This afternoon, the skies began to clear after the overnight blizzard.
The wind is still fierce, blowing snow across the countryside. It’s lovely… from the warmth of our home, anyway!
This is a 9″ x 12″ oil sketch on canvas board. It took me about 20 minutes to paint.
The snow is dry and powdery, and — with the winds gusting — it almost looks like fog blowing through. At one moment, the roads are clear… then they’re covered with drifting snow, and back to clear again.
The colors are spectacular in the sky, too. There’s a peachy tone that’s accenting the purples in the distance, and picking up some remaining yellow-ish patches where trees hadn’t fully lost their autumn leaves.
All in all, this is magnificent to look at.
I’m also posting a close-up of one area of the canvas, at right. I want you to be able to see the subtle, blended colors on the hillside.
Of course, the underpainting of cadmium red helps. You can see it peering through the colors, giving them warmth. The red also provides vibrance against the green and blue areas. It’s the vibrance — the energy — that I reach for when I’m painting.
All in all, I’m very pleased with this sketch. It captured the moment with all its strength and softness.