Winter Fog

Winter Fog 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
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This one gave me fits when I photographed it, making the snow looks a bit washed out.  It's probably my favorite so far though, I really like the mood of it.  The dry brush technique was used over most of it to give it a very soft look.  For the reflections in the water, paint was applied thinly and the dry brush dragged across it in a downward direction.  You can see a lot of the bright blue underneath.  Just yesterday I realized that the applied base coat has a specific terminology: ground.  So my ground is an acrylic wash with a pastel primer.  

I realized two other things during this painting.  Reflections work best with a minimal amount of paint and detail, at least on such a small scale.  The eye does a good job of filling in assumed detail as long as the reflection has a vague resemblance to the objects.  I also discovered that the quality of the paint really does make a big difference.  A better quality paint, such as Winsor and Newton, is thicker, smoother and more opaque than less expensive brands.  As the tubes go empty I am replacing them better ones.