Winter in Yellowwood State Forest, 48″ x 24″

POSTED ON AUGUST 30, 2022 BY CHARLENE MARSH

Winter in Yellowwood State Forest, 48″ x 24″

This is the final oil painting of the four part, four season tetraptych. You can see the other three paintings, Spring in Yellowwood, Summer in Yellowwood, and Autumn in Yellowwood in the blogs. I will have all four paintings finished and on display at the 4th Street Festival of the Arts, this coming Labor Day weekend, September 3-4, 2022, in Bloomington, Indiana.

Getting Started

Yellowwood State Forest, 48" x 24" — Winter in Yellowwood State Forest, 48″ x 24″

After laying out the initial sketch, I dive into the painting.

State Forest, 48" x 24" — Painting in progress.

Mixing the darkest darks, I paint in the creek, shadow areas, and major tree trunks.

I love painting snow scenes because I get to use a million different values and shades of blue, my favorite color!

In the shadow areas of the snow, I add a touch of red and yellow to dull the blues down.

A splash of sun hits the snow bank.

Winter in Yellowwood State Forest, 48" x 24" — Sun on the creek.

And is reflected in the creek.

Painting in the sunset sky is a blast. I mix up a blue sky color using Cerulean Blue and Titanium White. And paint in the sky from the top of the panel. Then I mix the sunset colors using mixes of Cadmium Yellow Light and Cadmium Red Light and Titanium White. Which I apply to the horizon line next to the silhoutetted trees. Then I mix the two pools of complementary colors, blue and pale orange, to get the middle neutrals that unite the top of the sky and the horizon line.