Titanium Whites mixed together

8x10 and smaller, Available, Still Life | 2 Comments »

11×14″, Watercolor on Arches 140#hp
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Portraits and Figures, Watercolor | No Comments »

15×11″, Watercolor on Arches 140# hp
$225.00 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.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

8.5×10″, Watercolors on Arches 140# hp
$145.00 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, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

11×13, Watercolor on Saunders Waterford 300#cp
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I’m taking a watercolor workshop this week with the amazing Charles Reid! I have many of his books and videos, so it’s a real treat to watch him paint and receive his critiques. The class is great, but unfortunately there is no spot-lighting for the still life setups. He did a wonderful demo this morning. We’ll be doing still life paintings again tomorrow, followed by three days of figures with a model. Stay tuned…..

Sold, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

18×24″, oils on stretched canvas
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I used a smaller, plein air version of this scene as a field study to paint this larger work inside the studio. This painting is still wet, and since it’s too large to fit in my light filtering box, there’s some glare on the image. I’ll try to get a better photo of the painting before it goes off to its new home!

16x20 and larger, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Sold | 2 Comments »

Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

30 x 24″, Oils on stretched, gallery-wrapped canvas, unframed

This painting was a long term project. It is on gallery wrapped canvas, with the sides painted to look like part of the shelf, so it does not require a frame. When the canvas hangs on a wall, it will look like a wall shelf mounted on the wall, though I think it would look fabulous with a rustic frame that looks like part of the shelf!

16x20 and larger, Available, Still Life | 3 Comments »

10 x 8″, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard, unframed
$250.00 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 was painted from a photo I took in New Paltz, New York. I love the vistas there by the Shwangunk cliffs, with rolling farmland and old barns everywhere.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape | No Comments »

8 x 6″, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard, unframed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

A couple of times a year, I go on photo expeditions with my painting buddy Sue to collect painting references. I painted this from one of the photos I took at Muscoot Farm. I love painting there en plein air, but since they don’t open until 10, it’s hard to catch the light and shadow on location before the sun is directly overhead. This beautiful path winds around behind the fields, with old trees and huge rock outcroppings.

This was painted with a limited palette of cadmium yellow lemon, venetian red, burnt sienna, and ultramarine blue, plus white. This is one of my favorite landscape palettes when I don’t need a bright red or strong violet. It yields nice greens and earth tones, and a lovely soft violet.

8x10 and smaller, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold | No Comments »

6×8″, ois on sealed, primed hardboard
$150.00 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 started a few weeks ago en plein air and finished up in the studio. I love this view of the Hudson River and surrounding hills, painted from a peninsula along the riverfront.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Beacon, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Oil paintings, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

12 x 16″, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
$495.00 plus $25 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 plein air painting that I did awhile back of the famous water tower along the Hudson River at Hastings-on-Hudson. There was a big environmental feud brewing between residents who wanted the tower restored and kept as a local landmark, and the property owner who wanted to avoid the high costs of restoration and just tear it down to build something more lucrative. I love the warm colors and interesting shapes, and wanted to be sure I had the opportunity to capture it in paint before it disappeared. I’ll have to check back and find out what the current status is, and whether or not the residents will be able to keep their landmark.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Tarrytown and Hastings Area | No Comments »

1.5×2″, Golden Fluid and Golden OPEN acrylics on rag bristol
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This little gem is just off my easel. My tiny paintings, which I fondly refer to as “Jamie’s Jewels”, make ideal holiday gifts. You can commission a favorite scene, or choose one of the unsold miniatures already available. They are only $100 and come gift-boxed. Take a look at some of them by clicking here and then scrolling down the page beyond this post.

You’ll see that they can be either on tiny, unframed, gallery-wrapped stretched canvases, or I can paint these postage stamp size minis and put them in beautiful gold frames. I ship them in gold gift boxes with gold ribbons, so they are ready to put under your tree or in Somebody Special’s Christmas stocking. They can be prepared to be hung on a wall, or set on a miniature easel like this one. Surprise a loved one this holiday season with a creative gift from the heart!

I took a photo of this painting with a tape dispenser so that you can better see the scale of this tiny work. The paintings are done under a magnification lamp with very small brushes, and actually take longer to do than paintings many times the size. Plus, they come beautifully framed!

8x10 and smaller, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Landscape, Miniature Paintings, Sold | No Comments »

I’m working on finishing up a commissioned painting today, and don’t know if it will be done in time to post it here for today’s painting. So, I thought instead, I’d provide this link for you to click on for your entertainment. Now you’ll all know what plein air painters really face when we head out on location! Be sure you have your computer speakers turned on to experience the full effect!

Uncategorized | No Comments »

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

This painting was done on location at Peach Lake in the Hudson Valley of New York State.

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard

All of these objects were “white”, but had leanings toward different colors. I pushed the colors and values of the different subjects, and varied edges and contrast to make my focal point.
$195.00 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.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Still Life | No Comments »

12×12″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

I don’t paint still lifes very often this time of year, but the Three Muses and apples were hard to resist!

8x12 to 12x24, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Sold, Still Life | 1 Comment »

What is your least favorite color? This is the question my viewers were asked to vote on this past week, and here are the results:
Yellow (18%)
Orange (23%)
Red/Pink (9%)
Violet/Purple/Lavender (5%)
Blue (5%)
Green (14%)
Black (27%)

Isn’t it interesting that during Halloween month, Black and Orange led the pack? I’ll be putting up a new poll this evening. Many thanks to all the participants!

Uncategorized | No Comments »

5×7″, Oil on canvas covered 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.

This old stone barn at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is just loaded with character. It’s a wonderful subject in any season, but of course nothing beats fall!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation | 1 Comment »

Click to enlarge:

16×20″, oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

From this spot nestled in the Catskill Mountains, there are gorgeous views from every angle. I can’t wait to go back in different seasons to experience the changes. This was painted from a photo I took while vacationing there with my husband, though I have painted here en plein air as well.

16x20 and larger, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

11×7.5″, Watercolor on Saunders Waterford 300# CP
$150.00 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.

It’s Watercolor Wednesday again. I went out first thing this morning to buy sunflowers. This painting was inspired by Charles Reid, with drips, spatters and sprays. Great fun!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Still Life, Watercolor | No Comments »

8×10″, Oils on Raymar linen panel
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Palette: Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Permanent Rose, Ivory Black, Titanium White
Painted on location at Olana in Hudson, New York.

8x10 and smaller, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

6×8″, oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

This painting was done en plein air at Olana during the workshop. The palette is just Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Permanent Rose, black and white. It was an interesting exploration of warm and cool color without a blue on the palette.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

There’s a new poll posted on the right sidebar of my blog ——–>
Results will be posted next Sunday.

I was curious to know who visits my site, so the last poll asked you if you are an art lover/collector, amateur artist, or professional artist. The results were:
Art Lover/Collector: 25%
Amateur Artist: 38%
Professional Artist: 38%

Many thanks to those of you who voted. I’m not surprised by the results, as I also love looking at other artists’ sites! Poll results will remain on the right sidebar, and as more accumulate, I may move them below the gallery listings.

Jamie

Uncategorized | No Comments »

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$250.00 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 didn’t have a chance to do a watercolor today, so it looks like Watercolor Wednesdays will have to resume next week.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

At the workshop today, Kenn spoke about hard and soft edges and did a beautiful painting demonstrating the topic. Then it was our turn to try our hand. It was freezing cold outside and raining on and off. Sometimes on those overcast days, the skies can be grey and dreary, but today there was lots of variation and color in the sky as the rains came and went from west to east. I had my painting umbrella, so I fared better than most.

I don’t have my light box setup here to photograph my paintings. The lighter clouds are much warmer in color. I’ll get a better photo once I get home and will then swap the images.

8x10 and smaller, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

I’m up in the Catskill Mountains of New York State taking a wonderful week-long workshop with fabulous plein air painter Kenn Backhaus. Today he discussed block-ins. He did a color mixing demo and a painting demo in the morning, and then we did a couple of block-ins in the afternoon. Although these are not meant to be finished paintings, I might finish them up from photos once I get home.

Here’s my other block-in from this afternoon:

These are both just 8×6″, and were done with my little Guerrilla Painter “thumbox” in oils, on sealed, primed hardboard panels.

Uncategorized | No 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.

Sketches | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

This was painted yesterday at Boscobel Restoration in Garrison, New York, when the sun finally emerged from the heavy cloud cover as promised. The light shimmered on the Hudson River, and the backlighting on the red tree made it glow like Christmas bulbs.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

I know this looks like some kind of strange abstract in its infant stages, but stay tuned! Watercolor Wednesday will continue on Thursday this week, and I’ll post the finished painting tomorrow.

Finished painting can be seen by clicking here.

Demos/Work in Progress, Watercolor | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Although I go to Boscobel several times every year in fall, I never get tired of painting Constitution Marsh as it turns from the greens of summer to the blazing colors of fall. The Hudson River was shimmering brightly this morning despite the clouds, as if the sun somehow sought out the river in spite of the overcast skies. It was another fabulous fall day to be out painting.

8x10 and smaller, Cold Spring and Garrison, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

This is my favorite tree along the lakeshore here. It turns this bright crimson color in fall, and I love the twists and turns of the trunk.

I painted this with my new little pochade box! It is the Guerrilla Painter Thumbox with the palette extension and watercolor palette. I filled the watercolor palette up with oil paints. That palette gets covered with the mixing palette, so the paints stay wet and it’s really fast to set up. Here’s a picture of the new box with a progress image of the painting:

8x10 and smaller, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Plein Air--painted on location | 4 Comments »

8×10″, oils on Raymar canvas panel
$250.00 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.

Painted on location at Olana in Hudson, New York. (Home of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church)

8x10 and smaller, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

Pathway at Olana
7×10″, Watercolor on 300# Saunders Waterford cp
$150.00 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.

It’s Watercolor Wednesday again! I still have Hudson River School images of Olana running through my mind, so I pulled out the photos I took while painting there the other day and did this one from my pictures. I worked on Cold Press paper this time.

Palette:
Raw Sienna
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Cadmium Red
Permanent Alizarin
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Burnt Sienna

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Watercolor | 2 Comments »

6×8″, oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$165.00 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.

When the haze lifted, the view of the Hudson River suddenly appeared in the distance!

8x10 and smaller, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | 2 Comments »

6×8″, oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$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.

It was raining pretty heavily at 6:30am and I wondered if I should go up to the beautiful home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Church for the day. I finally decided to take the chance, and drove up to Olana.

It was heavily overcast when I got there, but the rain had ended. I set up my easel along this path winding down through the fields, where I enjoyed the serenity, atmospheric light, and fading distances.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Fall, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Olana and Hudson NY, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Canson board
$250.00 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 love this spot in the Catskills with the little red barns. I’ve been doing a bunch of compositional and color studies to select a composition for a large painting of the scene. This is the third one I’ve done. It was painted mostly on location, and touched up a bit in the studio.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 1 Comment »

12×24″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This painting was done this morning at sunrise at Cold Spring waterfront park along the Hudson River. It was sooooo cold. Brrrrrr!!!! Storm King mountain was initially shrouded in fluffy pink clouds. It was an awesome sight, but the clouds had risen by the time I was set up to paint.

8x12 to 12x24, Cold Spring and Garrison, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Landscape, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | No Comments »

1 3/4×2″ framed, Golden OPEN Acrylics on rag bristol, gold gift boxed
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.
FREE SHIPPING special on this piece for limited time only!

The Micro Master series of my “Jamie’s Jewels” paintings have been among my most popular sellers. Always a perfect gift item, they are sent out, fully framed, in little gold boxes with gold bows as shown below, complete with hanging hardware attached and a brass tack from which to hang your gem. (Quarter is for size reference only.)

This painting is a copy of the famous painting, Van Gogh’s Chair. The chair was a symbol of stability in his world of continual crisis. He painted this in December of 1888 through January 1889.

I love doing these tiny copies, as it makes me closely examine paintings that I so admire in terms of their composition, rendering style, and color harmonies.

8x10 and smaller, Miniature Paintings, Sold | No Comments »

12×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This painting was started on dull, dreary, rainy Sunday. It was lifeless and boring, so I went back to Tilly Foster Farm this morning when the sun was shining to “turn on the lights”. I like it much better now as a happy day painting!

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Brewster and North Salem, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Tilly Foster Farm | 1 Comment »

12×16″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This 12×16 oil painting was started on location, and finished up today in the studio. It highlights the strong oranges present in the landscape in fall. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the blazing orange-red fields at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, where the brilliant tree in the foreground is lit up with additional rusty and orange tones.

8x12 to 12x24, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation | No Comments »

Click for clearer, larger image:

I’ve made a pact with myself to start doing sketches every Saturday. I have some Saturday paintouts coming up, so there may be times when I need to do “Saturday Sketches” on a different day instead, but I’m going to try to stick to posting them on Saturdays. I’ve received so many comments from viewers who enjoy seeing my sketches, and the drawing practice is very important.

I almost always sketch from life, but today I checked into the Wetcanvas Weekend Drawing Event and couldn’t resist doing some watercolor sketches from those beautiful reference images! Check it out sometime; there is a different host every week, and the images are usually posted on Fridays, in plenty of time for everybody’s weekend enjoyment.

Sketches | 1 Comment »

12×12″, Oils on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

The Catskill Mountain area has some of the most exquisite vistas in the Hudson River Valley. Roads that wind through woodlands suddenly open up to fields with tremendous, breathtaking blue mountains looming in the distance.

This scene fell so perfectly into a square format that I considered myself very fortunate to have a 12×12″ panel with me! I started this painting in early afternoon, and the light on the scene got better and better as the afternoon went on.

8x12 to 12x24, Catskill Mountains, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »

Click image for a larger, clearer version:

18×24″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
$1,050.00 plus $40 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 photograph and a small color study of the scene that I painted a few weeks ago. You can see the color study here.

It is a fall view overlooking the Hudson River from private property in Garrison, New York. I may still tweak a few things on the larger version and will try to get a better photograph of it soon!

16x20 and larger, Acrylic paintings, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape | No Comments »

6×8″, Oils on board (sealed, primed hardboard)
$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.

I just got back from a plein air painting trip to the Catskill Mountains. This little 6×8″ oil painting was done beside a charming pond in Acra, New York. As I approached the pond from the far side, it didn’t look all that interesting. Then I turned around and saw that huge mountain looming in the distance! Wow! I’m told it is Windham High Peak.

It felt wonderful to pull out the oil paints again! I’ve gotten really hooked on the Golden OPEN paints, but oils sure are great too.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Greene County, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

6×6″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on linen, mounted on rag board to frame as an oil painting (without glass)
$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.

These little wooden figures are so much fun to paint. I paired them with three small, old books for my Full House painting.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Still Life | 1 Comment »

Click to enlarge:

24×18″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on canvas covered hardboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This large painting was done using my plein air study, “The Base of Kaaterskill Falls”, as a reference image, along with a photo I took at the scene. I did a value underpainting in Transparent Red Oxide before going in with local color. One of the things I love about the Golden OPEN paints is the way the underpainting shows through without mixing and muddying the color. I would have had to wait for my oil paints to dry before continuing in order to achieve some of the effects I got here with Golden OPEN.

This was one of the spots painted by many of the old Hudson River School painters, and many of the new ones too! This painting is just the bottom tier of the falls; there is another tier above!

16x20 and larger, Catskill Mountains, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Greene County, Hudson River School, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Sold, Waterfalls | 2 Comments »

Four artists who have been using the new Golden OPEN paints were selected to do interviews with Mark Golden for his online magazine Just Paint. I was one of the lucky few who shared my experiences with the OPEN acrylics in the article. You can click here to read a full color, PDF version of the magazine with images, or instead you can read a text version with no photos on the website. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!

You can post any comments you have to me about the article by clicking “comments” below.

Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Shows and News | 1 Comment »

6×8″, acrylic on sealed, primed hardboard
$160.00 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 once knew a wonderful painter named Mike Pacitti, who passed away a few years ago. He used a few different colors to underpaint with. One of them was called Burnt Carmine, made by Rembrandt. I remember it as a strong carmine/crimson color mixed with black. Even with black in the mix, I was surprised by how strong the color was when I saw Mike use it, and yet his paintings were filled with beautiful subtleties.

I decided to try something like that while waiting for clouds to break along the Hudson River in Cold Spring. I mixed Quinacridone Magenta half and half with Carbon Black, and used that to do the underpainting for this little plein air. It was much stronger than the colors I normally use to lay out my composition and values. No matter what you use to paint over it, the magenta seems to work its way through. Part of me thinks it still comes through too much. Another part of me thinks I’m just not used to it, and that I kind of like the effect.

What do you think? (Please click “comments” at the bottom of this post to let me know rather than emailing, because I’m getting swamped! 😉 )

8x10 and smaller, Acrylic paintings, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Oil paintings, Plein Air--painted on location | 2 Comments »

12×16″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Raymar smooth canvas panel
Email me at JamieWG@aol.com if interested in this painting.

This was painted late in the afternoon on location in Cold Spring, New York. It was one of those perfect pre-fall days, filled with the glow of the late day light and the Hudson River breezes. I took the photo below after completing the painting, so the light and shadows had changed somewhat from the time I started. I kept going out to the car to get more things, so you can see that by the end of the day, I had accumulated enough stuff on site for three artists!

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Cold Spring and Garrison, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River School, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location | 2 Comments »

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.

8x12 to 12x24, Brewster and North Salem, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Pastels, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold | No Comments »

6×6″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Ampersand Gessoboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Above is the completed painting, and below is an image of the work in progress. I’d initially planned to put in foreground grasses, but after doing that, I felt the painting was more effective without them. So, I worked on it yet a third time, and took the foreground grasses out!

It’s interesting how much the color of light affects what we see. The image of the finished painting was taken with the corrected light of my photo box, but the progress image was taken in cool daylight. The actual colors in paintings vary according to the lighting conditions where we view them.

I did the underpainting for this work with a color I’d not tried before from the Golden OPEN line—Quinacridone Gold. I love the warm glow that it brings to the work. I could get hooked on this color!

This is painted from a photo I took down in Constitution Marsh on the Hudson River. It’s been in my file of things I want to paint for a long time! With fall on the way, it seemed the right moment to pull out this lively autumn scene.

I’m still using an expanded palette because the paint is still wet from yesterday, and I’ve even added a few colors to the large assortment I was working with. So far for this painting I’ve used:
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Primrose
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Naples Yellow
Cadmium Red Light
Pyrrole Red
Ultramarine Blue
Transparent Red Oxide
Quinacridone Gold
Carbon Black
Jenkins Green

8x10 and smaller, Acrylic paintings, Boats and Ships, Cold Spring and Garrison, Demos/Work in Progress, Fall, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Lakes and Streams, Landscape, Sold | 5 Comments »

12×16″, Oils
$525.00 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.

8x12 to 12x24, Available, Hudson River Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Lighthouses, Plein Air--painted on location | No Comments »

5×7″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Ampersand Gessoboard
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I drove to the other end of the lake to get western views of the sunset. We took loads of photos. This is my first painting from that series of images. I managed to stop myself a few times along the way to take some photos and post a demo.

I set up to paint with more colors on my palette than usual in order to get the more highly saturated sunset colors.

As you can see above, I used a more expanded palette for this painting than usual. My color choices were:
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow Primrose
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Pyrrole Red
Quinacridone Magenta
Ultramarine Blue
Jenkins Green
Phthalo Blue
Carbon Black

When I paint on a small board like this 5×7″ Gessoboard above, it’s hard to hold it and paint edge to edge. I use “blu tack” and affix it to an 8×10″ board. Then I can hold the larger board and be able to paint all the way to the edges without getting paint on my fingers, or I can set it down on a little tabletop easel.

My computer monitor yields stronger, more accurate color and chroma than a printed out photo, so I like to set up like this for small works and paint right off the computer screen. I use the old telephone book on the right to wipe my brushes before rinsing. It’s a great way to conserve paper towels and simultaneously recycle and old phone book. When the page gets filled with paint, I just tear it off, toss it, and go to the next page.

When a painting has areas of light, highly saturated color, I always put that down first. That holds the chroma, and then I can paint into it. It’s a lot easier to dull down strong color than it is to get this kind of brilliance on top of a grey or dark color. You can see how I reserved all the areas of strong color here:

Once the base colors and values have been laid down, I can start painting into them, creating variation, adding details, and adjusting edges. From the step above, it isn’t a long way to the finish line:

8x10 and smaller, Brewster and North Salem, Demos/Work in Progress, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Peach Lake and Brook, Sold, Sunrise/Sunset | 3 Comments »

I have 22 freshly varnished oil and acrylic paintings in these drying racks. Over the past several days they’ve been getting isolation coats and varnish coats. Many artists who paint in both mediums have asked me for information on my varnishing process, so I thought I’d take some time today to describe my process.

There are several different products that can be used to obtain a variety of finishes depending on personal artistic preferences. I love gloss varnish. It pops the colors and values and gives a shiny, professional appearance. I have chosen products to yield that result. There are many other good products on the marketplace too.

I start with Golden Soft Gel (Gloss) and relatively soft, synthetic brushes to do an isolation coat on the acrylic paintings. Oil paintings do not require this step. I use the small container shown above to measure. The Gel gets diluted two parts Gel to one of water. I mix it up thoroughly in a styrofoam bowl.

I clean off the painting surface with a lint free rag to be sure there are no dust particles on the surface. Then each dry acrylic painting gets a thin coating, following the direction of the brushstrokes. One coat is generally enough to seal a relatively non-porous surface, such as my sealed, primed hardboards. Rag paper and matboard, even if sized before painting, generally requires 2-3 thin coats. You can tell when you’ve put on enough coats because the surface develops a soft sheen.

Many acrylic painters make the mistake of eliminating the isolation coat. That results in too much varnish penetrating through the surface of the support, and can cloud your painting. Also, it will leave an uneven finish. Putting on enough isolation coats to prevent penetration of the varnish yields a beautifully even gloss. It is well worth the additional steps! The second isolation coat can be applied several hours after the first if necessary. Be sure the first coat is dry, and not tacky.

I like the Soluvar Gloss Varnish a lot for both oil and acrylic paintings. Be sure your oil paintings are completely dry before varnishing. That will generally take 6-12 months. Acrylic paintings can be varnished as soon as the isolation coat has cured. In dry, room temperature conditions, that should only take a few days.

Soluvar varnish is removable for cleaning, non-yellowing, and gives a great sheen. I used to use Gamvar, but found I had some adhesion problems on sections of some of my oil paintings, and the varnish would bead up as it was applied. I have not had that problem with Soluvar. I use the large, natural hair brush above for paintings 12×16 and larger, and the smaller natural/synthetic blend brush for smaller works. You need to work quickly with varnish before it dries.

I pour a small amount into a ceramic pot that I reserve for varnishing. I dip the bottom section of the brush in and wipe some off on the side of the pot. Varnish your painting section by section, overlapping sections as you go. I lie them face up once done until they are tacky. Although varnish should be applied too thin to drip, I always take that precaution. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

I got inexpensive, small letter holders (above) at Staples, and each can hold five paintings upright. They are only a couple of dollars each, and about 4″ tall. I bought them a couple at a time as I needed more and more of them. Once the paintings have tacked up, I set them in the letter holders. The first photo in this post shows what the paintings look like when they are set into a series of these letter holders.

You can also see on that first image, that a fan above the paintings draws the solvent fumes out of the room while I work. I have another fan on the other side of the room, by an open door to the garage, that helps push air across the room and out. That way, my paintings will dry faster and I can simultaneously vent the fumes out of my work space.

Once the paintings are varnished, I give them a couple of days to dry fully (in dry weather) before framing them. I hope this little demo helps some of you who have been struggling with varnishing. If you’ve been avoiding it, you’ll find it’s a lot easier than you thought, and the result is well worth the little bit of time and effort. Your paintings will glow with a new life!

You can read more about varnish application techniques in this article on the Golden website.

Demos/Work in Progress, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Varnishing Oil and Acrylic Paintings | 12 Comments »

Click to enlarge:

24×30″, oils on stretched canvas
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

This painting was done over a period of several days on location from one of my favorite painting spots at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY. It is a view of an old farmhouse currently occupied by one of the preserve managers. The fields turn brilliant colors starting in late summer and continuing through the fall.

16x20 and larger, Fall, Hudson River Valley, Landscape, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation | 7 Comments »

Click for a clearer, enlarged image:

Sketches | 1 Comment »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Canson board
$250.00 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 beautiful cove sits nearly deserted beside the major road, Route 3, that runs along the shore of Mt. Desert Island as you enter from the mainland. I spent a quiet morning painting here with Gail Ribas (head of the Acadia Art Workshops) and her mom. It was a hazy, still morning, filled with serenity and subtle colors.

8x10 and smaller, Available, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Landscape, Maine, Plein Air--painted on location | 3 Comments »

8×10″, Golden OPEN Acrylics on Canson board
SOLD! Please email me at JamieWG@aol.com to inquire about a similar painting.

Sand Beach is one of the most beautiful spots in Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We settled in for a morning of bright sunlight and strong wind—too strong to use my beach umbrella for shade. The rocky slope and blue-green water were a challenge to paint of the very best kind! I set my painting chair in the sand and used my lightweight painting box to capture the scene.

8x10 and smaller, Golden OPEN Acrylic Paintings, Landscape, Maine, Plein Air--painted on location, Sold | No Comments »