Today I decided to brave the cold and venture out of the car to sketch. I didn't venture far though. Meadowvale's community center has a wonderful park that my wife reminded me of this morning.
I readily found a nice spot to settle down. A bench overlooking this scene had just enough snow melted off of it for me to sit. I started quickly, hoping to get enough details before frostbite set in. It didn't take long. The puddles of water on my palette soon turned to ice and I had to blow on the palette to melt them. A patch of ice on the bench was useful as a cleaning surface for my brush, but I think that just added to the ice in the palette. The brush soon became unruly with ice in the tuft and ice was in patches all over the sketch. I was about to quit when the boys came into the scene. Ah! How could I stop now!! I warmed the brush with my breath, warmed the palette the same way and gave it one more push. With the kids done, I was ready to leave, but the red winter-coat was wet and I was so afraid that if it iced over it would feather out or bleed when it melted again. I sat a bit longer blowing gently on the sketch to help it dry warm. When it did, my fingers and cheeks were numb from the cold. I quickly bundled all my stuff up and headed to the safety and warmth of the car.
Home at last, and warm coffee in hand, I added the knife scraps and cropped the edges for composition and this baby was done. It is not really material for a full scale painting, but I did enjoy the experience. Working plein air even in winter is exhilarating.
I readily found a nice spot to settle down. A bench overlooking this scene had just enough snow melted off of it for me to sit. I started quickly, hoping to get enough details before frostbite set in. It didn't take long. The puddles of water on my palette soon turned to ice and I had to blow on the palette to melt them. A patch of ice on the bench was useful as a cleaning surface for my brush, but I think that just added to the ice in the palette. The brush soon became unruly with ice in the tuft and ice was in patches all over the sketch. I was about to quit when the boys came into the scene. Ah! How could I stop now!! I warmed the brush with my breath, warmed the palette the same way and gave it one more push. With the kids done, I was ready to leave, but the red winter-coat was wet and I was so afraid that if it iced over it would feather out or bleed when it melted again. I sat a bit longer blowing gently on the sketch to help it dry warm. When it did, my fingers and cheeks were numb from the cold. I quickly bundled all my stuff up and headed to the safety and warmth of the car.
Home at last, and warm coffee in hand, I added the knife scraps and cropped the edges for composition and this baby was done. It is not really material for a full scale painting, but I did enjoy the experience. Working plein air even in winter is exhilarating.
