Sunday, January 20, 2008

Grasses in the Snow


Grasses in the Snow
Originally uploaded by linfrye
HORRAY -- we finally had a BIT of snow!

In our part of North Carolina, we received a mild 1 INCH of soft, big-flaked snow that this morning is nothing but ice. Temperatures have dropped to the mid-20s -- I know, that's WARM for so many people -- but our normal temperatures are in the 50s!!

I got home from the conference a few hours before the snow actually began. After a 3 1/2 hour drive, visiting with trade show representatives, catching up with industry members, meeting students and other faculty, I had to take a bit of a nap to recover ... but sleep, at my advancing age, doesn't seem to be much of a priority, and so I was at the window when the snow started.

I grabbed my camera and excitedly ran outdoors to take a few photos -- nothing much to speak of, truly, since the ground has been so warm and most of the snow melted so quickly. Nonetheless, I decided I would sketch a bit of what I saw on my property.

I am enamored with ornamental grasses -- I love their reliability, sturdy and drought resistent character, the way they wave in the breeze, their graceful, arching growth habit, the space and cover they provide for wildlife, their winter interest, and a provider of additional seed for some of the birds -- and so our property is filled with many varieties. So when the snow fell, it rested mostly on these tan and ochre grasses ....

The painting I did is more of an 'inspiration' from my snow-covered bushes -- since we didn't have nearly this amount of snow and my grasses are HUGE... ! LOL

I'm trying to do a few more 'spontaneous' paintings sans lines or drawings first -- and so here's one of the first of these ....

Stay warm today!!

11 comments:

Lorraine said...

Just perfect! The shadows are so well done and the spiky brown grasses are also just right. Snow is so hard to do and you have captured it beautifully. Glad you got your bit of snow after you were home safe and sound! Brrr, 8 here but sun is out so will get a bit warmer.
Hugs,
Lorraine

Evidence of an Artistic Life said...

This is beautiful!!! It really looks like snow, which is just so hard to do!!!!!

hugs, chris

Anonymous said...

This is really beautiful Lin! Only a few brush strokes and you have it all down and it really conveys a snow cofered scne with the patches of grass sticking out. And of course, we're there to interpret what we see and not reproduce it! Beautiful work
Ronell

Tami said...

Beautiful colors and shadows, Lin! Glad you got some snow AND that you were home by the time it actually started!

Teri said...

Just an awesome painting Lin! Gorgeous!!

Joan said...

I'm glad your bit of snow excited you so much. I do the same thing here. When it snows I rush out with my camera to take some pictures so I can paint. You did a lovely job on the grasses poking out of the snow...nice job on the snow and the shadows. Enjoy your snow. I think the weather said you're having more today. Am I right?

Karen Sandstrom said...

Excellent job on those grasses in the snow, Lin. It really DOES look like snow, and it definitely looks like grasses poking out. (By the way, should you ever need more snow, I'll be happy to send some down from Cleveland.)

Jenny said...

Lin, this is really wonderful. Great composition and colors. Your shadows are perfect. I hope you were impressed with yourself when you finished!

Joan Y said...

Oh I love the way the grasses peep through the snow. This kind of painting can easily be overdone but you handled it perfectly! What a wonderful composition and gorgeous colors!

Anonymous said...

Stunning! The shadow shapes and colors are just perfect. You are amazing! We're in the 40s here with the possibility of nearly unheard of snow this week...and I'm going out plein air painting again tomorrow!

Robyn Sinclair said...

This is stunning, Lin. A very elegant watercolour.

I go made with excitement when we get a bit of snow here. Never tried to paint it though.