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Through the Seasons |
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Rockwell Falls – Through the Seasons Limited edition giclee reproductions I am fascinated by this gorge of the Hudson and have painted it several
times. I didn’t have a large sized print from the previous works so
wanted to portray it one more time. The question was, “Which season?”
Since the river is so close to the gallery, we get to see it in every
season and in all of it’s moods. There are times when the gorge is warm
and sunny and the surface of the water hides all of the underlying
currents, and then it can be dark, angry and threatening under stormy
skies. After giving it much thought, Gino and I decided that the best
thing would be to do all four seasons. It was difficult to complete them
during one winter, but we made it. (I say we because I couldn’t have
finished the paintings without Gino’s help with everything except
putting paint on the canvases.) The thing is, there are another 100
paintings of these falls that could have been done, and they all would
be different. We hope that you enjoy these. |
 Winter
Gives Way to SpringAh, wonderful exiting spring! Just when the winter seems to be three years long, and we feel as if we can’t take another moment, the March days get longer and warmer. All of the sudden everything changes. The snows melt, the ice flushes, the red blossoms appear in the maple trees, and we know that spring is here. It’s the time of the year when our sons, who are professional white water rafting guides, may return home from rafting on the Moose and Upper Hudson where the water is “world class’’. Gino and I always watch the river here at the falls to see how it might be up north. When the water breaks through at the left of the falls (“river right” as the boys would say) we know that the river is running big and is great for rafting up north. It’s the time of the year when we hear all sorts of odd terms such as, hydraulics, standing waves, exploding waves, carnage, dump truck, taco, and may tag. Every day there are new stories of adventure in scary sounding places like, “Sneaker Sucker, Mile Long, Bus Stop, Room of Doom, and Mix Master”. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do this painting, like this, or a little later when the leaves start to come out in various shades that can be almost as beautiful as fall. But nothing is more exciting than the gorge full of tumultuous water rushing to the Atlantic Ocean. We can hear the roar as soon as we start down the sidewalk. Our Adirondack Rivers in the spring can turn a shade of brown when they are flooding like this. For the sake of the painting, I chose to have the blue of the reflected sky. According to Giani, some of the color is from the ground, but the high water that flows up around the hemlock trees releases tannin that also colors the water. Our older son Mike called, and when I told him I was painting the spring version of the falls, his first question was, “You’re doing big water, right?” |
 A Peaceful Summer MorningSome times we have to be at the gallery for an eight AM delivery. Most of the time we get there before the truck does so we go to take a peek at the falls. This was an August morning, before the haze had lifted on the far hills. It was a summer of very little rain, so the river seemed almost calm. I was thinking of using “lazy river” in this painting’s title. When I mentioned it to our son Giani he said, “No way!” He reminded me that there is never a time when the Hudson in the gorge could have the word “lazy’’ associated with it. Under the peaceful surface the deep river is still filled with all kinds of movement and currents. Yeah, he was right. But the scene was peaceful on an early August morning before the people started flocking in. (For the sake of the painting, I chose to leave out the off-white foam that forms in the eddies from sediment in the water) |
 The Colors of AutumnThis was another time at the gallery when the sky was filled with dramatic clouds. It had been a rainy autumn so the water was still running over the rocks on “river left” which adds to the vista. This happened last fall when the leaves were exceptionally beautiful and there were fantastic photo opportunities available all over the Adirondacks. I especially like the little red tree near the falls that seems to turn extra vibrant red to make up for it’s small size.
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 Winter Evening FallsTwo winters ago we were in the gallery when Gino said, “Look at the sky!” It was filled with wonderful shades of yellow, pink and purple against translucent blue. I grabbed the camera and headed to the falls. This had happened before, but when I arrived at the bridge, the gorge would be dark and there would be no color in the sky there. But not this time! This was the scene that greeted me. God had painted the gorge and the sky as I have never seen before or since.
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