I am pleased to announce my solo show at Atlantic Gallery
Spring 2021 - Painting Trains and other news
Two Days Sketching Locomotives
of the
West Chester Railroad
Wanting to escape from New York for a few days, my wife Vicki and I headed to West Chester, Pennsylvania. While there, I visited the West Chester Railroad, which runs excursion trains for seven miles along the Chester Creek. I met Beth Keates, president of the West Chester Railroad Heritage Association and expressed my interest in painting their impressive collection of historic locomotives and railcars. Beth enthusiastically invited me to return the next day to do so. She showed me around and gave free rein in choosing a spot to paint. It was a cold and windy day. I shivered as I worked. My fingers struggled to open a tube of paint. But, one must make hay when the sun shines, even if it's freezing. The subject of that day's work was Engine No. 3 which will be transferred to a museum in West Virginia sometime in the near future.
The next day was fortunately much warmer and I chose Alco 4230 as a subject. Really it was the light and the way it shone on the locomotive and the Pennsylvania RR baggage car behind it that was the real subject. For safety, someone from the railroad had to be present and on this day Larry Jensen kept me company.
I hope to get back there to paint again. The engines and cars provide endless opportunities for good compositions. Thanks to Beth and Larry for making it possible.
Recently Sold Work
Friend and art conservator Gloria Velandia recently visited my studio and purchased some work.
I know Gloria through my work with the art shipping company Atelier 4. She is a lovely person and highly regarded conservator. She is always a welcome site at art fairs where not only her skills but also her warm personality provide assurance to those around her.
I did these two drawings while manning the art storage area for Atelier 4 at The Armory Show in 2018. Gloria thought they were an appropriate choice to hang in her conservation studio.
Works in Progress
I've got a lot of work in various stages of completion. Shown here are a 12 x 20 painting of the Ashokan Resevoir that is probably done and a 24 x 36 painting of the Madison Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River. This one has been a work in progress for ages but finally seems to be going somewhere.
Still Open for Studio Visits!
I love visitors to the studio. It's great to share the work and the conversation stimulates creativity and helps to develop ideas.
Would you like to see some paintings? Let me know if you'd like to visit (call or text at 347 348-1823 or email jgebersole@gmail.com). Saturdays are the best days to visit. The address is 3611 14th Avenue, suite #607 Brooklyn, NY. The Church and MacDonald stop on the F and G lines is close by. Of course, masks are required and no more than three visitors at a time. I've had my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The second one is scheduled for April 25th.
Sale Ends Soon
Sale prices have been in effect since late November. I think this has helped some people to take work home but in early May it will be time to go back to normal pricing. That being said, there is always some room for flexibility.
Art Essex Invitational Exhibition
I am pleased to announce two of my paintings have been selected for this online exhibition curated by George Billis of the George Billis Gallery in New York.
While on vacation in the Hudson Valley this summer, I made a side trip to Rhinebeck to draw historic aircraft at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. In September I returned to paint the scene in watercolor.
This is one of several studies in different media I did of this view this past August. I was fascinated by the long shadows and warm light. It's about transition. Day is ending and so is the summer. The progress of the shadows suggest movement in contrast with the stillness of the firmly rooted trees. Compositionally there are two zones, one above and one below. The tree in the foreground that reaches into the upper portion is echoed by the one in the distance on the far left.
This drawing done in Centralia, Washington recently found a new home.
Follow me on instagram at jgebersole to see what I’m currently working on.
Painting Autumn Colors
Fiery colored leaves foliage of fall offer some of the most tantalizing subject matter available to the landscape painter. It's a long time coming each year and it only lasts for a short time. The challenge for me is to capture the dynamic color contrasts and subtle variations in the limited amount of time available.
Hints of color start to show in the leaves in late August. They've lost the fresh, vibrant green of early summer. They are dryer tawny undertones start to appear especially when the sun is setting. This period can last for weeks. In Brooklyn it seems to last for the whole month of September and into October with only slight changes. Each day reds and yellows creep ever so slowly across the foliage. Some days it looks like there's no change at all. On other days and individual tree will suddenly be yellow while it's neighbors remain green. Maybe next year my goal will be to document this progress on a daily basis but this year like most others, I painted when I could and waited for the full burst of color to appear.
In this painting from September 5th russet tones begin to enter into the foliage. These early hints of fall can be powerful in and of themselves as they foreshadow the brilliant reds and yellows to come.
I knew the most colorful phase would only last a week or two. When it finally arrived, circumstances threw obstacles in my way. The weather was often rainy and windy and much needed freelance work suddenly appeared. Still, there were opportunities to paint on some beautiful days, and then it was time to get to work.
These two paintings were done at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I wanted to try some variations on a composition. The first was done in oils. As I was setting up to paint the second one the next day a security guard told me that painting in oils is not allowed in the garden, so I went to Prospect Park to paint that day and returned the next day with my watercolors. Spotty enforcement of unposted rules it turns out is yet another stumbling block for plein air painters.
This view from the Boathouse in Prospect Park is the result of my foiled second attempt to paint in the Botanic Garden. Not a bad alternative. Being at the close of day, the light was changing quickly and presented interesting challenges of luminous highlights and deep shadows.
Shorter days means the light effects change faster when the sun is shining than it does in the long days of summer. There is less time to work and I have to stick the light effect of a particular moment and resist the temptation to rework the painting every ten minutes. The lower angle of the sun means high contrasts and dark shadows. It's important to maintain unity inside large shapes by keeping values within them to a narrow range regardless of color. Remember that color and value are different things. Reds and oranges stand out especially next to blues or greens and you may think therefore that they are light but in reality they may be relatively dark.
An overcast day in autumn provides different opportunities. Colors and contrasts are not as stark but the subtle reds of leaves and soft grays of bare branches remind me of a smoldering fire, low intensity for the moment perhaps, but indicative of powerful forces at work.
This fall painting from last year was recently found a new home. Maybe a painting would make a good gift for someone you know this year or for even yourself. Living with art is beneficial. I think this is because when you look at art you are sharing the result of someones focussed time and attention.
You can always stay up to date with my latest work by following me on instagram at jgebersole.
Moving Sale!
I'll be moving out of my current studio at the end of September. Between now and the end of the month, prices will be reduced on most paintings from 20% up to 50%. I will be in the studio on Saturdays and Sundays, September 14-15 and 21-22 from noon to 6pm or by appointment. Stop in for a visit and if you decide to take something home with you it will make my move easier.
The studio is at 283 47th Street, on the corner of 3rd Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn on the second floor above a pharmacy. To get there by subway take the R train to 45th Street. Call me when you arrive so I can let you in (347) 348-1823.
By the way, at the moment I don't have anything definite lined up for a new studio so if you know of anything please let me know.
Summer Exhibitions
Blue Mountain Gallery Summer Juried Exhibition
I'm pleased to announce that my painting of Prospect Park entitled "Overcast" will be included in Blue Mountain Gallery's Summer Exhibition juried by John Yau.
The show runs from July 10 through July 28. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, July 12th from 5 to 8pm. The Blue Mountain Gallery is at 530 West 25th Street 4th floor in New York City.
Queens College Irish Studies Program Exhibition
This August several of my paintings of Ireland will be on view at the Art Center of the Benjamin Rosenthal Library at Queens College. The exhibition "Dúchas: The Drive Within" is being presented by the Queens College Irish Studies Program.
This show will run from July 30 through September 7. I'll have more details in a few weeks.
News About Jim Ebersole's Art
Slowing Down and Getting Back to Basics
Artist's Retreat Allows Time to Develop Skills and Open the Door to a Breakthrough
This January I was blessed to spend a weekend at the Saltonstall Foundation, a retreat for artists and writers near Ithaca, NY. Ordinarily I would never think of allowing myself the time and space for a nurturing experience like that but my wife and another writer were already planning to go and she didn't feel comfortable driving on icy upstate roads. I'd grown up in Central New York and was accustomed to driving in winter conditions. I was there to be useful but as long as I was there I thought I might as well do something to advance my artistic practice.
Lately I've been meaning to do the kind of exercises art students have done for centuries but that I'd skipped over. Granted these traditional methods weren't being taught at most art schools in the 80's when I was at the Pratt Institute, but I'd more recently had exposure to them while studying with artist and teacher Andy Reiss in Brooklyn. Every time I do one of these I notice an improvement in my abilities. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to makle the time to do them. One of the most basic of these is the careful rendering of light on simple forms in order to learn how to convincingly convey a sense of volume and space. I brought along a set of geometric solids; sphere, cube, cone and cylinder and I spent about ten hours over the course of two days drawing that one set up.
The resulting drawing may not be a masterpiece but I found when I got back to my usual painting practice I had much more confidence and was more willing to use my imagination instead of rigidly copying what was in front of me.
Towards the end of my first day at Saltonstall I took a long walk in the woods. It was beautifully quiet and serene. I would have loved to paint it but not having my easel I had to be content to just experience the moment. Upon returning to Brooklyn, I thought I'd try painting the scene from memory. Up to this point I hadn't had enough confidence in my abilities work without some reference material. I wanted to get beyond this dependency in the hope of creating something more artistic than just copying nature. I think the result was pretty successful but more importantly I think it represents a significant breakthrough on my artistic journey.
Continuing on the idea of remedial art studies, I've started making regular trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to copy master paintings. This is another time honored tool for those wishing to improve their skills. I'd made cursory sketches before but now I'm trying to be more thorough. In doing this I find I'm getting a better understanding of value relationships and composition. For now I'm doing pencil sketches. The Met has strict rules for copying in oils and my next opportunity to do that would be in the fall.
This is an 8 x 12 pencil study of "Edge of the Woods at Monts-Girard, Fontainbleau Forest" by Théodore Rousseau from 1852-1854
My time in the studio has also been productive and I think the lessons I've learned are having an effect on my larger paintings. Pictured above are a 30 x 40 painting of a view from Knocknagorna in County Limerick, Ireland that I started last year and finished only recently. Below that is a 36 x 48 monochrome painting of Prospect Park. The lessons I'm trying to employ here are to keep the overall composition simple and the tones within the larger shapes close together so the eye isn't bounced around by too many abrupt changes.
OPEN STUDIO SEPTEMBER 30 & OCTOBER 1
This has been a very productive year so far. I've done a lot of painting outdoors in Brooklyn as well as Maine and New Hampshire. Above are examples of plein air sketches done in the White Mountains this August and the beginning stages of larger oil paintings in progress in the studio. I'm extending an invitation to come and see these works in progress and everything else that's been going on.
The studio is at 283 47th Street at the corner of 3rd Avenue in Sunset Park Brooklyn. I'll be there from noon until 6:00 on Saturday, September 30th and Sunday October 1st. The studio is on the second floor above a pharmacy. Call when you arrive to be let in. The phone number is 347 348-1823. To get there by public transportation, take the R train to 45th Street.
Jim Ebersole in The New York Times
The Styles section of the Sunday New York Times from September 3rd features a photograph of me painting in Prospect Park, Brooklyn!
Below is an image of the painting I was working on at the time.
12 x 16 oil on panel