Here we are in January! And if you’re in the northern parts of this wonderful planet of ours, you may be experiencing a bit of snow…or a LOT of it! I know many artists love painting snow whereas others are almost terrified at the prospect.
So when I saw the winners of the Dakota Art Pastels Fourth Quarter Competition and discovered there were three paintings of snow among them I clapped my hands! Here they are for your viewing pleasure.
The first two are from the Established Artist category, both winning Honourable mentions.
In the painting by Tom Christopher, the artist has taken the chaos and scruffiness of the landscape and organized it into a way for us to see the beauty that’s there. Amid the muddle of branches, scrub, and snow-covered land, a dark area makes its way to the base of the painting. It’s a creek and although we may not notice it at first, when we do, we can feel the cold rush of water carving through the land. We can also feel the contrasting warmth of this sunny winter day.
Aaron Schuerr (a regular PleinAir Salon winner) has also created a landscape divided by a waterway. This time though, the cold water seems almost still as parts of it reflect back the warmth of the setting (or rising?) sun and other parts, the dark snow-laden trees. There’s a wonderful contrast between the cool muted colour of much of the landscape and the warm light sky. Painting snow can be tricky because we always think of it as light and white. You can see here, that’s not always the case!
Our third painting took third prize in the Emerging Artist Category. A member of my membership IGNITE!, I’m very proud of Adrian Soegandi and his win for, in Juror McDermott’s words, this “little gem.” And looking at his painting of a snow-covered street, it’s completely understandable why Adrian nabbed this award! A feeling of quietness pervades this empty-of-people city street, lined with ploughed snow piles interspersed between parked cars. Trees throw long shadows across the deep snow in the early morning light. And although the lit snow looks white, look more closely and you’ll see many colours!
An inspirational trio of snow paintings don’t you think?
If you’re interested in painting snow, you may find this article useful for understanding the different colours of snow.
And make sure to check out all the other winners of the Dakota Art Pastels fourth quarter competition!!
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Speaking of Painting Snow….
If you’re interested in painting snow en plein air (and yes, I do think that’s rather crazy!) then check out this article, on our sister site Outdoor Painter. In it, eight artists share tips on how to capture snow-covered landscapes.
Topics include:
- Staying Safe and Warm
- Gearing Up
- Adapting to the Conditions
- How to Paint Snow: Responding to Colour and Value
And that’s it for this time!
Gail
