Winter Landscapes
Winter is the most challenging, but my favorite, season to paint. Not only do I have to deal with the cold, but the color of snow can shift instantly. One minute it is a light blue gray, the next it has a darker gray value. Why? Because the cloud patterns have changed. Snow reflects what is happening in the sky, just like a mirror, except it is a mirror that has a million different angles to it. Sometimes if I'm painting a red building I'll notice all the planes of snow that face the building are glowing red. Red snow? Well, yes, it can appear to be red, because the light from the building bounces into the snow that faced the building.
That kind of close observation is why I believe in plein air painting. You have to be on location to see these subtle variations. No camera can capture this. The subtleties all contribute to the authentic quality a painting should have. And part of the fun is being out there in the snow and trying to figure it all out. It takes years of practice. First, you have to recognize these things, and then you have to have the skills to paint them. When I first started painting, my eyes were not attuned to see these amazing color changes. Seeing them now and recording them in paint is pure joy.
Artist Vista
46 x 56
Stock Road Sunset
16 x 20
Trunks
11 x 14
Winter Gray
9 x 12
Lavender Hills
19 x 40
Loretto Forest
24 x 30
River’s Bend
30 x 40
River Thaw
24 x 36
Last Snow
9 x 12
Green Saplings
11 x 14
Hint of Morning
20 x 24
Indian Lake
9 x 12
January Morning
9 x 12
Blue Shadows
30 x 40
Cornfields
16 x 20