TM8199 Early Snow at Bass Rocks 12x12 oil on panel

Early Snow at Bass Rocks – of course it doesn’t look quite like this yet, but with a forecast of first snow possibly arriving this week, I got a little carried away with the thought. The season of snow brings those intense blue shadows, and a certain abstract, graphic quality to the landscape. It’s as if everything were turning into a woodcut, all clean lines and contrasts. And underneath, peeking through where it can, the warm oxide and ochre colors of Gloucester’s Bass Rocks. Enjoy!

 Technical painting notes: As with nature, so with painting. When I construct a winter scene, I paint from the “ground” up. It doesn’t really matter how much snow will be in the painting, I paint the subject without snow, then, when everything feels solid, I start painting in the snow. Why? Because, for me, the structure of the land has to feel right and believable, and the snow has to rest on the land in compliance with perspective and gravity. Besides, by painting the land completely first, I have the freedom to paint a little snow or a lot, depending on design requirements and whimsy.