JANUARY THAW

8"x10"

Day 18 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  They say you don't really appreciate the good things in life until you've experienced some dark days. Nobody knows that more than a Minnesotan.  These lovely sunlit days in January bring such joy and deep appreciation, especially after many days of living in the deep freeze.

I painted this one as a demo in my ongoing weekly class today and began wet in wet to create the halo of light in the background.  It's funny about snow scenes. Although you'd think there is a lot of white paper left exposed, the best way to really focus the light is to create some mid value to dark cool shadows surrounding the light areas.  A few very dark 'pine needle' strokes, a smidgen of complementary cobalt violet and there you have it…a winter walk.