Tag Archives: Catskill Mountains

Gallery Show: Sandy Finkenberg’s Nudes. Opening Reception Saturday May 25th, 2024 2 – 6pm

Upstate Dispatch is thrilled to present a solo show of Sandy Finkenberg’s Nudes. Sandy is a long-time member of the arts community of the Catskills, and a member of the local figure drawing group. This is a new body of work and much anticipated. Sandy’s gorgeous, dreamy nudes rendered in oil on board, many done with a live nude model at the figure drawing group, are some of the Catskills’ most coveted art pieces.

The reception is May 25th, 2024 from 2pm – 6pm. Small bites and beverages will be served. Preview: Friday May 24th. The gallery will be open all Memorial Day weekend from Friday to Sunday with opening hours to be determined. Watch this space!

The show runs from May 24th, 2024 – June 22nd, 2024. Upstate Dispatch Studio, Upstairs at The Commons Building, 785 Main Street, Margaretville, NY 12455. May 24th, 2024 – June 22nd, 2024.

About the Artist

Sandra Finkenberg, a resident of Bovina Center, received her training at the Carnegie Mellon School of Art in Pittsburgh and the Art Students League in New York. She has received a number of awards including second place at the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club (2007), Best of Show Cooperstown Regional (1997), and Best of Show and 2nd Place, UCCA (1993,1992 respectively). Her work in egg tempera was featured in the 2000 summer edition of American Artist Watercolor Magazine. One person shows include the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg, NY, and the Walt Meade Gallery in Roxbury, NY. Group shows include the Vivianna Hansen Gallery in Delhi, NY and the Windham Fine Arts in Windham, NY., The Catskill Center Erpf Gallery in Arkville NY, the CANO Gallery in Oneonta,NY, and the Salmagundi Invitational in NYC., The Smithy in Cooperstown, NY, and has shown in the Stagecoach Run at Blue Farm Antiques and at the Freck/Beal Studios.

Daily Catskills: 10/12/23

Getting crisp, but still warm in the sun, despite giant clouds and a high around 60F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/11/23

Overcast with a blanket of rippling cloud that allows occasional sunburst and a high in the low sixties. Gloomy in the woods mid-afternoon.

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Daily Catskills: 10/10/23

A little warmer with a high of 58F and a mixed lot of multifarious cloud cover.

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Daily Catskills: 10/07/23

All day rain and the ubiquitous foggy mist. Humid with a high of 66F. The dullness is muting the fall colors.

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Daily Catskills: 10/06/23

Overcast and gloomy today, and humid with a high of 78F. Dinner at the Print House.

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Daily Catskills: 10/05/23

Another sweltering July day in October: a high of 86F with gauzy cloud and leaves flying in the wind like confetti.

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Daily Catskills: 10/04/23

Another scorcher: a high of 86F with a virtually cloudless sky, save for the odd scattering of cotton balls in the distance. Fall and Summer collide to make a gorgeous day.

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Daily Catskills: 10/03/23

A fall scorcher: a high of 82F with clear skies and another serene sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 09/29/23

Misty rain on the peaks becoming heavier in the valleys. Humid and foggy with a high of 66F. A muted red glow at sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 09/20/23

Warm and sunny, with wispy bits of cloud like someone didn’t clean up the sky properly and a high of 70F. Overnight lows dipping into the thirties. Frost warning.

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Daily Catskills: 09/19/23

An overcast and gloomy morning clearing up mid-afternoon to late evening and a clear blue sunset. Chilly with some sprinkles and a high of 64F. Lows in the fifties.

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Daily Catskills: 09/17/23

A chill in the air, and warm in the sun but mostly overcast with a flat swathes of menacing cloud. Late afternoon rain and a high of 67F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/16/23

Warm and sunny, mostly clear with a high of 71F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/13/23

Gloomy and rainy, with intermittent showers leaving a trail of thick mist in their wake. A high of 71F and humid. The goldenrod is enjoying this late summer.

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Daily Catskills: 09/10/23

Muggy, still and overcast with low cloud and a high of 77F. Late afternoon drizzle gave way to some patches of blue. A barely discernible reddening of the landscape. The greens aren’t giving up yet.

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Happy Birthday Upstate Dispatch!

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Yes, I’m still here! I know some of you can’t believe it. It is, however, the 9th birthday of Upstate Dispatch and this is the 2,355th post. Yes, I persist. The Daily Catskills section began again this year on September 1st for the fall season, but it’s just too much work to maintain it year-round. (BTW, there are a few splotches of red in the foliage here and there, and in small pockets, mostly shady areas, we have piles of fallen leaves, but because of the heat, it still feels like summer. Try telling that to the tomatoes, though.)

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I have mostly been focusing on art, and writing. I’m working on a memoir, not because I’m special, but because there’s a story here that I need to tell. Part of this story was published in Farmerish and it was well-received. You can read it here.

I will be publishing an introduction, some excerpts, and companion pieces to this memoir on Substack: a “new economic engine for culture”, which is a paid newsletter that gives writers a chance to earn a living. For those of you who are interested in paying a very small subscription for my content. Here’s a chance to find out more about who I am. I hope to see you there!

Finally, I often go out for lunch, breakfast or dinner in the Catskills and hear about how Upstate Dispatch has helped local businesses. I really appreciate the feedback and thank everyone for their support.

Jenny Neal 9/9/23

Daily Catskills: 09/07/23

A steamy day. Hot and humid, with plump, fluffy cloud and a high of 89F. Mid-afternoon thunder and rain that took a pause for sunset and then continued with epic house-rattling thunder and lightning after dark. Some epic weather.

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Daily Catskills: 09/06/23

Heavy and humid, mostly sunny with a high of 90F, but cool in the shade. Sweaty.

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Daily Catskills: 09/03/23

Warm and sunny with a high of 82F. Day 4 of haying: bringing the bales down off the mountain and “tedding” the second cutting.

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Daily Catskills: 09/01/23

Sunny and clear with a high of 80F. Tall goldenrod stems swing in a gentle breeze and its Day 2 of a hay window in the Dry Brook Valley.

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Catskills Conversations: Gary Mayer

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“Are you coming to the drawing tonight?” Gary Mayer asks me. I’m honored to be part of a Catskills figure drawing group with local artists such as Steve Burnett, Gary, Peter Mayer, and Sandy Finkenberg.

“No,” I say. “I’m going to a potluck dinner”.

“Well, you won’t find potluck in here,” he says as he steps up into his studio. “More like shit out of luck,” he laughs, highlighting a disparity between the lightness of his personality and the intensity of his work. He’s quick to laugh, good company and chatty, but this magnanimity belies the intensity of his imagery. “I have a wild imagination,” he frowns, nodding gravely. “I didn’t sleep a lot as a kid”. We have something in common. “Me, too,” I say. It’s a little exhausting. But I’m keen to keep him laughing because all the profile pictures I see of him make him look flummoxed, for want of a better word.

His general demeanor is nonchalance, however, like his image: hey, look at this shit I did. I don’t get it either. *Shrugs* The ad for his new gallery in Margaretville named Art Up is photo of a handwritten note, for example. I get the sense that his reward comes from expressing himself, while painting, rather than the final work being appreciated.

Continue reading →

Daily Catskills: 05/18/23

Another sunny day: warm in the sun, cool in the shade with a high of 64F.

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Daily Catskills: 04/25/23

Cold, with a high of 48F and a chilly wind. A mostly gloomy day with the sun emerging late afternoon like it had spent all day a work. A beautiful evening.

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Daily Catskills: 10/29/22

Sunny and warm with a high of 62F. Leaves hanging on.

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Daily Catskills: 10/27/22

A cloudy morning, clearing up to a sunny afternoon with a high of 57F. Fall is over at higher elevations, but there are still hardwoods hanging on to their leaves downhill.

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Daily Catskills: 10/26/22

Misty and humid with blustery afternoon rain and a high of 71F. Fall is on the wane, but the oaks, beech and ironwood are still hanging on.

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Daily Catskills: 10/24/22

Mostly overcast with a low blanket of mist, and humid with the occasional peep of sun, a sprinkle of rain carried over from last night and a high of 65F. 2022 is having a spectacular, drawn out fall and now we are deep into the earth tones of the giant oaks: copper, gold and brassy brown.

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Daily Catskills: 10/23/22

Overcast with the odd glimmer of sun and still balmy for the season with a high of 61F. The fall colors are now the golden, brassy, maroon and copper tones of the oaks and ironwood, and some of these trees are still green.

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Daily Catskills: 10/22/22

Another clear, fall day with a high of 70F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/21/22

Another crisp day under a bowl of clear blue, warming up to a high of 60F. The flaming red oak tree holds its ground with its yellow and green neighbors amidst the brush of a waning fall landscape.

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Daily Catskills: 10/20/22

Bright and sunny with a nippy wind and a high of 53F. Big dome of clear blue with the odd remnant of wispy cloud.

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Daily Catskills: 10/19/22

An overnight frost coats the last remaining rose and the temperature only rises to a high of 44F. Mostly clear blue skies for the rest of the day.

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Daily Catskills: 10/18/22

A frosty morning with dew steaming out of the valleys, a fresh dome of azure sky, chilly but humid, rising to a high of 55F with giant clouds moving in mid-afternoon. Fall is falling.

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Daily Catskills: 10/17/22

A dingy start to the week, with a sky like washed ink and a high of 55F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/16/22

Bright and breezy, mostly clear skies and a high of 63F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/15/22

A frosty morning, warming up to a high of 65F. Clear and sunny with leaves fluttering like confetti in a light breeze. Coral-colored sugar maples line Andes’ Main Street.

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Daily Catskills: 10/14/22

Another gorgeous misty, cloudy morning, clearing by noon and warming up to a balmy high of 65F. Warm in the sun.

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Daily Catskills: 10/13/22

A gloomy, chilly morning warming up to a humid, rainy day with a high of 62F. Falling leaves tossed around by gusty winds. Torrential rain into the evening.

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Daily Catskills: 10/12/22

Sunny and humid, mostly clear skies and a high of 66F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/11/22

A crisp morning with thick mist sinking into the valleys. Clear sky for the rest of the day, balmy with a high of 67F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/09/22

Peak fall colors, but only brief periods of sun in which to showcase their glory. A nippy wind and a high of 58F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/08/22

Chilly and overcast with brief periods of sunshine and afternoon rain. A high of 50F.

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Daily Catskills: 10/07/22

Overcast and misty with late afternoon rain and a high of 66F. We’re in the peak of glorious fall here in the Catskills. We just need some sun to show it off.

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Daily Catskills: 10/06/22

Sun, at last! Mostly cloudless with a high of 74F. A beautiful fall day.

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Daily Catskills: 10/05/22

A rainy morning walk through misty mountains. Another overcast day, with thick foggy cloud and a high of 61F. The sun making a brief appearance mid to late afternoon, brightening the gorgeous fall colors. A lovely half-moon rise though streaky cloud.

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Daily Catskills: 10/02/22

Overcast and chilly with blustery winds and a high of 57F. Fiery sunset.

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Daily Catskills: 10/01/22

Overcast with ruffled grey cloud, morning mist and a high of 62F. Goldenrod still hanging on.

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Daily Catskills: 09/30/22

Mostly sunny with a gauze of cloud and a high of 62F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/29/22

Thick cloud cover clearing by late afternoon. Humid but chilly, with a high of 62F. Yellow leaves falling.

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Daily Catskills: 09/28/22

More gloom. Overcast, with a slight chill taking the edge off the humidity and a high of 65F. Misty clouds sail through the valley towing their falling rain.

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Daily Catskills: 09/25/22

Gloomy and overcast with brief periods of sunshine, but a mostly rainy afternoon and a high of 63F.

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Daily Catskills: 09/24/22

A very crisp, dewy morning at 42F, but sunny and clear for the rest of the day with stray wisps of cloud a high of 69F. Perfect weather for cycling to a festival.

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Daily Catskills: 09/23/22

A chilly, overcast morning, rising to a high of 53F with mostly clear skies, and a strong, chilly breeze stealing the warmth of the sun. Good drying weather.

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Daily Catskills: 09/20/22

A bright, crisp morning, but overcast. A high of 67F, and pockets of sunshine despite stormy cloud cover and afternoon sprinkles. A slight yellowing of the foliage and a few splashes of red.

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