"Frozen in Time" 12x12 Pastel

Here is my first painting of 2014. This has been a nice accomplishment so fresh into the new year. Painting time is rather scarce these days so to complete this feels great. The bonus is that I really, really like it. There so much I love about it and I RARELY speak that way about my own work.

First, I love the depth of the piece. I love the perspective of the river and the feeling of a deep forest. Second, I love the values. I usually go very, very dark in my snow scenes and one of my focuses this year is to paint in a tighter value scale and definitely accomplished that here. I tried to stay light and I really like the results, especially in the water. I was able to keep the water a dark value and still make it feel cold and icy. Third, my color palette...I usually go VERY purple in my snow scenes, however this time I tried to be more natural with my color scheme. I still used purple, just not as much. The fourth and final thing I love is the TREE! I just love it, I feel it has so much personality, it has nice form, not too dark...just right.

There is one thing I incorporated into this painting that I have never done before in my snow scenes...It's not hidden but challenging to find...

Can you see it?

"Frozen in Time"

12x12 Pastel 

Goldthwaite Trail, Danville, NH