Author: -N-

Trees in Snow

This was an exceedingly hard painting to scan simply because of the very soft usage of blue in the foreground snow. While this scan does not represent the painting very well, the overall image is good enough unless I decided to really play with my scanner’s software. I am not so sure I want to do that.

There are a few “points” to this painting. Using a very limited palette was one point – colors here are ultramarine blue, burnt umber, burnt sienna. There is a touch of a few other colors here but nothing of any significance.

Another point is to keep as much of the paper as white as possible. I managed to do this, but the scan does not do justice to the pale blue of the foreground snow; to compensate for this I used a very light blue graduated filter overlay in my post production software.

And the final point was to work in layers – light to dark – for the trees. Yes, I used titanium white artist’s gouache for the snow on the branches.

St. Cuthberts Mill, Bockingford archival watercolor paper, 12×16, CP 140#.

Christmas Stocking, 3

This stocking for my sister-in-law has been quite the adventure. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes! I will say, I am responsible for the majority . . . I had to restart the darned thing, and then, I made the foot too long.

If you look, you can see the end of the stocking I cut off – I wasn’t in the mood to ravel all that, so I took my scissors and cut off the toe. I had repeated the pattern twice – misread the directions. Then I picked up, several rows above, the right leg of the V of the stitches I wanted. And I picked up the exact number, much to my relief, and proceeded to finish up the stocking. As you can see below, the amputated foot above the completed foot.

I would have preferred the red strip with diamond in the center – more Christmassy in color – but it was time to bring this to an end. I need to gather up the toe to close it up, and then work on the weaving in of loose ends and looking for dropped stitches. I found one, which I pinned for now, but will secure it when I work on the inside of the stocking. And that is for another day. Like tomorrow.

Happy New Year 2026!

Snowfall

Christmas Day! Nothing like a snowfall and the cold and the quiet of the woods for remembering the magic of the season. New and old traditions overlap, memories and hopes for the future all seem to be rolled into the end of the year and depth of winter. The stillness of the winter woods gives pause to our crazy lives. Holidays of any sort at this time of the year make us look backward as well as forward.

Here I worked from very light to dark. The colors I used for the greenish-blue sky were cobalt teal, a bit of ultramarine, and a touch of Hooker’s green, neutralized by a bit of alizarin. The leaves and autumnal foliage were various siennas and orange with a touch of Indian yellow. Trunks, from light to dark, were essentially ultramarine with burnt sienna and raw umber with a bit of Payne’s grey. Snow shadows were ultramarine and Payne’s grey. Finally, I watered down some titanium white gouache and tapped my brush across my forefinger to look like falling snow after applying a few lines and dots in white here and there.

This is another watercolor which pleases me. Perhaps I should stick to Arches Rough paper instead of my usual cold press . . . ?

Have a wonderful Christmas Day – or whatever it is you celebrate!

Watercolor, Arches Rough 140# paper, 10×14.

Later in the Day

A few days before Christmas and, while I don’t live in it, I do enjoy a snowy holiday! I’ve always thought that a walk in the woods, in the snow, on a misty but sunny day is the best way to enjoy the cold. Colors are soft in the distance. The contrast of bright white against dark branches and trunks is fascinating, creating twisty patterns on the intertwined branches of bushes and young trees devoid of leaves. There are lines and blobs, shades of blue and grey snow, bright white and deep shadow.

I used a limited palette here – mostly umbers, sienna, some yellow, blues. A touch of alizarin, too, to make some warmth. One of the goals of this painting was to create a soft view of buildings in the distance, suggestive of a misty sunniness. The pale blue of the sky is barely there. I used a lot of water for this effect! Coming closer to the viewer, colors are a bit brighter and shapes more evident. In the woods, sharp trees, shadows, snow, plants.

To date, I think this is one of my better watercolors.

Watercolor, Arches rough 140# paper, 10×14.