Winter Plein Air along the River

A heavy snow fell last week and it's been relatively cold, so a lot of it is still around. On Tuesday the 22nd it was a beautiful sunny day and most of my Christmas stuff was finished up so I went out late morning to paint. I wanted to work on snow and winter foliage.

 I chose a spot near the river and found this old cottonwood along an old river channel. I learned that it is essential to have your painting umbrella along on a sunny snowy day. The glare can be amazing.  Luckily I brought mine along. Should have brought sunglasses too.  Some artists carry those fold-up windshield dash covers to help shield their palettes, an item that would have been very useful too, but I did not have. Probably a good thing to add to my plein air kit. It's also helpful to bring some kind of lightweight waterproof ground cloth to set my gear /backpack on while I am painting. I also bring along a camera. Extra batteries kept inside my coat would have been a help. The cold made my rechargeable battery go dead really fast as I was out about 3 hours or so.

Snow is fun to paint - there are many different colors in the shadows reflected back by nearby objects. I really enjoy painting snow.  Here's the painting.  Old River Channel, 9 x 12.