Winter Landscape, Core Creek Park

We had some snow in early December so one day after work I stopped off at the park to see what it looked like in a blanket of snow.  I had about a half an hour before sunset and hoped to catch the last bit of sunlight on the snow. I used my camera phone to capture some scenes before the sun disappeared.
Its almost a game with me sometimes to try to find a paintable scene in a limited amount of time. Sometimes (a lot of times) I come up empty but when you hit it right its rewarding.

Winter landscape Core Creek Park 8x10 oil painting

Winter's End

Winter"s End  11x14 oil

This was painted from photos taken on an afternoon walk in Tyler State Park.
It had snowed earlier that day and most of it had melted by the afternoon except for the snow that was left in shaded areas not reached by the sun.

Winter at the Park

 The last time it snowed I took a walk in the park with my camera looking for subject matter. I have painted this tree a few times in the past and this day I liked the contrast between the tree and snow and sky.

I distilled the scene to the bare essentials, leaving out the multitude of trees surrounding the scene. I used acrylics on a 6"x6" Ampersand panel.

Winter Landscape

Whitetail Deer, Heading for Cover  11x14 oil

We haven't had much snow here in southeast Pa this year except for a few quick storms that dropped 1 to 2 inches and most of it melted by the afternoon. I felt like painting a winter scene while I'm still in a winter mood. I had started this painting a while ago and it sat around waiting for another winter for me to get motivated to finish it.
The little snow events we did have this year got me out on walks and sparked that interest in painting snow.  I have two other snow paintings I'm working on that should be finished soon.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.                      8"x8" oil

Winter Cardinal 6"x6" acrylic

Winter Cardinal   6"x6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

This is the finished painting from the last post.  It is what I wanted to portray- a thicket of snow covered branches with a cardinal perched in it.

I used acrylics becauseI knew the painting was going to have many over lapping layers and seeing how acrylics dry within minutes I could do a few layers a night without worrying about disturbing the previous layer.

I like the gallery wrapped canvas  because you can continue the composition around all four sides of the canvas.  I  installed a metal hanger on the back so no framing is needed.

Winter Nocturne, Christmas Morning 4"x12" oil on canvas

I wanted to paint a  peaceful scene that has the feel of the world sleeping in that quiet time between night and early morning.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Pat

Almost Gone

With the higher tempertures we are enjoying the snow is just about gone revealing the dormant winter grass. Alot of people don't care for the snow, in the beginning when its new its ok but after a while they tire of it.

Artists look at it differently, snow provides us with new seasonal painting material. After painting the greens of summer and the colors of fall, snow presents us with another challenge, to capture the moods of winter.

Here are my attempts to capture those moods of winter over the years.

Hope you enjoyed these scenes, thanks for looking.

Pat

After the Blizzard

5x7 oil

This is the view looking out the kitchen window. The storm has passed and now the sun shines brightly throwing shadows on the snow.

Blue 12x16 oil

Blue 12x16 oil on linen

This is my brother Phil's dog Blue, part Husky part Border Collie. He has these light blue eyes and an intense stare that makes people nervous. When you go over his house this is what you see looking out the door. It was unnerving the first couple of times I have to admit. I placed him in an outdoor setting as if he was guarding his territory.

Piling Up

Piling Up 8x10 oil

I painted this during the blizzard on Saturday. I liked the way the snow was piling up on the railing. Everything else was was in soft focus do to all the blowing snow.

Moonlit Backyard

Moonlit Backyard 8x10 (oil sketch)

I was awake at 4:15 this morning and noticed the moonlight shining on the wall. I got up and put the coffee on and set up my paintbox next to the window in my studio. I wanted to try to capture the moonlight on the snow in my neighbors yard. The fence that surrounds her yard provided the contrast needed to showcase the moonlit snow.

Its enjoyable doing these exploratory sketches where you don't have to worry about producing a finished painting. They(sketches) help you learn about subtle differences in value without being bogged down in detail. This is an important ingredient for setting the mood in your paintings.

I do a lot of these sketches which never make it to paintings but they are a valuable tool for learning about light. Its the constant pratice that helps you produce finished paintings.

Well, thats how my morning got started. Enjoy the rest of the day.

Quiet Time,Cardinal

Quiet Time, Cardinal 7"x5" acrylic
During snow storms the birds find refuge in the tree right by our front window. It gives me the chance to observe the birds up close without them being alarmed.