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| Snow and Rock #1 6x8 Oil - Available |
In the days when I lived back east, I sometimes painted in the deep of winter. But painting in, say, Vermont at that time of year is a much different experience than painting here in New Mexico on a fine January day.
Back east, plein air in winter wasn't for the faint of heart. Bitter cold meant wearing gloves so thick that handling little sticks of pastel was near-impossible. One might think oil would be a better choice, but every pile of paint turned into a dense mass the consistency of Silly Putty. I won my merit badge when I painted for about a half-hour at -15° F, and that was in pastel.
The other times I painted, it was often when the temperature hung in the 20s, and clouds like grey steel plates paneled the sky. The overcast made it seem much colder. I preferred to paint when some sun, filtering through the clouds, might warm me up. But that made as little difference as the warmth from a nightlight bulb in an unheated room.
But now I'm in New Mexico. Here in the north part of the state and at 7000 feet, we do have winter. I think the lowest temperature so far was a degree or so below 0° F. For several weeks now, nighttime lows have been in the single digits or teens; daytime highs, in the 20s, 30s, 40s and almost 50—but that depends so much on sunshine. But even in the 20s with sun, it can seem gloriously warm. You'd swear it was in the 60s and peel your clothes off like they were on fire.
With that in mind, I thought I'd share a few recent snow paintings with you. For each of them, I stood in four or five inches of snow, in the sun, with my parka zipped open and my gloves, off. I can't wait to paint some more of these.
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| Snow and Rock #2 6x8 Oil - Available |
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| Tracks 8x10 Oil - Available |
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| Snow and Rock #3 9x12 Oil - Available |
