Snowy farmstead

Snowed In 12x9 pastel, copyright 2013

Though long gone, it seems there is still plenty of inspiration to be found in the snow.  The reference photo was a drive-by on my way to pick up some paintings in Sidney.  It was not a very good photo and included reflections in the window and some of the car door, but it was good enough for a starting point.  From that it was mostly a matter of being confident enough to trust to "artistic license".

Sale and clean up

Winter Reflections 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
SOLD!

Last year in the winter I painted a series of little 6x6 oils landscapes for practice and fun, including this one.  A few have sold and the rest have been decorating my studio walls.  Over the summer I decided to enter this one in the Preble County Fair on a whim - it looked the best in the gold frames I had.   It seems I chose wisely, as it won second place in the oil category.  Smaller pieces often get overlooked, so this was a pleasant surprise.  

Feeling rather confident about its reception - I received a number of compliments from fairgoers and my fellow artists - I then decided to hang it in the gallery at the Preble Fine Arts Center.  This week I went to pick up my pieces and was told that it had been sold to one of the those artists.  Having another artist purchase a painting is wonderful pat on the back, thank you Kathy!  Here is the original post on this painting.

Unfortunately work in the studio lately has been slow as life sometimes gets in the way of inspiration, so I took advantage of a temporary lull to clean my studio to see if that would help.  It did, and I have been working on a larger piece which is going very well and will post about soon.  It's amazing how much easier it is to work when you can tell your blues from your oranges.

Morning snow

Light Snow, Bright Morning 12x9 pastel, copyright 2012

It's hard to believe given the unusually warm weather we are experiencing now, but two weeks ago we woke up to a bit of a surprise: an overnight snow.  It was only and inch and was gone by midmorning, but it is the most significant snowfall we've had this winter.  Naturally I grabbed my camera and walked around a bit after the kids got on the bus.

Watching the light slowly creep over the trees and chase back the shadows has become a highlight of my morning, a justification for getting up before the sun.  While I can see this happening from my kitchen window, I realized that morning that I've never watched it in this particular field, which is in the floodplain of the creek and completely surrounded by trees.  It can't be seen from the road, making it almost a secret space, a little hidden surprise at the end of the lane.

Winter's Deep

Winter's Deep 12 x 9 pastel, copyright 2011
SOLD!

I have had more than enough of snow and cold, to point of wishfully looking up real estate in Belize last night.  You wouldn't know it from my paintings though.   I guess since I haven't painted snow much before this winter I feel the need to practice and perfect it.  And there is certainly no shortage of subject matter, with more on the way later this week.

This one was actually started more than a week ago, but wasn't quite right.  The Richardson paper is a dark brick red and I unconsciously chose warmer colors to go with it - which is the wrong choice when paining snow.  The original intention was to make it foggy, but that failed utterly.  I came back to it today, toning down the reds and pinks a bit with blues and yellows and defining the trees quite a bit more.  A friend recently pointed out that I had not been including the white trunks of sycamores, which are prevalent in river bottoms around here, so I will be making more of an effort to include them from now on.  I'm happy to have the feedback - I'm okay with criticism, as long as it's constructive!

Country Road in Winter

Country Road in Winter 6 x 6 oil, copyright 2011

Our little one lane country road stretches for about 2 1/2 miles through open fields, wood lots and pasture.  It doesn't really go anywhere, which means there's not a lot of traffic; things are pretty quiet out here.  This particular stretch at the end of our driveway is a straight shot through the valley of Twin Creek before it starts gently sloping up out of the valley in the distance.  The hardest part was getting the perspective right.  I had to wipe the distant trees twice before I finally realized I was painting them too large and too detailed. 

For this one I used a black acrylic wash before starting; some of it shows through on the road and shadows on the right.  The oil paint is quite a bit thinner than the last two, especially in the sky where you can see a bit of the texture of the primer.  It's been a great to experiment with different with techniques, seeing what works best in each situation.

Hay Bales in the Snow

Hay Bales in the Snow 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

The first painting of the year is also my smallest so far.  I took advantage of a post holiday sale and bought some 6" square clayboard panels.  These have a smooth surface and are designed for water media, but I coated them with a bit of pastel primer to give them the texture of very fine sandpaper, giving the oils something to grip on to.  I have 16 of these panels so I can experiment a bit with texture and color.

The idea behind the small size is to force me to simplify and to pay more attention to composition and light.  At this size, every brushstroke counts, so you really have to think about what you are looking at before you begin.  At the same time, they are very liberating because you just can't get caught up in the details and can't fuss about making it perfect.

This image is from a photo I took before the last snow melted.   I spent probably two hours that day just driving the back roads looking for interesting images.  In the fall there was a field nearby with hay bales, but when I drove past last week they were all gone.  On my way home I caught a glimpse of these and had to turn around and go back to get the shot.  The daylight was rapidly disappearing and the photo was actually too blue, so I pushed the colors to the lighter, warmer end of the spectrum.

By the way, if you have a wide screen monitor, when you click on the image it will appear larger than the actual painting.  Not sure if I like that idea, I can see all the little mistakes!