Tag Archives: Meltwater Season

Meltwater Season

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TM9619 Meltwater Season 36×54 oil on panel

Some paintings are in development for a long time. Meltwater Season is one of those paintings. I started it, then put it away a couple years ago when the season changed before I could finish the painting. Last year I hauled it out again, bringing it closer to completion. But this year proved to be the magic year. Enough experience, enough inspiration (absolutely missing the white stuff during this mostly snowless winter!). The painting expresses my wonder in the presence of all the ways water in the pond freezes then melts, and the ice-encased grasses in the shallows. Details below. Enjoy!

TM9619 Meltwater Season – detail from upper left
TM9619 Meltwater Season – detail from right side
TM9619 Meltwater Season – detail from center

The two views below show the painting in progress.

TM9619 Meltwater Season, getting started
TM9619 Meltwater Season, nearly finished

Meltwater Season

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TM9520 Meltwater Season 36×54 oil on panel

March is a strange month – full of bluster and cold, while at the same time offering glimpses of warmth. Colors are muted, but the varieties of ice can be amazing as ponds and creeks go through cycles of freezing and thawing. Meltwater Season is mostly about the scrims of ice vying with passages of open water, ice floes below the surface, frozen bubbles and air pockets, and the frame of snow and ice retreating along the shore of this glorious in-between season. Details below. Enjoy.

TM9520 Meltware Season – detail whre shore meets pond with ice and snow

TM9520 Meltwater Season – detail from left side with thin ice

TM9520 Meltwater Season – detail from lower center with last scrim of ice over liquid water

TM9520 Meltwater Season – detail from upper left

Technical painting notes: I developed the painting in layers, starting with rolls of deep browns and blueish grays. These were followed by some intricate brush work to describe underlying vegetation – which was followed up with more roller work with semi-transparent paint to “bury” the details under snow and ice. Below is the painting at mid-stage in development.