Early Spring

"The Other Bank," oil on panel

If you're like me, this time of year can be difficult, waiting for the sudden break in weather that signals true spring has come. Sometimes one my plein air paintings helps me remember what it looks like. This plein air painting was done in early April a few years ago, highlighting the brief bright yellows of very early springtime.

Faint Hints of Spring

This time of year, as the light shifts and temperatures warm, little hints of the coming season of renewal and growth become noticeable. You see faint reds on bare branches that suggest swelling flower buds, or here and there a sprig of green peeps over old, yellowed grasses. The air even looks a bit different, even if snow still clings in the darkest shadows. 

Our sketch group was out again last Saturday. I went to the bank of the Raccoon River in Waterworks Park. The river is flowing low and slow, sand bars and banks mostly shades of grey. The water is dark in the shade, where banks are dotted with ravelings of snow. It was a bit chilly to sketch outdoors, so I sat in my car and sketched a bend of the river. 

"Last Snow, Raccoon River," wc/ink on paper