Sunday 15 January 2017

#154 'The Look out, Devils Punch Bowl' 11.5x16.5"


So excited to see the first snow of the season! I was out early by 8am to catch the sunrise colours, which were too fleeting to paint but photographed for another time.

The Devils Punch Bowl is a National Trust area. I have painted it several times before but first time in snow and it was stunning! It took me a while to settle on this subject, there's a lot of space, and trees and distance and quite difficult to find a strong composition, but was pleased with this one. 
I started on the darks, so it would show up the whites later and went between greeny browns to reddy browns with Raw Umber as the base. 
The sun was in and out of the clouds and quickly painted the bits of light when it came.

After a couple of hours the weather turned and a front came in with more snow, the distant hills were obscured and the scene looked so different, I finished it in the studio today.

It was fun being out there despite the bitter weather! People said to me I'm either crazy or committed to painting both I think! 
It's my first painting of snow outside, absolutely loved it and want to do more!!


5 comments:

  1. That delicate pearly sky is lovely. Is this quite a big size for you, Clare? Doesn't it take longer or do you just use bigger brushes?!

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    1. Hi Caroline, you are right this is the biggest size I've painted outside so far. In some ways it's liberating. My brushes were bigger especially to start with - getting the main areas blocked in. I did it in two sessions. Would have been longer if it was a more complex subject.

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  2. Dreamy painting - my favourite subject - snow scenes.

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  3. It would make a lovely Christmas card. I do love the colours in the sky and reflections in the snow. I can feel the intense cold and the liberation of the distant views to the horizon.

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    1. Good idea Pat! I will get some cards printed for next Christmas :-)

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