This has been a long, cold winter, and it seems as though there’s more frigid weather to come.
Take advantage of the season, and try your hand at painting some snow landscapes.
If you’ve never painted snow, you’ll find it stimulating and a bit of a challenge.
If you’re planning to don your snow gear for a plein air painting trip, make sure to take all the appropriate precautions.
Both you and your materials are prone to damage from extremes of temperature.
Tips To Make Painting More Comfortable
- Don’t be a fashionista. Wear layers that you can remove or add as the day progresses. Thick socks and heavy boots are very important, as you’ll be on your feet for an extended period.
- A mat will make standing a little more comfortable. Even a layer of cardboard is better than standing directly on snow. It’s a layer between your feet and the snow that gives you some degree of insulation and gives you some traction if you’re on an icy area.
- Make sure to take sunglasses, as the glare can be intense even on somewhat dreary days.
- Dig out that tube of sunscreen from the beach bag in the back of your closet. The reflection of the sun on snow can double your exposure, so slather on the sunscreen.
- An umbrella is a great way to protect yourself from sun glare or to protect your canvas from untimely snow flurries.
- Lay a dark colored blanket down to reduce the glare from snow in your immediate vicinity.
- If possible, set up your workspace in the shade to eliminate sun glare.
- Hand Warmers
are great to keep tucked in your pockets. They may not make your hands toasty, but they take off the worst of the chill.
- Fingerless Gloves
are good to wear while painting, but keep mittens handy to switch into while you’re pondering the scenery or taking a break.
- Since time may be an issue, prepare as much as you can before you venture out into the snowy wilds. Perhaps you can pre-mix some of your paints at home.
- Do your sketching while sitting in the relative warmth of your car. Once you’ve laid down the basic composition, you can climb out of your car and begin painting at your easel.
Painting White Snow
Although snow looks colorless at first glance, it’s anything but plain white. Don’t rely on Titanium White to convey the sense of your snow-scape: You’ll use a wide variety of colors other than white to give your scene a realistic appearance.
Discrete types of snow appear differently. Snow that is patchy has more contrast that an overall blanket of snow. Snow that has melted and re-frozen looks different from fresh powder snow. Your artist’s observational skills will get a real workout as you examine the subtleties of the snow cover. Texture, local color and reflected light all play a part in the appearance of your scene.
A scene that is blanketed by snow will have a higher key and less contrast than a landscape with less snow coverage. The reflected and ambient light decreases the contrast of the picture as a whole.
One of the only places you’ll use pure white is where sunlight directly hits the snow, and that will be a highlight. Everything else will have some semblance of color, whether it’s the reflection of the sky, nearby water or local color.
You probably have a couple more months of possible snowy plein air outings, so be prepared to pack up your paints, pull on your mukluks, and get ready to tackle the challenge of painting snow-scapes. You’ll strengthen your observational skills and get a chance to boast about your extreme plein air painting adventure.
