Painting En Plein Neige

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Painting En Plein Neige

For you not so Frenchy folks, that is painting in snow!!

Two days ago a painting buddy and I went to Lake Roberts in Southwestern New Mexico to paint. It was sunny, it was warm, and it was beautiful. We had a blast and I am still putting finishing touches on the lake that kept changing color with the sunlight. I am thinking seriously about naming it Chameleon Lake. That was two days ago.

This morning as I popped out of bed (7a.m.) and threw back the curtains I spied the most beautiful sun light kisses on our neighbor’s territorial style adobe house, with a dark purple backdrop of an approaching storm. Stunning! 

The storm was in the mountains. Surely I had time to throw clothes on and get out there and paint. Everything was in the car, so all I had to do was back it out of the garage and open the hatch door.  Oh I have to learn to time these things better! I had just started when the light left. I looked up and I was becoming enveloped by a cloud, I thought. No it was merely snow. Well I had used the car as a windbreak, so I was a bit sheltered. Surely I had time to finish a little study.  Nope.

Painting on Our Property in a Darned Snowstorm!

I threw in the towel about the time I had to move the piles of snow about the palette in order to get to the paint. My white was more the consistency of stiffening mortar. Oil and snow do not mix. I could have dealt with the cold and the wind. But those gorgeous big, fluffy, flying flakes were accumulating! It was beautiful. We do need the moisture. But it was also aggravating. My paintbox and canvas is drying on the kitchen table. I hesitate to try to sop up the water with a paper towel, as I will sop up my paint as well.

I think I need to get up earlier.