The last two months have been way too busy to take time for a mini-gallery, so I am excited to finally present a new one to start the new year.  For me, January is the month of snow.  I’ve had a love/hate attitude about snow for years.  I love the look of it, especially falling out of the sky, but I hate cleaning up after it or trying to travel through it.  Most importantly, I love painting the snow.  Winter landscapes are my favorites, and I’ve been lucky enough to find lots of inspiring snowy images.  Here are a few of my favorites.

One of the first paintings that I felt truly proud of was of my son’s Red Bicycle.  He had left the bike out again (grrr!), and of course it snowed.  As it turned out, I loved the way the snow had fallen on the bike and took a dozen or more pictures of it from every conceivable angle.  This view was my favorite, but proved to be quite the challenge.  The angle of the back tire and its spokes was maddening to conquer.  In the end, I was so in love with the painting that I have been using it as my business card image for years.  And it has remained one of my most popular print images.  And yes, my son Tim reminds me that I should be thankful to him for being irresponsible. And inspiring. 😊

Another snow painting inspired by my family happened during a big Snow Storm.  Sometimes I have to admit that there’s a camaraderie that happens on shoveling day when all the neighbors are out working together for the common good.  It’s especially nice on a sunny day!  Thus was the inspiration for this big 24” by 28” painting.  The image features two of my children and one of my neighbors digging out together along the sidewalk.  The American flag waving on the front of a house just added a touch of civic pride to the overall look of the scene. I started the painting by covering the entire surface with a soft, blending white, and then I built the colors up on top of it.  This gave all the colors a kind of milky quality that added to the snowy feel. I hope that for viewers, it has the same reminiscent quality that it has for me.

A few years ago, my husband and I were gifted with a trip to Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey.  As it turned out, our tickets were for a day just after a beautiful early snow.  The park was surprisingly accommodating even in the cold weather with lots of little warming spots to duck into when necessary.  The grounds themselves were amazing in any weather.  This Tree Lined Path was one of the tucked away gems we discovered that day.  I can’t imagine that they could look more spectacular than they did in the snow that day, with their thin, dark limbs contrasting against the beauty of the white snow.  I loved the look of the slushy footprints ahead of us, leading along the narrow trail. I want the viewer to feel that same experience.

In the Snowy Bridge painting, I was interested in capturing that same sense of being part of the scene by making a one-point perspective composition again. I am lucky enough to have a small place to escape to in the Poconos, and nothing looks more beautiful in the snow than the trees, lakes and waterways that we explore there.  This little bridge sits beside Lower Lake in Promised Land State Park.  The bridge connects two walking paths that follow the winding run-off waterway through the woods to a stunning little waterfall. The bridge has a charming character of years past.  On this day, no one had yet crossed over, so the snow was still high and undisturbed. I took my pictures and left it that way.  It was far too pretty to ruin.  My color palette tried to recreate the feeling of the crisp cold air that day. I’m hoping you get a chill looking at it.

This past December we had a snowstorm after two years of almost no snow, and after a year of countless disappointments and stress.  Watching the snow falling that night, I was awestruck.  It was as if heaven had gifted us something beautiful to help us to forget all the negative things happening around us.  I needed to paint the Snowy Night in all its’ glory.  This view from out my front door features the beauty and quiet of snow in the nighttime.  Almost nothing had been driven through yet, and no footprints to interrupt the calm, smooth surface of the snow.  I loved the almost fuzzy look through the falling snow, and tried to replicate that by spreading gray over the entire canvas first, then simply adding darker gray tones and whites to the wet surface.  This left everything with a soft, undefined quality.  Some little flecks of white were added for a bit of a falling snow effect.

I hope these images give you fond memories of snows of the past and expectations for snows to come, whether you prefer being out in the snow, or observing it from your window.

Check out availability of paintings and prints in the Winter All Year section of the online store.