Day 26 #stradaeasel
This morning I awoke to a very huge, dark, hovering cloud and thought, “Great, another overcast day. If only there were some sunlight to work with on the freshly fallen snow.” I went down to my studio with a hot cup of tea before breakfast to work on some color charts.
Color charts help a painter remember what colors are created by mixing two or more colors together. I’ve been working on these charts off and on. I had quite a bit of leftover piles of paint from the warm spectrum, yellow through red, while painting the tulips. I decided it would be a good time to mix different yellows/oranges/reds with different blues and see what colors came out of them.
As usual, I had one eye looking out the window and I noticed that the sky was clearing. I watched for a while during my color mixing and noticed that the spaces between the clouds were getting larger and the light was glowing at the horizon in a pale yellow hue to a deep blue high above.
How exciting! There is actually some light and it’s hitting the mountains on the west shore. I stopped the color mixing right then and switched over to my easel. Looking out the window I quickly mixed blues in varying shades and the light yellow. The clouds continued to break up until there was more sky than clouds. A glorious Montana day!
My husband, John, came down to the studio, also raving about the day, and asked me if I wanted to go cross country skiing. We have been trying to find a window to go ever since the big snowfall but life’s obligations have taken precedence. It was an enthusiastic yes! from me. We have to have a little fun sometimes after all—all work and no play…well, you know! I finished the painting probably a little more hurried than I should have but I was close to completion anyway.
It was great fun out there in the snow. The first time out skiing in 3 years. We’ll have to do more of that!
Francesca and the Snow Ghost (love this scarf, Lindsey!)
John skiing and photographing. We are at the Nordic Center near Jewel Basin. Volunteers groom the track and there are many loops, all marked at every intersection. The clearing on the horizon is south of here and where we live—a 20-minute drive on country roads. Beautiful! We are so grateful to live here!
