A Walk in the Snow

Snow Day, 6x8  oil

 A snow scene from my memory. A couple years ago I was walking through Neshaminy State Park after a snow storm and was taken by a scene similar to this.
I was in a part of the park that had a cathedral of trees with the sunlight coming thru throwing crisscross shadows and lighting up the snow making it glow.
I added people walking their dog to instill a sense of pleasure in freshly fallen snow.

Winter field, Tyler State Park,12x16 oil painting

Winter field 12x16 oil

 I  recently reworked this piece adding a little atmosphere to the painting.  I painted this from a  5x7 study done on location one afternoon.
That day I was hoping for a sunset but the overcast sky won out.

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.

Saturday Snow

I took advantage of the brief snow we had Saturday morning. Went to a local park at 9:00 am,  while I was working on the first painting the snow started letting up. The lake was a silvery grey and the background trees started becoming visible again. The first painting was painted from the comfort of my warm truck.

Went to another park close by and found this spot, this view is  looking up a slight hill. I liked the contrast of the dark background trees, the tan grasses and the patch of snow still left. Grey clouds moved in along with a drop in temps.

Both paintings are 8x10 oil

Winter Stream

Winter Stream 8x10 oil 

I wanted to continue the snow theme.  Snow has been scarce here in southeast Pa. this year, but I still  wanted to get some practice painting snow scenes. The painting itself is from my imagination, a totally made up scene. I like the contrast of the dark water against the snow, and the pine trees reflected in the stream.

I wanted to see if I could construct a painting from what I have learned and observed over the years.

                                                                                         

Snow Day

I painted this a couple weeks ago from pictures I took during a walk in Neshaminy St. Park last year. Seeing that it snowed last night I thought it would be appropriate to post this painting today.

This shows how important it is to have reference material that you can fall back on. That day at Neshaminy Park I didn't take my painting equipment because I wanted to gather as many pictures as I could while the snow was still there. And on a picture taking day that usually means a lot of walking. I will visit two or three parks in a day, each one offering something different.

When painting on location time is spent finding the right spot with the right lighting and then usually an hour to a hour and a half to paint the scene.

Last week I was in the mood to paint outdoors and didn't care about taking pictures. I did one painting in the morning at the lake, did another of a field and trees but that one didn't turn out too good so I wiped it.    
And then went to Washington Crossing and painted at the graves of the unknown soldiers.

So your frame of mind and the mood you are in help determine how successful your day will be.

Looking out the window today and seeing all the branches of the trees covered in snow gave me an idea for a painting with the layers of branches going back in the distance and a cardinal in the foreground to brighten up a winter day.
This is the painting half finished, I still have to put in the snow covered foreground branches  and give the cardinal a little more detail.