Recent 2019 watercolors: Below are several recent watercolors of various landmarks, some noted and some not so much.

The Saugerties Lighthouse has been a Hudson River beacon since 1869.  It sits at the mouth of Esopus Creek with the Catskill Mountains at its back.  The Lighthouse can be found after a half-mile trek along a nature trail down to the Hudson and currently serves as a much desired Bed and Breakfast.

Saugerties Lighthouse:

Indian Grove Brook is a small tributary to the Passaic River, less than three miles in length and often only a few feet wide.  It flows through central New Jersey across private holdings and a portion of Jockey Hollow National Park plus the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary.  Little wild rainbow trout make this tiny creek their watery home.  Below it is ablaze in autumn colors.

Indian Grove Brook:

Is there any landscape structure that catches one’s eye like an old barn set alone among nature?

Blue-gray barn:

And while speaking of nature, how about long winter shadows from a white birch tree stand?  The scene below is part of an almost daily neighborhood trek, when snow covers the landscape.

Winter birch (sold):

Lake Placid is perhaps best known for Winter Olympics and numerous year-round outdoor activities, plus the rugged terrain unsurpassed on the east coast.  Mirror Lake is at the hub of the Village of Lake Placid, and offers a panoramic view from Whiteface Veterans’ Memorial Highway that ascends New York’s fifth tallest peak at 4,867 feet in elevation.

Lake Placid:

Ashokan winter:  While many a snowbird heads south for Catskill winter months, those left behind enjoy a season of chilly solace, crisp air, and extraordinary seasonal beauty.

Ashokan winter:

Catskill history:  Below are two watercolors of Catskill historic places.

The Ashokan Reservoir Diving Weir consists of fifteen arches, under Reservoir Road, that separate the West and East Basins of New York City’s oldest Catskill reservoir.  Construction as originally competed in 1915, but it has been extensively restored since then.

Ashokan Weir (Sold):

The second painting is a winter scene of a 119 foot single span Town Lattice truss covered bridge, which is found over the Neversink River near Hunter Road.  Construction was completed in 1912 by David Benton, John Knight, and George Horbeck and it remains a symbol of the Catskill Mountains dating back to the early settlers of the upper Neversink river valley.  The watercolor below appeared in the January 2021 Gazette, newsletter of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild.

Halls Mill Covered Bridge (NFS):

Retirement:  Is there any place better to spend retirement than in Port St. Lucie, Florida--- winter home of the N.Y. Mets?

Retirement, Port St. Lucie (sold):

Somesville Bridge, Maine:  Found in the village of Somesville on Mount Desert Island, the Somesville Bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in all of Maine.

 

Somesville is the oldest settlement on Mount Desert Island.  However, the bridge itself was built in 1981 as tribute to Dr. Virginia Somes Sanderson’s grandfather Thaddeus Shepley Somes, a descendent of Abraham Somes, the island’s first settler in 1761.  Images of this bridge have been captured in paintings and photographs by visitors from around the world.  The clean, white graceful arch over Somes Creek generates peaceful images of nature and inner solitude.

The small structure near the bridge is the historic Selectmen’s Building, built in the 1780s by John Somes.  He was the son of Abraham Somes.  Over the years this little building was used as a cobbler’s shop, post office, and museum.  It also served as the town office during the 19th century, up through 1911.

Somesville Bridge:

Yet another brook trout:  During the summer of 2017, lurking on the bottom of the upper Neversink was a brook trout, stealthy and poised for the next morsel to pass its way.

Lurking:

Some recent watercolors:  Below are several recent 2018 watercolors.  Some might have originally been done as oils, others perhaps got a second chance as watercolors, and some are brand new--- never posted, nor painted before.

Along the Hudson:

Bamboo and brookies (DTC):

Catskill summer:

Into the evening: