Looking The Other Direction

Painting backlit snow is very difficult, as I discovered today. It is troublesome to judge color or value when one is looking into something so bright. I think I have exhausted this subject for a while, and will try something else tomorrow. The ice was cracking all around me as I was painting this, but I managed to stay dry. This view is looking the opposite direction from the one I painted yesterday. The colors look better in person than they do here on this post. Overall, it was a magical day, yesterday's heavy fog combined with a zero Fahrenheit overnight temperature creating a thick flocking on everything in the valley. A very gentle breeze blew the crystals into the air where they seemed to hover and sparkle like diamonds in the sunshine against the deep blue sky. It was very Doctor Zhivago. Study 6x8 oil on linen.

Boxing Day Bliss

There is nothing I love more than going out on a beautiful sunny, snowy day to paint. And this week I can't seem to get enough of trying to paint this creek. Today I braved the slippery wet rocks to get a view from the middle of the streambed. This study is my favorite one so far; I am not tired of trying this subject matter yet. There is another view I want to try, but I haven't found the right lighting conditions for it yet; maybe tomorrow. I arose before dawn today and it was crystal clear, but quickly the ground fog moved in and it became as thick as pea soup, and seems to be lingering all day in the valley. You can practically watch the hoar frost form on the trees, flocking everything including the downy winter coats on the livestock, into barely discernable tints of color. It was tempting to try a fog scene, but since the weather looks like it is going to become overcast soon, I thought I'd drive up above the fog to paint the creek again. Study 6x8" oil on linen.

My Christmas Wish

All I wanted for Christmas was sunshine, snow, calm winds, time to paint, and World Peace. Four out of five isn't too bad. It couldn't have been a more perfect morning to paint. If this weather holds, I'll be heading out again tomorrow. Both studies are 6x8 oil on linen. The snow wasn't super fresh, but there was a lovely inch or so of feathery hoar frost on everything which made the snow extra sparkly and lacy (see below), definitely a winter wonderland. The second study here is the one I painted first, fairly early in the morning, and I could hear the coyotes yipping in the distance. Merry Christmas one and all.

Christmas Eve Serenity

I finally had a chance to get out and paint today in the snow. It was overcast, but otherwise a beautiful morning. Twenty degrees and absolutely calm. I managed to find something I wanted to paint and found a nice, quiet site to relax. I really liked the location so I may try to return later in the week and try it again, hopefully with better results and maybe a little more sunshine. Study 6x8" Oil on Linen.

June Pasture

I finished this painting yesterday, although I painted the study for it on a beautiful early morning in June 2008 in northeastern Oregon. If I could begin every day like that, I would be a happy girl. I was thankful for Gore-Tex boots since I was half-standing in the chilly flowing water of a runoff ditch. Across the road were some long-horned cattle with the biggest horns I have ever seen (see below). I kept imagining what it must feel like to go around all day with the weight of a bowling ball on each side of my head. Of course if I had tried to paint one of those beauties into my painting, it would have looked like a cartoon. The steer I did paint are the more ubiquitous Hereford breed raised for beef. They seemed to graze in a synchronized languid pace, wandering in the same direction down the long pasture, turning as a group and leisurely ambling and munching on the way back. I am happy with this piece because I think I managed to capture the mood of that bucolic morning. 40x20", Oil on Linen.