Recent landscapes:  We travelled a bit this past autumn, with various watercolor and oil landscapes below inspired by our journeys.

Cape Elizabeth is home to the Portland Head Lighthouse, located on the rugged Maine coastline at Fort Williams Park.  This Lighthouse has a rich history dating back to 1776 when revolutionary American soldiers stood watch for British invaders.  Construction of the Lighthouse itself began in 1787 and grew incrementally with time.  Currently the Lighthouse is owned by the Town of Cape Elizabeth, with the U.S. Coast Guard maintaining the actual light and fog signal.  The watercolor below is:

Portland Head Lighthouse:

Dark Hollow Falls Trail is one of the most popular hiking trails in Shenandoah National Park.  Much of it traverses along the Hogcamp Branch of the Rose River, and is roughly a six mile roundtrip circuit located in close proximity to Big Meadows Lodge.  The falls itself is roughly a seventy foot drop in elevation.  The watercolor below is:

Dark Hollow Falls:

Clermont Manor originated in 1728 by Robert Livingston and was later home to seven generations of Livingstons until 1962.  Originally it was comprised of 13,000 acres, but the family also owned over a half-million acres in Dutchess County and the Catskill Mountains.  The word “Clermont” has French derivatives meaning “clear mountains” inspired by the scenic view of the Catskills from the family estate.  It is a New York State Historic Site and also a listed National Historic Landmark.  The oil below is:

Clermont, 11x14:

Located on the Clermont State Historic Site are several gardens.  The watercolor below is the gate leading into, and from, on such a space.

The Gate:

Perhaps no exercise is more invigorating, or rewarding, than a purposed stroll on a crisp, autumn day.  The watercolor below is:

Autumn walk (Sold):

Catskill Rivers:  Catskill rivers have long inspired artists, anglers, and woodsmen entrepreneurs alike, lest we not forget the thirsty needs of New York City residents.  The locales of both watercolors below are found upriver of two New York City Catskill reservoirs.  One is a stream with many names, included in Richard Lionel De Lisser’s Picturesque Ulster as Cascade Brook.  While an image of the second graces the cover of Ed van Put’s celebrated masterpiece Trout Fishing in the Catskills, and was home to such legendary anglers as Theodore Gordon and Edward R. Hewitt.

Upper falls, Cascade Brook:

West Branch Neversink:

At the river’s edge:  Upstream, perhaps a connotation of flowing water, moving in one direction, always in motion, no matter what.  Sometimes currents are clear and gentle; at other times they may be turbid or irritated.  In November of 2016 when the latter happened NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) closed the Shandaken Tunnel due to muddy discharges into Esopus Creek.  DEC took this measure to protect spawning brown trout, and DEC prohibited fishing in the Esopus, below its junction with the Tunnel.

However, some anglers still yearned to fish, so they ventured upstream of the Tunnel, to continue enjoying the Esopus Creek where fishing was allowed. 

In his excellent book of angling stories--- At the River’s Edge, Jerry Kustich wrote the following, “And, above all, I will continue to follow the road that leads to water, because I believe---with all my heart--- that everything does make sense at the river’s edge.”

The watercolor below is at the river’s edge, looking upstream into the Esopus, behind the Shandaken Town Hall.

Upstream:

Recent watercolors:  Below are several recent watercolors, of several places forever changed in 2011 by Hurricane Irene.  Some of these images are now only burnt into the fabric of one’s mind, a digital Jpeg file, or perhaps the brushstrokes of an artist’s painting.

The Haunted House Pool is located on the West Branch of the Neversink at Frost Valley.  The logging bridge serves as a gateway to the Western Model Forest.  Sadly this pool is only a shadow of itself these days.

Haunted House Pool:

This U&D 30 bridge was built in the early 1900s, and at one time crossed the Esopus Creek downstream of NYC’s Five Arch Bridge and upstream of the Ashokan Reservoir and Chimney Hole.  Not only was it a favorite spot for anglers, but local high school students might sometimes be found jumping from it, into the cool waters of the Esopus Creek below.

Trestle (Sold):

White Pond dates back to c1990 and is located at Frost Valley YMCA.  It was dug out by the Ulster County Highway Department, in need of gravel to repair UC 47.  Its construction was a win-win for all involved as it soon became one of the finest wild brook trout ponds in all of the Catskills.  Hurricane Irene forever changed that.

White Pond summer:

Most of the upper reaches of the Neversink are heavily posted, however there is a very small parcel of NYS Forest Preserve to be found on the East Branch of the Neversink.  The landscape of the East Branch below was the outcome of a “plein air - date day”, where one individual painted while the other flyfished for trout.

Date day:

Old landmarks:  The watercolors below portray old landmarks, no longer to be found.

The Keene Valley red barn was once located in the Adirondacks near the intersections of Routes 73 and 9N with a High Peaks backdrop.  It was built in the 1950s by Reginald Whitney and used to house cows.  In December of 2016 it was taken down by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation after being declared a hazard.

Keene Valley red barn (sold):

The Bush Kill pump house was once located in the Catskills in West Shokan, NY on the Bush Kill Creek, a tributary to the Ashokan Reservoir.  Hurricane Irene, an historic weather event that took its toll on the Esopus Creek river valley, carried away the old stone building.

Bush Kill pump house (Sold):

A few more recent watercolors:  Below are some recent 9 x 12 watercolors depicting various Catskill scenes.

The first is Bendo Bridge, a wooden covered bridge built in 1860, located on Conklin Road that spans the upper Willowemoc Creek.

Bendo Bridge (DtC):

Next is a setting of the Big Indian-Oliverea river valley, headwaters of the Esopus Creek.

Oliverea Esopus (DtC):

Finally, a scene of a bald eagle winging over the Ashokan Reservoir with a Catskill backdrop.

Eagle over the Ashokan:

Commissioned pieces:  Some recent commissioned pieces. 

Home, 11x14 (Sold):

Jersey farmstead, 11x14 (Sold):

Five Arch Bridge:  The Five Arch Bridge has served the local community for over one hundred years, and it has long been an Esopus Creek angling icon.  In The Well-Tempered Angler the late Arnold Gingrich recalls many stories about rainbow trout the size of salmon grilse, falling into an icy November river and breaking a new cane rod, all in the shadows of this historic landmark.

Plans are underway to replace this old bridge, often blamed for flooding in the local hamlet, with a new modern structure sometime by the year 2022.  Anglers will miss this piscatorial Esopus symbol, but it will never be forgotten.

Five Arch Bridge, Boiceville, NY, 11x14 (DtC):

Watercolor:  Recently Lois started using a new medium: watercolor.  The watercolors below are all portrayed on 9 x 12 paper.

Brook trout, Rondout Creek (DtC):

The sawmill, Frost Valley YMCA:

Dividing weir, Ashokan Reservoir:

Sunset Rock, North-South Lake,

Mother's Pool, Phoenicia, NY,

Chimney Hole:

Biscuit Brook:

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Gertrude’s Nose:  The Shawangunk Mountains, or “Gunks” as they are called, consist of a ridge of white conglomerate rock, for the most part, that extends roughly from Kingston, New York south through Port Jervis.  The Gunks are rich in history and natural beauty.  Once inhabited by Lenape Indians, the region now attracts countless visitors every season of the year who hike, bike, and climb their rugged terrain.

One of the most famous cliffs, found within the confines of Minnewaska State Park, is known as Gertrude’s Nose.  The name is derived from the 1682 deed of Gertrude Bruyn, an early settler of Dutch descent.

Gertrude's Nose, 11x14: