Sunset- click picture to bid

The clouds where looking awesome this evening so I grabbed my gear and headed off to Kelders fields, not far from where I live. It seemed the only way I could get the vortex bright enough was to put a dark object in front of it. In this way the silhouette actually increases the intensity of light.

Hudson Boatyard

I ventured back to the New Hamburg Batyard and found this view, which I painted yesterday - as before, I'm intigued by the color and long shadows of the late afternoon sun. Boats that are in dry dock or beached have always fascinated me- perhaps its their shapes , but maybe its also some kind of metaphorical symbol- I'm not sure.

Jefferson Market

I'm on a cityscape kick lately so here's another one. This is the Jefferson Market library in Greenwich village at night. I love the Manhattan night-time painting experience; the lights and reflections do things to the colors that are surprising. They also tend to be moodier than daylight paintings. Cityscape and especially nightime scenes have a contemporary feeling - a bit less derivative and "scenic" than pastoral scenes.

Ellis Island

Here's a plein -aire sketch of Ellis Island from Liberty State Park in Jersey City. It's late afternoon, just before sunset, and the rays of the sun were creating this beautiful shimmering progression in the sky and water, almost like one sees in the Venetian paintings of Moran and Sargeant. That's the Staten Island ferry on the left, plowing it's way back and forth across New York harbor. Brooklyn and the Verrazzano bridge loom in the distance.

Columbus Circle

Here's a Manhattan night scene I did recently from a plen-aire sketch. I was camped out on the stone benches so I had a little bit of privacy- although it was difficult to step back from it to see masses. I tried to indicate the hundreds of lights with broad strokes-more to imply them than to actually get caught up in detail which would weigh down the painting.

New Hamburg

Saturday-for a late afternoon scene, looking away from the sun with all it's strong coloration, I chose a little gem of a view along the Hudson at New Hamburg. The old stone house, with it's interesting windows, became a foil for the sleek boat , proped up with supports and balancing on its keel.

Plattekill Creek

I painted this one later in the day after painting the New Paltz morning view. Thunderstorms roared through over the Shawangunk ridge all afternoon, yet there was a break around 2:00-4:30. This is when I shoehorned in this one. Beautiful motif- there really are cows that come down to the creek to drink and cool off. Reminds me very much of the Hart brothers, especially James MacDougal Hart.

Early Morning New Paltz

I painted this scene early this morning for the Mark Gruber Gallery's Paint the Town show. Mark holds this annual plein-aire event for selected artists where the theme of the show is the local New Paltz New York scene. This is a view down Main Street with the Shawangunk Mountains looming in the background. Very early on weekend mornings, just an hour or so after the popular college bars have closed for the night, finds the owner of P&G's, sweeping the street and airing out the bar for the start of a new day.

Peonies

This time of year the Peonies are busting out and I try like mad to avail myself of these magnificent flowers during their short annual appearence. Here's one from this week, fresh off the easel. This time I've included a Japanese screen.

Poughkeepsie View

Painted this scene from Poughkeepsie of a view toward the Hudson for the Millbrook Paint-Out. Beautiful old civil war era buildings frame the foreground with the Old Railroad bridge on the right.

Automedon with the Horses of Achilles

On view at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the Leona R. Beal Gallery of European Painting is the magnificent Automedon with the Horses of Achilles by Henri Alexandre Georges Regnault. The Museum also has in it's collection the sketches that Regnault made in preperation for the final painting which measures an astounding 124" x 129".

Henri Regnault

A student of Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), Regnault won the Prix de Rome in 1866. Rather than spending the duration of his scholarship in Italy, he requested and received permission to visit Spain. During his first trip there in late 1868, he became fascinated by the various Spanish "types" he encountered, particularly the exotic toreadors in their colorful costumes. Via Granada, he went on to Morocco and, together with his friend Georges Clairin (1843-1919), established a house and studio in Tangier where they intended to stay indefinitely. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, however, Regnault volunteered for military service and returned to France. Shortly before the end of the war he died in battle at age 27.