“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.” Auguste Rodin
Up here in the Northland we eagerly await the days when old man winter slowly releases his frozen grip on us. When we can walk outside without having our breath stolen from our lungs by the icy air. When a car will start without a groan and birds are brave enough to sing again.
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| Trees |
These early days of spring are filled with anticipation and hope. Soon we will see the first green buds on the trees and rain will fall instead of heavy wet snow. People will venture outside with t-shirts and shorts on them, even though it's only 40 degrees. They will pause, and close their eyes, and feel the warmth of the sun on their faces.
For Artists here it means we can finally leave the studio without nine layers of clothing on us. A chance to dust off our plein air gear, take an inventory and prepare to see a friendlier mother nature. It is a good time to paint outside, while the shadows are still long and before everything turns to a bright green that's almost impossible to paint.
Until that time arrives, I practice painting trees.
I also did a video recently on the newly released QoR watercolor kit. What a great little kit this is and you can find the complete video on my YouTube channel at:
https://youtu.be/McTOjZc2AYE
Here is a very short clip of the paint swatches I made from them.
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| Resting Under A Tree - Watercolor & Ink |
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| Walking Near The Tree - Watercolor & Ink |
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| practicing trees |
I discovered a new art medium just recently this winter Marty. When out walking our Bramble, I was so awestruck by the beauty of the patterns that the wind and blowing beech tree leaves were painting on the surface of the snow that it inspired me to pick up a leafy twig of beech to paint my own pictures on the snow. In the end, there were hares gazing, birds taking flight and sail boats ploughing through the snowy waves. The pictures were fleeting, but a joy to do. As you may have guessed my friend, I love the snow. Hope life's treating you and the family well? Best as always, Jane.
ReplyDeleteThese sketches are delightful— my favorite is walking near the tree. Thanks for reminding us of spring.
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