Oil - 11 x 14"
This snow scene was painted near the North Salem Open Land Foundation, in upstate New York, in the Hudson Valley, near Brewster, NY, the day after Christmas of 2008. It is a painting of a house with horses outside within a large fenced area, one horse is seen grazing in the painting. The day was incredibly foggy, in fact, I can't ever remember seeing such foggy conditions, the visibility was quite low. As the day went on the visibility became lower and lower and as a consequence dark values, such as the trees, became lighter - everything moved toward a middle value. I found painting the muted colors and narrow range of values a very agreeable and rewarding experience and something quite different than the usual plein air, outdoor experience with dark accents and gleaming lights. This was akin to painting subtle skin tones, the yellow house became less intensely yellow with time and became softer and muted. The soft yellows within the painting mingled with the violets to create a mellow harmony of color.
