Good morning!
How are you? I hope you're well and off to a good start to the new year. I'm always ready for a fresh start and raring to go. Then about half way through the month I begin to feel like I'm treading water and about to sink.
Sometimes January feels like its about three months long! But here we are at the end, and that means more daylight and Spring is on the way!
I thought I'd show you some of the steps in the painting I just finished.It was snowing when I began this painting. An all day snow, coming down in tiny flakes, with lots of velocity. It was a good day for being inside. Nice and cozy.
The transformed landscape by the end of the day was beautiful. Much more so than the drab gray-brown of the few days before. And the sun came out, which made it dazzling and gorgeous! Just right for finishing this painting.
I went for a walk in the sunny snow and fresh air and was glad for it. The next few days were sunny, windy, and warm. By the time I went for another walk, I was walking in puddles. It felt like Spring as I tramped on wet leaves and little puddles of melting snow. It smelled like Spring.
But of course it is nowhere near Spring. I thought about how like Wyoming that is. We really get teased in Winter, with days that feel like Spring. And then when Spring arrives (on the calendar), we get giant snowstorms.
It just doesn't seem fair. I was in a black mood about it. Do you get that way? I'm feeling a little bi-polar about it this year. Or maybe its just that our weather is feeling bi-polar this year. A lot.
I know I shouldn't let the weather get to me as much as I do. I now know why people go south for the winter. I used to think it was a strange thing to do.
Oh well. A very bright spot is that we're getting a wood burning stove hooked up on Monday and I'm looking forward to a cozy fire to make the rest of Winter more enjoyable.
Here's the inspiration for my latest painting and some of the progress shots I took along the way.
This was my inspiration for the painting. It's a 6x8 pastel study I did a couple of years ago. The creek is out in our back yard. Muddy Creek, by name.
I have stared at the study while it hung in my living room and felt like it needed some interest on the right. I had it in mind to at least add another snowbank to that side.
I loved using the palette knife right from the beginning. All that lovely crisp color!
You can see I hadn't really made up my mind yet as to the right side. But definitely thinking snowbank.
After I put the snowbank in I felt like it still needed some interest. Open water always flows in a different spot than this, but I thought it looked great here!
And below is the finished painting. If you look at the original pastel study, you'll see that the palette knife has the same effect with the oil paint as I get with pastel. I really love the texture!
Open Water
18x24
Oil on Gallery Wrapped canvas
I'd love to hear what you think about pastel compared to the paint applied with my palette knife! Do you like it? Do you see the similarity that I see?
What do you think?
Till next time, I hope you stay warm and sunny!
Ginny