Have you found a way beat the winter blues? Do you long for the warm temperatures and sunshine like I do?
January always seems like the longest and coldest month of the year and while its too cold for painting outside I have been heating up with some summer paintings inside done with studies and drawings of summer and fall trips.
“No Rush” is a pictorial dichotomy, the billowing clouds changing rapidly and building for a summer storm as the sheep graze on the mountain side like nothing will change, as if summer could last forever.
As a plein air artist or an artist that paints landscapes outside on location one is forced to usually work smaller and paint fast to capture the quickly changing light. Plein air studies become powerful research for paintings done later in the studio.
“Just Roll With It (2)” was taken from plein air studies last August. I still wanted to capture the rolling clouds and depth of the rolled hale bales from my original study but now working in the studio I could more carefully design the composition and build the texture of the brushwork.
“Cascading Light” is another example of plein air to studio painting. I was smitten by the light that trickled on the water as it cascaded on the tiered rocks and water. In it’s entirety it was more than I could possibly capture in an afternoon so I worked to capture as many color notes as I could to bring back to the studio.
In spite of my dislike for being cold, I still love being out doors especially in the mountains after a fresh snowfall and sun the some comes out. “Winter Moments” was inspired by a winter hike with my husband. I loved the way the cool shadows on the snow contrasted against the warm sunlit bark of the trees and few remaining yellow
Warm regards,
Alicia Finlayson
