Winter into Spring

I have the window open right now, and can hear that sweet sound of spring frogs singing in the stillness. It was a warm and windy day. I got to go on a long walk with my little niece to jump on round bales, check out the trees budding in the orchard, walk through the hay fields looking for birds and looking down gopher holes, and finding the cows. It was a good day.

Here's a little catch-up of some of the paintings I've done over the past month or two, as we've been transitioning from winter into spring.

February 26th. Returned to one of my favorite places to paint the snow, what was left of it, between the trunks of the great old trees that stand on the hillside. The shadows were long and blue, the sunshine warm. I painted quickly, trying to capture the light before it disappeared.

February Among the Trees, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

 March 11th. Another sprint of a painting - working hard and fast as the wind blew and the sun sank in the west. The bare fields were golden in the evening light, full of texture and subtlety that I couldn't do justice to in the time I had, but which I tried to hint at. This spot has a great view through the neighboring bluffs in the background that always draws my attention. As the wind died down at sunset, the sound of geese rang out as they flew overhead on their way north.

Evening Impression, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

 March 12th. Orchard time. My little sis worked on her pruning skills, while I worked in paint. Different types of brushwork. It was a hazy sort of day, and I wanted to convey those soft greys and purples I saw in the rows of trees and thick masses of branches and twigs. A birdhouse stood at the end of one row in a clump of dry grasses.

The Birdhouse in the Orchard, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

March 22nd. A portrait of a tree, its rough bark and the old barbed wire fence that's it's grown right over. A grape vine loops its way into the upper branches. The valley stretches out below. The light was soft through a thin layer of clouds. I painted until sunset.

View from The Point, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

March 28th. Another paint and prune day. The sun shone in a clear sky and the shadows were strong and dark. The grass was beginning to grow green on the south-facing slopes. My eye was really drawn to the intricate tangle of twigs against the sky, but I wasn't sure how to best give that impression while working wet into wet oil paint. I tried one way and another. This was the result. Smudged and thick with texture.

Spring-time Shadows, 9 x 12" oil on linen/hardboard.

April 16th. We've had snow since the last painting, but it has long gone, and the pastures are dry and green enough for the cows to have a snack, if not a feast. Painting living, moving creatures is still a huge challenge for me! The trees are budding and beginning to show some color, and the fields are beginning to show more green than brown.

Basking in the Sunshine, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

H.C.H.

March

March, in paint:

Muddy Tuesday, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 10

I enjoyed the first real thaw of spring, and went out painting without snowpants and winter boots.

March Thaw, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 11

I spent too much time wandering around in the woods before setting up to paint this one, but it was spring-like, and lovely. I had to paint more quickly as a result. The sun was so warm that the patches of snow changed shapes from when I began the painting to when I'd finished - just over an hour later.

Brown Fields and Old Snow, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 12

The sun looked warm, but the wind was out of the east and felt very cold. Only a little snow remained in the roadside ditches and low spots in the brown fields.

March Picnic, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 14

Another quick one! It was a great day for an early spring picnic. I took the opportunity to sketch my companions in paint, before the littlest had to go for a nap, and the others got too cold.

Lined Faces, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 21

I've already written about this one. There was a good reason it felt so cold that day - snow was coming! We got about eight inches, and another little stretch of winter to make spring even more welcome when it would come to stay.

Lined Faces

It's hard to remember to dress for this weather after we've had a warmer spell; it's so easy to leave the wool coat and mittens at home. But though the calendar may say it's spring, and the longer days, higher sun, and melted snow may say the same, let me tell you, it is COLD. After shivering through a painting this evening I had the red, stiff hands to prove it.

Lined Faces. Plein air, 9 x 12" oil on linen/hardboard.

One thing I like about old barns is their character.

 These two - just look at those faces! 

 Today started out sunny, but by the time I set up to paint, the sun had disappeared behind clouds, leaving the March landscape looking a bit dull. When it finally peeked out for more than a minute, I rushed to paint in the shadows. The sunshine really lit up the land, and made the clouds look dark and blue.

Oaks and Outbuildings

Painting at an old farm in Red Wing, Minnesota.

A beautiful day, and I got to meet up with some painting buddies. :-) 

It was pretty windy, and I meant to find a sheltered spot, but ended up out in the open, and just held onto my hat. I love these old oak trees, but I got off on the wrong footing trying to paint them. Half way through it looked like my paint tubes had just spewed onto my canvas. It came out okay in the end, if a bit rough, and it was a good challenge anyway!

A Certain Old Maple

 What a beautiful day to get to go out and paint. No mittens needed!

At the high points of the fields I could walk across icy mud and stubble, it smelled of spring, but as I headed downhill the snow was still deep enough in places to walk right over one of the fences, and fall through up past my knees when I least expected it. I discovered that one of my boots has a leak.

 I chose to paint this beautiful, tumbling down, old maple tree. My siblings and cousins and I used to spend a lot of time in and around this tree, climbing, reading, eating candy, making up stupid songs, roasting hotdogs over a fire underneath, dodging cow pies as we jumped out of it. Good times.

Deep snow and a dry place to sit.

The pups think painting is terribly boring.

Finished. 10x8" oil on linen.

^_^

A Few March Paintings

 March 12.

Massive dark snow clouds fill the sky. The sun breaks through every so often, only to be covered again, as more snow flies and falls to the earth.

A previous storm,with wet, sticky snow and a cold wind, left the north sides of the trees plastered in white. I stood among the birch trees down the hill to get out of the wind. Occasionally the tree tops were shaken, and I discovered what a nasty texture snow gives to wet oil paint. :-p

March 12, 2013 plein air. 5 x 7 inch oil on linen.

March 13.

Blue skies and blinding sunshine. I took a long walk around the north side of the farm, out to the orchard, where the snow had been broken and churned up by deer. The dogs went a bit crazy trying to follow all the tracks at once.

I continued around on the south side, but a cold west wind competed with the sunshine, making for a short and cold painting session.

March 13, 2013 plein air. 7 x 5 inch oil on linen.

March 14.

Close to home. A twisted old maple casts its shadow on the corn crib in the evening.

 

March 14, 2013, plein air. 6 x 8 inch oil on linen panel.