Winter White
I love winter so much I decided to do a show featuring the season, with snow and without.
Here is a series of small sketches, none larger than 12" x 12", inspired by winter in pastel, watercolor, pencil and pen and ink from the trails to the backyard, completed en plein air and indoors—often standing on my deck or sitting in the front seat of the car—illuminated by the stark light of winter. Many of them show various textured surfaces and a variety of lines and styles; these small sketches were just as much experiments with materials and styles as they were attempts to capture the essence of a winter scene.
The headings will tell you how I categorized them. Enjoy the footnotes about my inspirations and the sites where the scenes are.
This show was hosted by United Cerebral Palsy's Centre Avenue Gallery in February, 2004.
Some of the originals are still available, priced as noted, and I have made prints or notecards can be made from all the images.
TO PURCHASE PRINTS
Scroll to the bottom of the page for information.
Click on any image to see an enlarged version.
colorWhoever said that winter was just brown and gray wasnt seeing the same world I do. Whether Im walking the trails, driving down a back road or just looking out the window, the colors of winter are a constant inspiration. Snow reflects any color depending on the angle of view and time of day, and even without snow the landscape is rich with the colors of jewels. Even interiors are different as the leafless trees admit more light and the sun, at its lower winter angle, fills rooms with clear, stark light. |
Panhandle Outboundpastel, 6" x 6", sold Panhandle Trail, Collier Township foot of snow, 10 degrees, January, all alone on the trail |
Panhandle Inboundpastel, 6" x 6", sold Panhandle Trail, Collier Township same day, on the way home |
Duckspastel, 6" x 6", sold Chartiers Creek, Carnegie |
local trailsAlong with Panhandle, above, wandering the woods across the hills, tracking along streams, and following railroad tracks through the valleys are some of my favorite afternoon walks. |
Bell's Runpastel, 6" x 6", sold Carnegie-Crafton snow and shadows and trees and reflections |
Walking the Trackspastel, 6" x 6", sold Carnegie |
Scott's Run Roadpastel, 10" x 8", $50.00 Collier Township |
old farmsI was once quite surrounded by working farms and retired farms with interesting rustic buildings and houses, hillside pastures of waving grasses, old apple orchards and simply quiet open space; now these have been turned to neighborhoods. I managed to capture a few before they disappeared. |
Frostpastel, 8" x 8", $200.00 Settler's Cabin Park, Robinson Township, the site of one of the original farmhouses, and the overgrown field with the tracks still clear in the grass |
After the Snow Squallpastel, 10" x 8", $75.00 Ewing Road, Collier Township, a cool old barn at the edge of an old Christmas tree farm |
Evening Farmpastel, 10" x 8", $50.00 Ewing Road, Collier Township, the lovely open hillside that once was a pasture |
avian visitorsI feed the birds in several feeders around my back yard, photographing them as they flutter and fly around and occasionally with the opportunity to sketch though it's difficult with all that movement. |
Birds in Snowpastel, 7" x 10", sold
my front yard; watching the birds at the feeders is like watching waves on the beach |
Jammin Jay Bluespastel, 6" x 6", sold my back yard, the blue jays making noise in the mulberry |
Snowbirdpastel, 6" x 6", sold my back yard, a little junco in a snowstorm |
Accentpastel, 6" x 13", sold
my back yard, a cardinal bright in the snowy branches |
local parksEven the small local parks offer interesting vistas. |
Backroadpastel, 5" x 7", sold
Settler's Cabin Park, Robinson Township |
Remnants
Settler's Cabin Park, Robinson Township Remnants of an old farm |
The First Shadows of Eveningwatercolor, 7" x 5", sold Carnegie Park |
Hills at Duskpastel, 13" x 6", sold |
Stream in the Snowpastel, 5" x 6", sold |
A Walk in Frick Park
pastel, 6" x 8", NFS |
You just never know where you'll find art. |
interiorsThe stark angled sunlight of winter fills our rooms as well. |
Rehearsal Hallpastel, 6" x 6", sold Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, now called the Reception Hall |
Winter Windowpastel, 8" x 8", sold Kelly at my side window, my little cat in the stark pastel light of a winter afternoon looking out at the big winter outdoors |
structuresSnow falls on everything in winter, and the bare trees reveal scenes we've not seen. |
On the Edgepastel, 6" x 6", $50.00 Carnegie hillside |
Snow in the Alleypastel, 5" x 7", sold
Barrett Way, Carnegie |
Snow Showerpastel, 5" x 7", sold
Third and Third, Carnegie |
The Shortest Daypastel, 6" x 6", sold
house up the street, a scene I see from my desk every day |
Night Windowpastel, 5" x 7", $35.00 house across the way, a scene I see from my kitchen window |
in the backyardPaintings of little scenes in the snow. |
The Fallen Branchwatercolor, 5" x 7", $50.00 back yard certain shades of blue watercolor are impossible to scan |
Colorful Shadowswatercolor, 6" x 4", $50.00 back yard |
Morning Snow 2pastel, 8" x 8", $300.00 back yard next door |
Morning Snow 1pastel, 8" x 8", $300.00 next door, other side |
Set Pricing on the Two Paintings Above Morning Snow 1 and 2 are available as a set for $500.00. |
Winter Cherry Treepastel, 8" x 10", $75.00 outside my studio window |
Trackspastel, 8" x 8", $75.00 outside my front window |
Standing Treespastel, 6" x 6", $50.00 my neighbor's back yard from my deck |
pencil, ink and charcoalAll are from my little sketchbook, all done en plein air from the woods to my chair at my desk, looking out the window. |
Light Woodspen and ink, 7" x 5", sold Settler's Cabin Park, Robinson Township |
Tree Studypencil, 5" x 7", sold
outside my studio window, same cherry tree |
The Sentinelcharcoal, 5" x 7", sold
tree at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall |
The Path of the Elvescharcoal, 5" x 7", sold
tree at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall
|
Creek Study in Snowcharcoal, 7" x 5", sold my private beach, Carnegie |
The Wrought Iron Fencepen and ink, 5" x 7", sold
Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall |
To Purchase PrintsAll digital prints are the full size of the original (the rough edges you see on some of them are cropped off; the size listed reflects the cropped image). They are centered in an 8.5" x 11" sheet of matte finish archival digital card stock (except "Accent" which is printed on 8.5" x 14"). All prints are signed on the print. Prints are $15.00 each. For now, I have one button to purchase prints. Simply enter the name of the one you'd like to purchase. |