Temporal and Timeless Motifs

Twelve volumes of landscape photos, highlighting the many motifs of the Kaaterskill Clove that have been inspiring artists since Thomas Cole first blazed trails and Asher B Durand called out to the 19^th century artists that became America’s first art movement: The Hudson River School.

Resting to the southeast, Palenville is the lower entrance of the clove and boasts its own numerous motifs along the Kaaterskill creek and vantage points for exploring the escarpment of the Catskills and Mid-Hudson valley west of the village of Catskill. But the compilation of images goes far beyond the historical motifs; many of the documented motifs are suggestions for exploring nature throughout any given year – in fact many of the specific subjects have by now withered back into the soil or floated gracefully to the Hudson River and out to sea.

Suggested on the back cover of each volume is the idea that nature whispers and anyone willing can take its suggestions to discover the universe hidden within – such intimacy is rare in our hectic world but the joy of resting in the folds of a landscape can refresh most any soul.

When the viewer is unable to trek the trails of the Catskill, the images found here are offered as subjects to imagine or create from as inspiration – and the volumes host more than twelve-hundred images captured in all four seasons within a four mile radius of the Kaaterskill Clove (several ‘share links’ are provided on this site for free viewing).