A painting should make up it's mind if it's going to be warm or cool, not half and half. It should lean one way or the other. Most of my architectural snow paintings have leaned fairly cool. But something about this subject matter and the delight of the wonderful snow-filled trees overpowering the house, spoke to a warmer painting. And perhaps the influence of the title I had already chosen as well: "The Day Before Spring". So a sunrise was born with glazes of aurolin yellow and rose madder genuine and a touch of cobalt blue. I am taking a lot of license with the painting now...dropping off the neighbors house and balancing it with another pine tree (that may or may not actually be there...hard to see in the snow.) There was a lot of "masking" as all the snow is actually the white of the paper.
In my dreams last night I was designing some of the shadows that would fall forward in front of the house (not available in the photo, of course). I pulled out my white acrylic ink which I think I will use to add more tiny white branches later and to use for touch ups. I relate to the lovely big tree in the front yard..reminding me of my big old oak back in Wisconsin that got sold with our house a year ago last September. Down here in Florida when the live oaks get that old, the branches sweep down to the ground like a ball room dancer in a heavy gown. Then the old branches touching there re-root into new trees.
Watercolor on Arches cold pressed 11 x 15.
