The Hudson River from Cold Spring

This is one of my favorite spots in the world to paint. It's in Cold Spring-on-Hudson, New York. There is a point on the river facing north where you can see Storm King Mountain (left), Little Stony Point (center) and Breakneck Ridge (Right), and paint under the shade of the trees. It was a brutally hot day when I was here painting with some friends, but a cool breeze off the river kept us comfortable. This is one of those famous Hudson River vistas that I really wanted to get into my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project 2012, so that when the book goes on tour, others can enjoy the view as much as I do.

The Sketchbook Project 2012

This is my first sketch for the The Sketchbook Project 2012! If you haven't heard about this annual, ongoing venture, you can check it out here.  For $25, artists can register for the project and select one of 40 themes for their book. They each receive a sketchbook in the mail, which must be returned by February 1, 2012 in order to participate. The sketchbooks become part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Museum, and go on a world tour. I really wanted to do it last year, but didn't find out about it in time to have a chance at completing a book. So, I'm jumping on it early this year! My chosen theme is "Travel With Me", and my sketches will depict my travels up and down the Hudson River Valley.

Today I went to Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, New York. It's always hard to start a new sketchbook, but I figured today was as good a time as any! The paper's quite thin for watercolor work. Many artists are changing the paper in the books for something better than what they're sending us, but I'm going to try to work with what they sent. It'll be a bit wrinkly for sure.