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[Further Note: Remember that this is following on from my last posting which took place in December.]
C1579
"Ponderosa & Sagebrush beneath New
Fallen Snow"
(Warner
Mountains, Oregon High Desert)
Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel
5" x 7"
SOLD
Just
after I crawled into my sleeping bags, at 22:30 last night, a car went past on
the road by my camp and up the mountain; where were they going at that time of
night, and in the rain?! I awoke at
01:30 … light rain … and again at 03:36 and snow, and by the time I arose and
was out there were 3 or 4 inches of accumulation. This was one of those mornings when I would
use my loo seat (with legs), in a light snowfall … I did dig my hole beneath a
Ponderosa Pine, but flakes nestled in on me nevertheless; I did not flinch.
At
08:30 a car came past and headed further up the mountain, and 45 minutes later
came back down with a Christmas Tree strapped on top … did he poach it, since
we are in a National Forest? I wonder …
I will never know. Not another vehicle
for the rest of the day.
I
stayed put during the day and oil-sketched the snowy landscape. The view in today’s sketch is slightly to the
right of yesterday’s rainy scene, and continuing the Ponderosa grove to the
right in that painting. To those of us
raised in the boreal forests of the Upper Great Lakes, it is always surprising
to see a snowy desert landscape, but of course the High Desert is neither the
Mojave nor the Sahara, and this scene is one of normality in the Pacific
Northwest east of the Cascades; much more normal than a snowfall on the North
Cornish Coast, where I experienced but one good one (and a couple tiddly ones)
in the 23 years I resided there. A
pleasant day enjoying the snow, painting it, and strolling about looking at the
various tracks that the passing animal citizenry had left during the night or
morning. The snow stopped for most of
the day, save for a few flakes now and again.
No Imprimatura, just the white of the acrylic gesso
priming on this sketch; the Pigments used the usual Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow
Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna & Lead White #2, with Winsor & Newton
Venetian Red and Cobalt Blue.
I like your little snow scene here. I haven't been able to read all the blogs yet. I missed the one where you built the road but your mother has told me all about it. I plan to read it myself today.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words … you don’t want to miss the Mud-Fest Saga; it’s an astonishing and wondrous tale of woe and heartache, of trials and tribulations, of fear and pain, and of strength through adversity, thereby ultimately achieving enlightenment, and … mostly it’s about mud … mud … and more mud.
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