There is an old saying about March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb--or maybe vice-versa. Anyway, this month began very pleasantly. That may not be a good sign.
As the seasons rotate, the creek changes. Early this month as the soil began to warm and ice was less frequent hints that spring will actually come began to appear. Along the banks you see a spot or two of green. Trees have warmer tones in their bark. And the leafless branches behind the
trunks begin to glow, just a bit. I blocked in the big shapes and then painted the sky first, using two blues and a warm grey, then washed warm greys into distant masses, leaving a few sky holes. I was careful to reserve an area or two for trees in the foreground. The creek looked almost black but in reality was a very dark and warm brown. The yellow foreground is mostly ochres as is the redder right bank. Using a technical pen I added distant and near detail, trying hard not to render too much. The trunks came last, and here and there I used a touch of opaque paint as contrasts. That sequence is my usual in these sketches.
The creek is surprising because the changes that now seem obvious, painted on paper, sometimes went unnoticed until studied more critically. The water looked as dark as coffee that early morning, even though the woods had warm colors in many spots. The banks were dry and yellow but looked warmer, and even the sky looked better through patchy clouds. The next day was almost the same though the sky was more grey than blue. Here and there the trunks of some trees were even warmer looking. The sky in the creek even turned a fine blue-green in the sunshine but still was like coffee, in the shadows.
Despite the early March chill, it seems to me as if the trees and undergrowth--the whole woods really--were about to burst into growth and flower. Even on the day the sketch above was made the cold air couldn't chase the yellowing sunlight out of the trees downstream. Two scraps of snow shone in the shadows along the right bank. The notation on the facing page mentions that even though the painting looks like wilderness there is a street on one side and buildings on the other, edited out.
Winter wasn't through with us those first two weeks of this month. Even though the light was still warm(ish) the days were gloomy with clouds and only a couple of days after the glowing branches downstream the entire distance turned a slate grey and the creek ran steel blue. In retrospect it was as if a dark curtain fell across the woods, and there were more grey days to follow. At the end of a long winter season time slows and the cold seems unending. Grey days in March are a kind of setback, especially when preceded by milder ones. I stood in the studio window and shivered a little as flurries of snow began to fall.
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Previously
Druid Hill Creek Part 1
Part 2
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