After The Storm

After The Storm (3.5 x 9.5 pastel)

It has been realy blah around here. Cloudy, cold and snowing constanly for the last 5-6 days now. I'm not complaining about the snow. I like it. Alot. But it's put a run on the bird seed in the back yard. The traffic has been busy at the feeders. And not only the birds are hurting.

I looked out this morning and, along with all the usual customers - blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, juncos and sparrows - that clean up after our friendly neighbourhood squirrel, I saw an odd shaped grey-brownish blob sitting in the snow. I did a double take and realised that it was a rabbit. We have one that winters in our yard. The snow must be pretty deep for him to be back at the bird feeder. Guess I'll have to go get some pellets and hay for him.

This little painting was done as en plein air as I get at minus 20 celcius - I was standing at the back window. It's a little corny with the bunny there but I wanted him in because he was what prompted me to do the paining in the first place.

First Attempts at En Plein Air

Almost everything you learn is to paint from life if you can. My favourite subjects of animals I often paint from photos because they move too quickly and don't have the patience to sit for a portrait. But landscapes don't run around. The light will move and if you paint from life it will force you to work quickly and more spontaneously or you lose that light.

These two paintings were done on separate days. The bottom one was done first and the second I just finished.

I really like the clothes line. I think I got the light pretty right and I am actually happy with the greens which started as blue and red and purple and yellow underpainitng.

The bottom painting is a section of a tree in the back yard at dusk and I was just playing around with the pastels and trying to get the lights and darks in the proper places with no thought that it would look like the actual tree. What's interesting is how my niece and nephew, Jessie and Robbie, viewed it when I asked them what it was. Jessie immediately said that it looked like a stormy sky and then said it looked like a tree on a stormy evening. Which was what it actually was. Robbie said a tree at night. So that was pretty cool!

The clothes line is a little washed out in the photo, looks better and more the the real thing if I tip my monitor back a bit.

Morning Clothesline (pastel en plein air, 6x8)

Abstract Pine At Dusk (pastel en plein air, 7x9)