February Warmth

Early spring-like weather feels good in an ominous sort of way. The warmth of the past few days and actually, the whole winter, is disquieting--it is still February after all, but the weather is more like the end of March.

"Last Scraps of Snow," wc/ink on paper

A few years ago   March was still relatively cold, and snow persisted in the shadows, and the grasses and spring bulbs still slept below the frozen ground. A 2019 watercolor shows it above. But this year winter seems to have petered out, so that high temperatures have ranged in the 50s (F) and lows have been barely below freezing for the most part. My gardens have responded with bulbs reaching 3-3 inches in height and the grasses are going green already. 

Global climate change has arrived.

Relief for the Eyes

"Outside the River House," oil on panel, 11x14

The thing about the winter months is how colors fade from dull to muted to nearly grey in some places. Trees become grey clouds against pewter skies. Water turns dark and coffee-like. Grasses become sallow yellow-greys. 

So this oil, begun last fall and put aside for a few months might relieve some of the monotony of winter. It began as a study of a tree at Whiterock but eventually became somewhat different.

A Winter Watercolor

"Sherman Hill Roof," wc/ink 5x9

This sketchbook watercolor was done from my car last month. The complicated roof was interesting to sketch. I laid in the drawing lightly with graphite, added colors and then accented various passages with ink.
 

Last Saturday

This view of the Des Moines skyline is from the parking lot of the baseball team. This time of year of course it's deserted so the Saturday group spent a couple of hours sketching the skyline. 

"From Principal Park," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

February Scene

"Grays Lake," wc with ink ~8x10

Once in a while it's interesting to see what the world looked like a year or two ago. This watercolor of Grays Lake is about a year old--there was no snow but the distant trees south of the lake (toward my studio) still kept their dull drays and pale colors. Rocks and grasses in the sandy near shore were the most colorful parts of the landscape.

Winter

"Winter on the Raccoon River," wc/ink, 5.5x11

A view of the Raccoon River flowing lazily through Waterworks Park one wintry day. 

Homebound

Beginning last Thursday we've been homebound with light cases of covid. Neither of us has been very ill, but we've isolated from the world to avoid spreading the virus. No Saturday sketching, no lunches, no trips outside except to walk the dogs. The weather continues unseasonably warm, so that almost all of our record snow has melted. 

I stood in the studio window and did a minature (about 4x6) watercolor in a pocket sketchbook. One is a view directly north along the creek. The other is a view farther to the right of the first with a distant grassy slope barely indicated. 

With luck I'll be back outdoors with my paint boxes some time this week.

Winter Woods

"The Other Bank," oil on panel, 8x6

As the days lengthen and all of our blizzard has finally melted, we can let ourselves think of the earliest days of springtime. Sometimes it's worth looking back at past seasons of warming and early flower. 

This small plein air oil shows the woods on the opposite bank of Druid Hill Creek in late winter, when the grasses have turned faintly green and the first yellow spots of flower glow in the tangled undergrowth.