Owner: Hudson Valley Painter URL:http://HudsonValleyPainter.com Join Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 07:36:04 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Hudson Valley artist and painter Jamie Grossman shares daily paintings of landscapes, still life, animals and people, plus artistic musings, studio tours, and art demos. She does a painting a day, which is available for sale from the site. Site statistics:Click here
Windmill on the Hill oil painting---plus Sketchbook Making instructions 2007-01-07 21:07:00 Windmill on the Hill6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)Tilly Foster Farm is an old horse farm that was purchased a few years ago by Putnam County to retain as open space. It has beautiful rolling fields, old buildings and barns, and a fantastic overview of miles and miles from the top of the pastures. This painting was done from a photo I took there in the fall.Making a Multi-Media SketchbookI've made a number of sketchbooks over the years and have recently been asked to share some of them. This is perhaps the easiest, most useful, and most versatile of them all. The biggest advantages to this design are that many different kinds of paper can be used for various media and effects, plus the paper can be removed easily for framing.I used scrap pieces of matboard that I had around the house and cut two pieces to the same size. These became the covers for my book. I purchased ringbinder rings in a Sta Read more:Windmill
, oil painting
Life Drawing 45 minute pose 36x24" 2007-01-10 02:26:00
The image above is a cropped version of the 36x24" sketch of Amy. I never feel I come away from a life drawing session with a "finished" piece since the poses are so short, but it's great practice to keep going after that elusive goal. This sketch was done on my favorite brown crinkly craft paper, which makes it hard to get a good photo. I tear off 24x36" sheets from a huge roll and clip them to a big piece of foamcore. I like working on the midtone surface, since I can just add my lights and darks. Amy is a fabulous model and also an artist, so she always thinks about how a pose will fill the page. The medium is charcoal and pastels. The full image is below.
Read more:Life Drawing
Kids on the Beach in oils 2007-01-08 21:33:00 Kids on the Beach
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)I painted this today in oils from a photo I took while visiting my parents in Florida. My kids hate to have their pictures taken, but they were having too much fun to notice.Palette:Cadmium Yellow LightCadmium RedUltramarine Blue DeepTransparent Red OxidePhthalo GreenTitanium White
7am Lake Sunrise 3x5" beautifully framed 2007-01-10 21:13:00 7am Lake Sunrise
3 x 5", Casein on illustration board$70 framed
via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)This 3x5" plein air casein painting is beautifully framed and ready to hang on your wall. Casein is an archival, non-soluble (when dry) milk-based medium with brilliant color and a matt finish. It looks similar to oils but without the slight gloss, and like oils, the paint does not lift. It is a wonderful and underused medium that is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, and with good reason!
A Stroll Through the Gallery 7x22"---click on blog image for larger view 2007-01-11 22:09:00 Click image to enlarge:
This is the inside, 2-page centerfold spread of the Art Journal "Gallery
-in-a-book" that I'm working on. It measures a little larger than 7x22". The painting on the left, plus all of the gold frames, are painted directly on the paper. The other three abstract paintings are original "Art Card" paintings, 2.5x3.5" each, affixed with removable tape to the paper. I liked the idea of presenting my original miniature paintings in a gallery format without destroying them as individual works. It's fun to see what they'd look like if they were actually enormous paintings hanging on a gallery wall instead of just a couple of inches top to bottom! The titles of the paintings, from left to right are:JesterStruck by LightningEvening MusicDueling Boxes
The work on the two pages is done with black ink, gold ink, acrylic, and watercolor. The writing just above the floor describes the paintings.
You can see my January 6 post below for more information about this 8 page
Sailing at Sunset 2007-01-12 15:07:00 Sailing at Sunset
6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)When we were in Maine last summer, we went for a sunset sail on the four-masted schooner Margaret Todd. We lucked out with a spectacular sunset. I took oodles of photos, including the one of this boat sailing nearby. Every time he tacked, the light would catch the sails from a different direction. I was so glad to have my camera along!I got up extra early to finish the painting this morning. I'm going to be offline for a few days after this post, but I'll see y'all back here on Tuesday. Read more:Sailing
Vacation Sketches and Review of Hand Book Journal 2007-01-15 23:18:00
My husband and I just returned from a wonderful weekend away. I had some time to do some watercolor sketches in the hotel suite and simultaneously test-drive the new Hand Book Journal
that I got from Dick Blick. The one I got is 8.25x5.5", portrait format. I used it as an 8x10 sheet, painting across the two page spreads. This book by far exceeded my expectations! The surface takes watercolor quite well with minimal wrinkling and it has a wonderful texture for drawing too--not too slick and not too rough. Highly recommended! Read more:Vacation
, Sketches
More Vacation Sketches from the Weekend 2007-01-17 01:45:00 Here's another watercolor sketch set across two pages of the new journal. You can click the image to enlarge it.
I did an oil painting today, but it has lots of darks in it which are causing a lot of glare. I'll get a much better photograph of it if I wait a day for it to dry a bit, so you'll see that one tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying the sketches from my trip. I love working in this new journal. Can't wait to try some other mediums in it. Read more:Vacation
, Sketches
, Weekend
Brass Pitcher in a Mahogany Box framed oil painting 2007-01-17 21:33:00 Brass Pitcher
in a Mahogany
Box5 x 5", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$110 framed
as shown, via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates) When I was away in Pennsylvania last weekend, I went to a flea market. I found all kinds of old copper and brass objects, glass items, little bowls and pitchers, and a wonderful set of old mahogany nesting boxes. The woman at the flea market remembered me from last year. She pulled out boxes and boxes of "stuff" for me to sift through. The result of all this is: I have lots of new things to paint! This is one of the mahogany boxes lying on its side with a little brass pitcher peeking out. I painted it on a 5x5" panel because I have this wonderful frame that size which is a perfect match for the brass of the pitcher. I love it to bits! The price is for the painting framed with shipping within the US, but if you'd prefer to purchase it unframed, please email me and I will lower the price accordingly. This frame can sit on a Read more:Brass
Clementine in a Bowl on a Box 2007-01-18 23:28:00 One Clementine in a Bowl on a Box6 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$100 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)I'm sorry about all the glare on the wet paint. I'll get a better photo tomorrow when it's a little drier and substitute the image.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 MediumWilliamsburg Cadmium Red MediumWinsor Newton Artist Cadmium OrangeWinsor Newton Artist Burnt Si
Five More Sketches from the Scavenger Hunt 2007-01-20 04:14:00 The Wetcanvas Scavenger
Hunt #25 ends tomorrow, so I slipped in in a few more sketches from the list of 26 items. These are 7x11 pages from the sketchbook I made last week. The sketches are Uniball Vision ink pen and watercolor. No time for an oil painting today.
Tomorrow starts a new scavenger hunt, and I'm the host this time! It will run from January 20-January 28 (nine days). I'll post a link here for anybody who's interested in joining in. I'll put the list up early in the morning, and will post it here on my blog as well. Stay tuned! Read more:Sketches
Work in Progress---Wall Shelf photo of setup 2007-01-20 22:50:00
I spent the afternoon lugging this heavy, old wall shelf into my studio and filling it with objects from the current scavenger hunt. (See post below.) I'll probably still switch out a few items and move things around a bit until I'm completely happy. Then I'll be getting down to work on this for the next week or so, probably on a 24x30 canvas. I have to raid my canvas supply to see what I have.
I'll be posting daily to show a piece at a time. Usually I work on a whole painting at once, moving around here and there. My plan for this one is different though. I'll do a block-in the first day, and after that I'll likely be going section by section. This is going to be a lot of fun! I'll be working on it from life, not from a photo. It fit right up on top of the still life tabel in my studio. How convenient is that?! Read more:Shelf
, setup
The Beginnings of a Scavenger Hunt 2007-01-20 19:27:00 Every 9 days, a new Scavenger
Hunt begins in the Artwork from Life forum on the Wetcavas website. Members sign up to host, and from January 20-28, it's my turn to play host and select the list items for the hunt. For those of you who would like to play along, the basic rules are:
All items on the list must be sketched from life--not imagination nor photo references
Each object you draw can count for only one item on the list, no matter how many shapes/parts/colors that object contains. This was agreed to by unanimous vote among the participants
You may place multiple objects together in a painting, and may count those objects as separate list items, but no single object can count for more than one list item.
All items posted must be numbered. Count them as you go. The first item you sketch and post will be #1 regardless of its place on the list. Do them in whatever order you wish, but count them in the order in which you sketch them, from 1 to 26.
You can do as many or as Read more:Scavenger Hunt
Work in Progress---Wall Shelf--photograph of setup 2007-01-20 22:50:00
I spent the afternoon lugging this heavy, old wall shelf into my studio and filling it with objects from the current scavenger hunt. (See post below.) With my daughter's help, I was able to hoist it onto the still life table in my studio, where it fit perfectly. I'll probably still switch out a few items and move things around a bit. Then I'll be getting down to work on this for the next week or so on a 24x30 canvas.
I'll be posting daily to show a section at a time. Usually I work on a whole painting at once, moving around here and there over the canvas. My plan for this one is different though. I'll do a block-in the first day, and after that I'll likely be going object to object, a few at a time. This is going to be a lot of fun! I'll be working on it only from life, not from a photo, but from the spectator's perspective, it's always interesting to get an idea of what the artist started out with.
This shelf was a flea market find. It's made from old, heavy 2x4s and wei Read more:Shelf
, photograph
, setup
Work in Progress---Wall Shelf monochrome stage 30x24" 2007-01-22 00:11:00 Wall Shelf
#3, 30x24", oils on stretched canvas, monochrome stage
Click to enlarge:
I didn't get quite as far today as I'd hoped, but I finished the compositional stage and as much as I'm going to do of a monochrome underpainting. It's far enough along to start putting in color tomorrow and working section by section. You can see that I repositioned several items since yesterday. Because the
Work in Progress Image 2---a part of the Wall Shelf 2007-01-22 20:40:00
This is about a 10x9" section of the full 30x24" painting. The unpainted thing at the top is part of the racoon's tail hanging down from the upper shelf. Maybe I'll paint that section tomorrow. Sorry about the glare in the upper right. It's wet wet wet and the darks are so shiny until it dries.
I ended up having to add a bit of cadmium yellow pale to my palette. I'm using a Masterson palette with a sheet of glass in it that I cut to size. I cover it and stick it in the freezer when I'm done painting.
I'll have another installment tomorrow, so stay tuned! Read more:Image
, Shelf
Work in Progress Image 3---another section of the Wall Shelf 2007-01-23 21:30:00 Click to enlarge:
I tackled another section of the wall shelf today. Painting that racoon was so very much fun! Below you can see what it looks like with the section from yesterday.
Read more:Image
, Shelf
Work in Progress Image 4---another section of the Wall Shelf 2007-01-25 01:23:00 Click to enlarge:
Here's another section of the 30x24" painting of the wall shelf. This may still need a little more work on the leaves, but I'll go back and do it at the end when the other sections are finished and I can better judge how it works as a whole. The image above was photographed with a very yellow light overhead. The color is actually closer to the image below:
Many have asked me to take progress images on the sections, which I keep forgetting to do! I remembered to stop for one today. It usually takes me three "passes" to complete a section. The first pass is a basic color stage, where I block in the main colors, lights and darks. Here's an image taken at the end of that first pass. I usually stop then and take a short break, let the paint set up a little, and then work over all the elements a second time, pushing the lights and darks and starting to add more detail. On the third pass, I make sure the highlights and dark accents are strong enough, and tweak anyt Read more:Image
, Shelf
Work in Progress Image 5---another section of the Wall Shelf 2007-01-26 00:36:00 Click any image to enlarge
I've really been looking forward to painting this section with the figures, amber glass, and wooden clock. The little figures came with pianos and piano stools and were given to me by my dad, but they've temporarily suspended their duo to model for my painting. I got the beautiful hand-blown amber glass at a flea market. I saw it and just swooned! The wooden clock was a gift from a friend, and was made by her parents.
I still have a few little tweaks to do, but I'll do them as I move on with the other sections, or at the end. I'm sure I'll see more to do by then!
I thought it was time to let y'all take a peek at how the whole thing is coming along, so I've got two additional images for you. Below is the section I did today with yesterday's section.
Below is a picture of my studio with the setup and the painting. The painting isn't as wide as it appears here; that's the photo distortion at work, and one of the reasons why I prefer to work from Read more:Image
, Shelf
I deserve a day off! 2007-01-27 19:55:00 So, I'm taking one. I went shopping this morning for office furniture for hubby. Once back home, I brought Mango down to my studio to keep me company, but I just ended up playing with him as he chirped and climbed all over the outside of his cage, while I talked on the phone and looked at travel brushes online. This must mean that I need a day off. I'll be heading down to New York City later for my daughter's gymnastics competition. Maybe I'll do some sketches down there. Maybe not!
Open Studio Life Drawing---25 minute pose 36x24" 2007-01-28 23:36:00
I love drawing on this crinkly brown craft paper, but taking photos of the results is always an insurmountable challenge. I'm finally arriving at the inevitable conclusion that if I like working on this color, I'm going to have to find a source for it that is in a form that stays flatter.
I finally got back to open studio life drawing today. It's such a great break from my usual art routine. I'll have 8 weeks of it on Sundays. That should almost get me back to plein air season! The poses were mostly one minute and ten minutes. We only got two, twenty-five minute poses out of the three hour session. If I can get better images, I'll show a couple of the others too, and I'll try to rephotograph this one. Read more:Life Drawing
Work in Progress Image 6--- Wall Shelf section completed 2007-01-29 21:59:00 It's time to get back to this big painting and finish it up. I completed the remainder of the section I started on Friday, and will be starting the last section later today.
Click to enlarge:
Here's a sneak peek at the whole painting so far, minus the exterior shelf edge. The center vertical and lower right section are still unpainted. I'm hoping to finish up by the end of the week.
Read more:Image
, Shelf
Struggling Through 2007-01-30 23:51:00 Why is it that there's often the largest hurdle near the finish line? I'm struggling, struggling with this last section, then still need to complete painting the shelf itself. The progress image of the section isn't all that exciting, so I'll spare y'all the sight of it and will hopefully have something to show for my efforts by later tomorrow. I knew this painting was moving along too smoothly to be for real!
Work in Progress Image 7---last section of the Wall Shelf 2007-01-31 21:31:00
WHEW! I finally finished this section of the wall shelf. That red and gold espresso cup and saucer proved to be easily the most difficult still life subject I've ever tackled. There were several moments when I thought about removing it from the setup, and replacing it with something else. What a challenge! Not only was the color and glimmer of the gold tough, but getting the geometry right was extremely difficult. However, now I'm glad I climbed the mountain, and I can just enjoy the view!
Below is the painting as it stands thus far. I still need to paint the whole frame of the shelf, which is actually a beat-up old window frame. I'm sorry it's not a great photo; I'll get a better one when the painting is finished.
Read more:Image
, Shelf
Sketches of Old Sturbridge Village 2007-02-02 02:18:00 All images can be clicked for larger versions.
I drove up to Massachusetts today to have brunch with my son, and decided to sketch at Old Sturbridge Village
while I was in the vicinity. What a fabulous place to draw and paint! It's an old colonial village, with everything from farms and sawmills to pottery demonstrations and hot mulled cider over an open fire. They do not allow photography nor artwork for commercial purposes, but they had no problem with me bringing my sketchbook around.
These are ink and watercolor in a 5.5x8.25" Hand Book Journal. They're done across the two-page spreads, so each image is about 8x10". The images are a little distorted because the paper doesn't lie perfectly flat.
I started out in the Towne House (above), on the recommendation of the sweet woman working the Admissions counter. I could have spent the whole day drawing there, but there were so many other things to see!
The Fenno House was my next sketching stop, where this big fireplace with oven Read more:Sketches
Carnations and a Shell, oil painting 6x8 2007-02-04 01:23:00 Carnations and a Shell
8 x 6", Oils on sealed, primed hardboard$125 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates) Read more:oil painting
His Favorite Chair 2007-02-05 02:50:00 His FavoriteChair
10 x 8", Oils on Canvas board$195 unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)
The Wall Shelf 30x24 oils on stretched canvas 2007-02-05 21:04:00 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. It was painted so that when the canvas hangs on a wall, it will look like a wall shelf is mounted on the wall. I'll post a picture of it like that once it's dry enough to hang. It will need one more day of tweaking here and there, but those details won't show much in this online image. I'll post a better photo without the glare in the upper left once it's done, and will post some more detail pictures too. The camera angle was a little off, so the lowest shelf looks slanted, but that's just the photo. This was a really wonderful project to paint, but I must confess I am glad that it will be off my easel! You can expect some smaller paintings from me in the next week. *big grin* This paintin
Brass Pitcher and an Apple in Sue's Studio 2007-02-07 01:34:00 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 sketchbo Read more:Brass
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