The Snows of 2022 (so far)

January and February are statistically the snowiest months here, but every year feels record-setting anymore and this one is no different. As it happens, snowfall has been about average overall, but January did set a record with almost 19 inches. For the past several years one of my regular winter practices is watercolor sketching from my studio window, sometimes daily, and I've continued that practice, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Still, I've managed a few winter watercolors and here are three for 2022. 

January 2, After a Big Snow

As the written notation says, this watercolor was painted January 2 after a big snowfall on New Years Day. The day was bright, winter-hazy with enough sun to cast oblique shadows across Druid Hill Creek. When painting these watercolor journal entries I often omit details or entire passages of the actual view, as in this work. Most of the woods on the west side of the creek are absent, as are a lot of them on the east. As is often the case, though, the creek is framed by two trees. This work began as a rough drawing with a warm-colored watercolor pencil. I added the watercolor, then inked a few crucial details. 

February 27, Another Snowfall

In this painting from February 27, my note indicated a total of 6 inches of snow fell that final week of the month. We had already had several inches earlier, sending our total to the higher side of usual. This painting from February 25 shows how the tree colors grow warmer and brighten as the days lengthen, even though they still throw inky shadows across the frozen creek. This is an afternoon view, with the distant trees in full sunshine while the creek bed is shaded darkly. This wider view is a more satisfying one for me, but requires more than a single page of the sketchbook. Leaving the right-hand tree half-finished was a deliberate attempt to keep the viewers' gaze deeper into the shadowy distance. 

March 7, Five Inches

The last watercolor (so far) for this year shows yet another post-snowfall scene, this time from about a week ago. Feather-light snow sifted down for hours that day, probably more than had been forecast, but the temperatures remained high enough that the creek stayed open though ice-rimmed and mounded up by the snow. At this time of year, already meteorological spring, the color changes in the trees and branches become more pronounced almost daily (see the paintings above), and even the temperature of the light is warmer. Still, the icy fist of winter wouldn't relax for at least another week.

One of the attractions for me of painting winter is the opportunity to study the subtle yet wide range of colors in what are seemingly dull and nondescript scenes. The challenge of looking long and then carefully turning reality into paint is a continuing pleasure. And these watercolors provide a fascinating and immediate record.