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Switching over to a new blog account and URL

Please click here to be redirected now. Remember to bookmark the new site and/or click the subscribe button at the top of the new banner!

I am switching over to my new blog account and URL now. The new blog is the same URL as the old one, without the "blogspot": http://hudsonvalleypainter.com.

Sleepy Sunday and bunches of sketches---Open Studio Life Drawing

12x16, pastels on Daler Rowney paper, $40
To purchase, click here, then click Paypal link.

I spend my Sunday mornings with a group of artists in a figure drawing studio, where we have a different model every week. We practice drawing from poses ranging from one minute to 25 minutes, in whatever medium we choose. It's no wonder the great masters always worked on drawing figures from life. There is no better practice for the hand and eye, and it is a skill that carries over to all subjects.

The drawing above is in pastel on Daler Rowney pastel paper. I love the different colors it comes in and the woven texture. This was a 20 minute pose---the last pose of the session. We were all a little sleepy by then, even the model!

I'm in the process of switching over to my new blog, so my Paypal links are already over there along with many more drawings from the session. If you're interested in purchasing this drawing, seeing the others I've posted, or just checking out my new site before it officially opens, just click here. The new URL is http://hudsonvalleypainter.com. You can also click up at the top of that blog to subscribe and be notified via email of future posts. I'll be maintaining this blog too through the rest of the week as I make the changeover.

Please come visit the new site, and bookmark it for your future reference. I think you'll find it much more viewer-friendly!

International Sketchcrawl 13---A Grid of Sketches

Today was the International Sketchcrawl #13, and although I didn't get nearly as much sketching in as I'd hoped, I did finish up a two-page grid in my sketchbook that I'd started a couple of weeks ago. This is 8x10", across a two page spread. Thes were done in my father-in-law's apartment overlooking the Hudson River, in another relative's home, waiting for my daughter outside the gym, a compositional sketch for a painting, the office building for the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, waiting again in a waiting room, and a couple of things in my studio.

International Sketchcrawl #13 tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the official International Sketchcrawl #13. That means that artists around the globe will be packing up their sketchbooks, pens, pencils, brushes and paints, and heading out to do as many sketches of their day as they possibly can. Whether you're an "artist" or not, anybody can participate by just doodling your surroundings as the day goes by. I hope to have plenty of drawings to show by the time I post here tomorrow night.

Today we're having a blizzard here in the Hudson Valley, with upward of a foot of snow possible! Schools are cancelled, so I've been having a family day and working on the new blog, which is almost ready to unveil.

Fall Overlooking Constitution Marsh and Storm King

Fall Overlooking Constitution Marsh and Storm King
5x7", gouache
Available unframed, or matted and custom framed. Email me for details.

Sketching in Watercolor at Rockefeller State Park Preserve

5x7", double matted to 8x10", Ink and watercolor on Fabriano Artistico hot press rag paper
$30 including ivory/gold double mat as shown below, and shipping within the US, via Paypal
Email me if interested



Today was overcast and although the sun was barely peeking through, I couldn't resist an evening stroll at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. I sat by Swan Lake and sketched for awhile with watercolors and ink, enjoying the pastoral view and beginnings of spring.

This sketch is double matted with an ivory outer mat and beautiful gold inner mat, ready to pop into any standard 8x10 frame.

The End of the Ocean Path in Acadia National Park

6x8, Oils on canvas covered, archival hardboard
$125 including shipping within the US, via Paypal
(email me if interested)

Acadia National Park in Maine is by far my favorite vacation spot. This was painted today from a photo I took during one of my annual excursions there. I never get tired of visiting Acadia, and I never get tired of painting it either!

No Skating---Thin Ice

No Skating: Thin Ice
5x7, Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
$100 unframed via Paypal within the US
Email me if interested; my Paypal server link is still under the weather.

All the snow started melting today here in the northeast. I went to Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco, New York to do some painting. There is a lovely Chinese style pavillion there overlooking the pond. The ice was starting to melt as the sun peeked in and out of the clouds. It's nice to finally get a little taste of spring!

Last night was the opening of the Hudson Valley show at Freshman Fine Arts in Beacon. Many thanks to my friends and fans who came to see the show. Below are a few photos of my paintings there. Please contact the gallery directly at 845-440-8988 if you see something that interests you. The paintings range in size from 5x7" up to 24x36".









The show is really wonderful, with a wide variety of colorful work ranging from abstract to contemporary realism. Please do stop by and see it if you're in the area.

Fall Beginnings, varnished and framed

Fall Beginnings
5x7, oils on canvas
$120, varnished and framed, including shipping within the U.S., payable via Paypal. (Email me if interested.)

This painting is varnished, framed with a lovely antiqued gold frame, and ready to hang on your wall or stand on a table with an easel back. All it needs is a spot on your wall, or the side table to a sofa!

This is one of my favorite trees along the lakeshore here by my house. The trunk and branches have so many interesting twists and turns, and the foliage turns a bright gold in late fall. I've been meaning to get out there to paint it in winter. I guess I'd better hurry up and do that before all the snow is gone!

Show Opening Saturday March 10, 6-9pm at Freshman Fine Arts

I have eight paintings ranging in size from 5x7" up to 24x36" in a show opening tomorrow at Freshman Fine Arts in Beacon, NY. Please join us for some wine and munchies between 6 and 9pm to see different artists' interpretations of the Hudson River Valley, from abstract to realism.

There's always lots going on during Beacon's monthly "Second Saturday". Shops and galleries are open late, all the galleries have their new openings then, there are glass blowing demos at Hudson Beach Glass, and wine tasting at the Artisan wine shop. There are wonderful restaurants and antique shops. It's a great way to spend a Saturday night. Come join the fun!

Saturday, March 10, 6-9pm
Freshman Fine Arts
4 South Chestnut Street
Beacon, NY
Phone: 845.440.8988

Cherry Blossoms in the Italian Gardens at the Vanderbilt Mansion

Cherry Blossoms in the Italian Gardens
12x16", oils on canvas covered hardboard
Email me if interested in purchasing. (Link on right under the links menu)

When out painting landscapes on location (plein air), artists encounter issues with changing light and having to work fast. Sometimes paintings need little fixes in the studio, such as picking out pieces of leaves that fell off trees, bumping up a few highlights, or adjusting color/value in spots to account for viewing with indoor lighting. I have several paintings done on location that have been waiting patiently in the studio for small fixes of one kind or another.

This painting was done last spring in the Italian Gardens at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York, and has finally received a few touch-ups. The cherry blossoms there are nothing short of stunning. I can't wait for late April to roll around so I can paint cherry blossoms from life again!

Sunset Over the Fields

Sunset Over the Fields
5 x 7", Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
Sold

This is another scene from beautiful New Paltz, New York, painted from a photo I took there last fall.

The new Hudson Valley Painter blog banner

I'm moving my blog next week to its own domain name! I'll also be changing blog software. My designer suggested I come up with my own top banner for the blog, so I thought, what better banner for a Hudson Valley Painter than a panoramic scene from one of my favorite painting spots overlooking the Hudson River! I've done tens of paintings from this location. I went through photos this morning of this overview from Boscobel, taken through many years and seasons. The photo I chose from which to paint the banner was one taken on a chilly November day. This is gouache, painted on Fabriano artistico. It's 3x12, which is about the actual size of the banner, so I had to break out the teeny tiny brushes. Next I need to break out the Nikon to get a clearer image of it!

Not for sale at this time.

Magenta Mums and Brass Bird

Magenta Mums and Brass Bird
16 x 12", Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$395 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

I bought this gorgeous pot of magenta mums last week and it's been sitting in my studio begging to be painted ever since! The little brass bird, which is one of my favorite still life objects, was the perfect complement for the pinks and violets. It picked up some of the reflected color and cast it into the shadows. This was painted with brushes and palette knives. There's a lot of texture in the thick paint that is hard to show in a digital image.

Bench With a View from Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Bench With a View
14 x 11", Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
$350 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

It was a gorgeous fall day at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation when I painted this on location, "en plein air". One of the preserve managers lives in the house at the bottom of this hill. The red fall fields and views of the surrounding hills make this one of my favorite spots on the 4700 acre property. There is a paintable scene in every direction! They recently put in the bench by the tree, providing weary hikers with a perfect resting spot to view the serene landscape.

Welcome to the USA Today readers!

I'd like to give a big welcome to all the USA Today readers who are coming to visit my online studio/blog as a result of today's article in USA Weekend. Thanks so much for stopping in and browsing through my paintings.

The front blog page only holds 30 days of work, so you can see other paintings by clicking on the archive links on the right side of this page. Most unsold paintings not currently in galleries have Buy Now links so that you can pay by credit card or bank transfer securely through Paypal. Paintings are priced by size, hence the wide price range.

I do lots of pet and landscape commission work, so feel free to contact me if you've got a special pet or scene in mind that you'd love to see in paint!

Feel free to email any questions to me; there's a link directly to my email on the right side of this page, under "Links". I hope you enjoy your visit. There's a new post nearly every day, so please bookmark my site and come back often to see what's going on in the studio.

Jamie

Great Blue Heron in the Marsh

Great Blue Heron
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

This painting was done from a photo that my sister took on a trip to Florida years ago. Great Blue Herons visit frequently on the stream behind my house. I plan to paint one from my own photos soon, but this pic that my sis took was so beautiful and majestic that I thought I'd try hers first! It's amazing how green the Florida greens are. I rarely need to punch up greens with viridian or phthalo green here in the northeast, but in working from this Florida photo, I finally had to give in and use a tiny dab of viridian mixed into the green of the foreground.

Salmon Sunset

Salmon Sunset
5 x 7", Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

Chickadee Haven

Chickadee Haven
6 x 8", Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$125 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

This is a 6x8" compositional study in oils for a large painting I'm doing for the headquarters of Putnam County Land Trust, which is the building in the painting. (It used to be called Chickadee Haven by its former owner.) It abuts their 140 acre Peach Lake Natural Area. I felt like having a little color explosion today, so I did it using Charles Sovek's cadmium orange/cerulean blue light/shadow underpainting. I always like the vibrancy and depth that combination yields. I'll be doing the larger painting with more of a yellow/violet color harmony, rather than the orange/blue.

Here's a little idea of how this was done. I started with a mix of cadmium orange and titanium white for the lights, and cerulean blue for the darks. All light areas were blocked in with the orange mixture, and darker areas with the blue:


This is the beginning of the color-adding process:

A Walk in New Paltz

A Walk in New Paltz
5 x 7", Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

There is so much to paint from this one spot in scenic New Paltz, New York, that I think I could go there every day for a month and not run out of things to paint by just facing in different directions!

This painting can also be purchased with custom framing. Email me, rather than clicking the button above, if you wish to purchase it framed and ready to hang.

Lovebird's Concerto---oil painting

Lovebird's Concerto
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Sold
Click here to see gifts and personal items with reproductions of this painting that are available for purchase. More products with this image will be coming, so please check back soon!

Many thanks to Rodney and Tamara Money for the photo reference of their adorable bird. BeBe won top bench placement in the African Lovebird Society Pet Writing Contest just a few weeks ago. He is a Dutch Blue Pied Peach-faced Lovebird. Rodney and Tamara are lovebird breeders in North Carolina. You can check out the cute arrivals at their website. Rodney is also a composer, so it's not surprising that BeBe is playing a piano concerto.

I probably don't need to tell you how much fun it was to work on this painting, but I do think my lovebird, Mango, got a little jealous.

Soda Cans in the Studio

Soda Cans in the Studio
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed masonite
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

I've had this setup in my studio for over a week, but just had a chance to finish up the painting today. Below is a picture of the setup in my studio. (You can see that the angle the photo was taken from is different from the angle at which the painting was done.) I know it's fun to have a peek inside the artist's studio sometimes. I did some recent rearranging. It's a lot more convenient to work in here now. I have greater flexibility, with additional setup space, so I can have a few still lifes cooking at once. I'll take photos to do a full studio tour soon. Stay tuned!

Red Barn on Butlerville Road

Red Barn on Butlerville Road
10 x 8", Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
$245 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

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.

During winter break vacation, my daughter and I flipped over two Jenday Conures, and now have two more members of the family! They've taken up residence with Coconut and Mango in the upstairs studio. In addition to their endearing personalities and comic antics, I anticipate they will make ideal painting subjects! Please welcome the two girls, Lulu and Lucy. (Click to enlarge image.)

Initially we were going to get only Lulu, but they have been caged together for a few months now and we couldn't bear to separate them. Lulu is almost a year old, and Lucy is 7 months. Conures aren't known for talking ability, but learn tricks easily and are quite affectionate.

Yelllow Mums in February 12x12" oil painting

Click to enlarge:



Yellow Crysanthemums in February
12 x 12", Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
$295 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

Today I had a great time painting with palette knives for the first time in a long time. I must have been color starved after being away from painting much of this week! This was so much fun that I think I'd like to get back to doing some more knife paintings----perhaps one a week as a change of pace. This is larger than many of my "daily paintings" at 12x12". The paint is extremely thick and the work is very textural, which is hard to see in a digital rendition. I used a fairly large palette of colors, compared to my usual limited palette choice:
Cadmium yellow lemon
Cadmium yellow pale
Napthol Red
Burnt Sienna
Ultramarine Blue
Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue
Titanium White

Tomorrow I'll finish up a painting I started while my neice was here. I'm looking forward to getting back into the daily painting swing of things again.

Winter Break

I'm off for several days of family activities. Schools are closed all week, and I've been having some fun doing things with my daughter and hubby. I'll be back with more artwork on Monday, February 26, if not before.

A Day of Thumbnail Sketches in Ink and Watercolor

Click to enlarge images:
Today was a busy day and I knew I wouldn't have time for a full-fledged painting, so I began the day by making a two-page grid of boxes in my sketchbook. That way, I could do small thumbnail sketches as I went about my day.

I used a Uniball Vision Micro pen to do all the drawing. For some of them, I used the little Koi watercolor box that's in the sketch, with a water barrel brush; for others, I used the palette below with an Escoda #6 travel brush (the gold cylinder in the photo). I loved doing this "grid" approach to quick sketches. It made them feel managable on a day when I otherwise would not have done any artwork at all. It looks pretty cool in the sketchbook too!

Red Berries and a Silver Guitar

Click to enlarge either image:

Red Berries and Silver Guitar
7 x 5", double matted to 10x8", Gouache on Fabriano Artistico 100% rag paper
$100 double matted, unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

This painting is sold in a beautiful double mat (shown below), ready to hang in any standard 8x10 picture frame.

This is a painting filled with things that are so special to me. The little silver guitar was given to me by a wonderful student of mine. The red berries are from a bouquet that my husband gave me for Valentine's Day. The beautiful red pot was made by a local potter Marilyn Price. I got it at the RiverWinds Gallery while out gallery-hopping with my friends last weekend. As soon as I saw it there on display, I knew I had to paint it!

Cherry Blossoms Along the Hudson

Cherry Blossoms Along the Hudson
16 x 20", Oils on Canvas covered hardboard
Email me if interested. This painting is currently in a show.

This recent big winter storm has made me look forward to springtime! This is a painting I did on location in springtime at Boscobel Restoration, enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms along the path above the Hudson River. The painting is varnished, framed, and ready to hang on your wall!

Three on a Swing

Three on a Swing
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

Many thanks to bird breeder Linda Brandt for the reference image of three of her baby birds on a swing! We lovebird owners know how they adore their swings, so I was tickled to see this image of three climbing on board together. I haven't painted any birds for awhile, so I'm due. This one was great fun.

My palette for this painting:
Cadmium yellow lemon
Quinacridone Rose (Permanent Rose)
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Burnt Sienna
Titanium White

Gallery Sitting---All proceeds donated to rebuild Putnam Arts Council following Sundays fire

Gallery Sitting
7 x 5", Oils on canvas covered hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

All proceeds from the sale of this painting will be donated to Putnam Arts Council for the rebuilding of their Art Center and Galleries following the horrible fire on Sunday night.

I painted this interior scene from life while gallery sitting at the Belle Levine Gallery at Putnam Arts Council. Following the fire on Sunday night/Monday morning, this gallery space is no more. Having recently shown about 40 paintings here during the holiday season, it's hard for me to believe it's gone. It is such a terrible loss for Putnam County. The sculpture in the painting, "Hawk of the Hudson", is by the wonderful sculptor Paul Yarden. It was made from driftwood found along the riverbank.

You can read more about the fire and public reaction (including my own) in

this newspaper article

.

Afternoon in Acadia National Park---oil painting

Afternoon in Acadia
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
Sold
Every summer, my husband and I go up to Acadia National Park in Maine. We spend at least one day strolling along the beautiful ocean path , enjoying the scenery and ocean breeze while chatting and taking pictures. This painting was done this morning from one of the photographs I took there. I used a couple of paintings that I've done on location there as color references, since pictures never tell the whole story.

My palette for this painting was:
Cadmium Lemon
Permanent Rose
Ultramarine Blue Deep
Viridian
Burnt Sienna
Titanium White
Comparing this painting with the one I did on Saturday, you can see how moving away from the warm red and yellow I used there gave me the crisp, cool colors I needed for the very different light in this painting.

On a sad note, I just spoke with a local reporter who told me that the Putnam Arts Council had a serious fire overnight. With so many art centers folding around the country, I hate to think of the one closest to me not being able to continue. Hopefully they will rebuild. I can't imagine this community without an art center! I had about 40 paintings there through the holidays, and accidentally left one behind when I picked them up. I don't know yet if it survived the fire or not, but at least no people were hurt in the blaze. The March Member Show is on my website as one of the shows I was planning to participate in. This is a terrible loss to Putnam County's artists and the general public.

Winter Moonrise

Click to enlarge:

Winter Moonrise
5 x 7" matted to 8x10", Gouache on Fabriano Artistico 100% rag paper
$100 matted, unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

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.


Below is just the painting by itself, before it was signed and matted. This was such a joy to paint! Thanks, Connie!

Tracks in the Snow at Sunrise oil painting 6x6

Tracks in the Snow at Sunrise
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard
$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

I looked out the window this morning and there was a beautiful sunrise of subdued violets and yellows over the lake. I wasn't yet set up to paint, and knew that what I was seeing would vanish long before I had a chance to lay out palette and get my brushes. Rather than skip painting a sunrise, I went through photos I'd taken of the view in previous winters. I came across one I'd been meaning to paint for a long time, and spent the morning having a wonderful time doing this painting.

Tomorrow morning, I'll have to make sure I'm set up earlier to catch it in the moment!

Here's an update of my show calendar so far for 2007:
March 10-about April 8---Hudson River Show at Freshman Fine Arts, 4 South Chestnut St, Beacon
May 12-June 4---Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters show at Bannerman Island Gallery, Main St, Beacon
June 15-July 1---White Silo Winery (four-artist show)
September---Two-person show with Suhua Wood at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
October---Artists on Location, Garrison
November---Two-person show with Walter Mosley at Bannerman Island Gallery
December---Solo show at North Salem Library

Of course you can always see a rotating selection of my work in all styles and subjects at The Paint Box in Bedford Hills.

There's a link on the right to my blog for my shows, openings and other events. Stay tuned there for more news. I'll add specifics as the dates get closer.

Brass Pitcher and an Apple in Sue's Studio

Brass Pitcher and Apple
7 x 5" matted to 10x8, Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 100% rag paper
$50 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

I had a couple of hours of free time while my daughter was at gymnastics, so I went over to my plein air buddy's studio, which is near the gym, and did a couple of watercolor sketches. Sue and I paint outside all the time together, but not in the winter when it's about five degrees out! It's really fun to play with someone else's still life stuff. She has this sweet brass pitcher that I loved painting. I've put it in a double mat, so it's all ready to pop into any standard 8x10 frame.


It was my birthday a few days ago and my husband got me these gorgeous red sable, Escoda travel brushes, sizes 10 and 6. The brushes come apart and slip inside the tubes that double as handles. This watercolor sketch was my first test drive of the new brushes. I love them to bits! They fit right inside the pocket of my sketchbook cover too.

The Wall Shelf 30x24 oils on stretched canvas

Wall Shelf
30 x 24", Oils on stretched canvas
$1800 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)

It's finally just about finished! This painting 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. I'll post a picture of it like that once it's dry enough to hang.

This was a really wonderful project to paint, but I must confess I am glad that it wil finally be off my easel! You can expect some smaller paintings from me in the next week. *big grin*

This painting will be for sale off my blog for a limited time only---until it goes off to a gallery.

His Favorite Chair

His Favorite Chair
10 x 8", Oils on Canvas board
$195 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)