THE NEXT BEST THING to painting in the same locale all of your life is the excitement of painting in a new location. Seems I can’t stay in one place too long before I having to move on to the next venue. So it was on my vacation to the Hudson River Valley last week. I did not expect to paint since this was my only chance to take a break. But God had other plans for me. I know a few people who live near or in the area but did not want to contact them prior to my trip. I didn’t know where I would so did not want to try and schedule anything. You Just Never Know However, I had been following a blog for some time titled,  Hudson Valley Painter, I contacted the blogger to see if she could just give me a few tips...
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AS THE SAYING GOES, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” I visited the Hudson River Valley with no expectations, only what I knew about it through the eyes of painters’ works. I was not disappointed. In the next few posts I’ll explore what I found, and a couple of unexpected adventures along the way! Traveling on vacation with my husband, we had no set plans. It was one of those times when we wanted to take pot luck – no reservations, no destinations – just the journey. If we had any goal it was to see the river which is the focal point of the area. We approached the valley from the south, cruised over the George Washington Bridge and headed up the east side of the Hudson. We passed miles of trees and meandered through charming small towns. One of those was Rhinebeck,...
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DISCOVERED THAT THOMAS COLE, “father” of the Hudson River School (visited his house/studio today) wanted to preserve the nature of the region through his work. He was also a very active proponent of keeping the real live Hudson River Valley as pristine as possible. Active Participation He did a great deal of writing to the powers that be, to try to head-off the rapid  industrialization of the valley and rampant clearing of lumber that if left unchecked would have impacted the wilderness. A contemporary colleague of mine who many of you may know, Linda Blondheim, is attempting to do the same thing in her State. Even after damage is done to a region, what artists contribute to preservation can still make a dramatic difference for generations to come. I saw today, that although there has been development along the Hudson; for the most part, it is in the same...
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YOUR NEW HOUSE OR redesigned room is complete. The carpet, paint, and new furniture and accessories are in, the plants are selected and strategically placed happily thriving in their containers. But wait. There’s an empty spot on the wall. You say, “What can I stick here?”, or, “It needs something.” Oftimes after the large investment you made creating your wonderful space you scramble to find that “something” to cover fill the blankness glaring at you. That space more often than not, cries out for artwork. You researched your other decorating needs, maybe secured a consultant. Either nothing was mentioned about art, or it was glossed over in conversation. Unfortunately, this area of decorating is overlooked or saved as a final design consideration. How do you go about looking for that perfect solution? There are many resources available for selecting and acquiring art for your home or office. You can...
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HAVE YOU EVER DREAMED of going to a place for a very long time? I will be visiting just such a place late this week. Among my top three historic painting movements is that of the Hudson River School. Not a school per-se, but a movement started and still thrives along the famous river of the same name in New York State. Well, I was there as an excited tot of three, on my uncle’s sailboat in Nyack, NY. If only I had an inkling of where I was at that age – all I could have done then were a few crayon pictures on manila paper anyway Anticipation I cannot hold a candle to colleagues who have spent a lifetime painting in this exquisite region, rich with facts about the birth / early growth of North America – and dripping with beauty. The paintings by Cole, Church and...
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