watercolor painting

Waterloo Village Historical Landmark

Art, History, New Jersey, Outdoor Adventure, watercolor
Snow Covered Bridge – watercolor 14”x20”

Inspired by a beautiful photo taken by Waterloo Village staff, here is a watercolor painting of a winter scene from Waterloo Village Historical Landmark, located in Stanhope, New Jersey. The village is a restored 19th century canal town, which was rightfully the land that the Lenape people inhabited. The land eventually became a port along the industrious Morris Canal. Preserved in the village today are gristmill, sawmill, blacksmith shop, and many other historic houses. A trip to Waterloo Village is sure to take you through at least 400 years of New Jersey history!

This painting (or print) is available on my Etsy Shop.

The Road to Nowhere

Art, watercolor

A quick silhouette style painting! On the road late in the day, the light fades, causing the objects nearest to the viewer look very dark, which then allows for a dramatic silhouette effect. Watercolor paint always dries lighter so I found myself going back several times to darken the foreground. Then, you naturally look toward the lighter areas in the painting. Finally, I added cable wires for more perspective.

Cemetery Light – Watercolor Painting Video

Art, watercolor

In the last post, I created a time lapse of a watercolor light effect painting. This time, I made a different type of video; highlighting some of the aspects of painting a scene from Waterloo Village (a historical landmark in Sparta, New Jersey). I guess the sentiment here is: in a place that is considered dark and dismal, there can beautiful rays of sunshine!

Methodist Cemetery at Waterloo Village

Foggy Ridge – Harriman State Park

Art, hiking, Outdoor Adventure, watercolor

We live in close proximity to Harriman State Park, which is probably why I’ve painted Harriman scenes many many times. Here’s a typical scene from one of the many rocky areas found throughout the park. I don’t quite recall where this is, but it was a foggy autumn day – and it was fantastic! I hope this painting gets you in the fall spirit. Crisp autumn air and pumpkin beer await!

Sky Water and Pine

Art, hiking, Outdoor Adventure, watercolor
Pine Island (watercolor 18”x24”)

My wife, Caitlin, fractured her ankle in three places (and dislocated it, too). I believe there is a medical term for that. As you might imagine, things got a little hectic; especially, with two little kids around. So, I took about a two month break from painting, but this painting was the one that got me back on track. The idea for this scene was inspired by a hike through the John Burroughs Nature Sanctuary in Ulster County, New York.

Burroughs once wrote about a man who reported that his vision improved after getting sprayed in the face by a skunk (or something along those lines). His observations in nature are as thorough as they are entertaining. I often wonder what it would be like to have that much time to observe nature and to spend an entire half a day sitting around outside, as he often did. Here’s to John Burroughs and a renewed zeal for painting in watercolor!