Winter is Here

Overnight we had a pretty decent snowfall. Which meant the kids were not going to school because of cancellation and once I had them situated with their friends, I escaped to go painting.

I drove around for a bit searching for that elusive impulse that tells me, PAINT THAT!! Eventually, I settled on a tried and true place out at the Ben Hawes Mountain Bike Trails Park. I didn't even make it out of the parking lot before I decided to go for this old tree with it's twisted limbs being highlighted with the snow tracing them against the background.

The challenge here was going to be keeping my values close and not get carried away with color, just slight temperature changes with a dash of warmth along the broom grass in the background.

Here's a shot of it in progress.

I also want to thank my friend, Danielle, for the photo of me painting. She had been out there trail running and showed up while I was painting. I rarely get a shot of me working.

Once I got back home and the warmth of my studio...and after starting a big pot of chili on the stove...I did a few things to it to bring it to finish.

Here is the completed piece.

"Out on a Limb"

9"x12" oil on panel