Winter Paintings Bring Out the Best of Season

Snow on the River 12"x12" oil on canvas

I'm not much of a winter plein air painter, but I do love snow scenes. What intrigues me is all the different colors of snow. Yes, there's some white, but there is sooo much else. The starting point for Snow on the River was a photo I took in Fairfield, CT. I used it as a framework to explore shades of blue and purple.

Icy Brook 8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Icy Brook was also painted from a photo, taken with some risk since the bridge over the brook was pretty icy, and I had to dodge the cars driving by. Below I've included the photo, so you can see that it was really only a jumping off point for the composition, the colors and positioning of the grasses and shadows are all mine.

Icy Brook Photo

I did have an opportunity to paint snow from life at our previous house. We had a bit of lawn behind the house and then some nice trees. The french doors and the screened porch both gave me a sheltered location to paint from.

Backyard Snow 6"x6" oil on canvas panel

I've painted this same backyard snow several times, in oils and in water color. We don't get as much snow here on Buzzards' Bay, but I'm on the lookout for opportunities to paint snow from life in my new neighborhood.

Thomas Point 6"x6" oil on canvas panel

Sometimes simple is best, and that's what I found with Thomas Point, a photo taken by my painter friend, Joelle Feldman. It's one of my favorite snow paintings ever.