Day 165 "Snow Shadows" 6 x 9 watercolor & ink

Although spring begins tomorrow, we have been hit by nor'easter after nor'easter storm this month. March came in like a lion, then morphed into a dragon.    In fact, they are calling this week's storm "four'easter".  The snow is beautiful on the ground.  Across the street are a number of pines, leaning into the hill.  I love the way their shadows descend down the hill below the trees.  The snow has so many colors in it.  It is gorgeous.  
This is my hundred sixty-fifth daily drawing.  Thank you so much for looking.  

Day 93 "Last Light" and the bombogenesis 6 x 9 mixed

We are waiting for the bombogenesis  beginning early tomorrow.  Our local weatherman insists that bombogenesis is a typical winter pattern. With the television and radio hype, the panic at the grocery stores, and the dropping temperatures, it is difficult not to feel a little apprehensive.  We teachers headed back today after the winter break for a day of professional development.  Students were to return tomorrow, but now have a day off.  I'm ready for them if they show up on Friday with a solid plan for review to get their heads back in the game.  My ninety-third drawing is the winter woods across the street late in the afternoon. I like the calm, and the pattern of light between the branches close and farther away.  Thanks for looking. 

Arthur Rackham - Snow in Pines

 We had our second real snow of the season yesterday.  This one was heavy and wet, and resulted in loads of downed tree branches and power outages.  We lost ours for about 30 hours, and spent the afternoon hanging at the local coffee shop because I had grad school work to do.  We watched the sun go down, hoping we would arrive home to lights.
Stepping into the parking lot, the snow-covered trees caught my eye. I told my 

husband they were the Arthur Rackham trees from "The Night Before Christmas".  He saw it right away.  We read the book aloud every Christmas Eve. Here are a couple of pictures of the trees, and the illustration from our book.  The snowy angles are exactly the same, and maybe the trees in the coffee shop lot are talking to one another tonight under the starry sky.

And, we got home to the electric company trucks in front of our home.  Nice crew, men and women, working hard.  Our power came on within the hour!

Snow and Pines - then and now

"Snow in the Pines" Joanne F. Regan

"Snow Shadows" Jody Regan

 

 Spent some time organizing my studio this weekend.  Tucked in one of my many "safe places" I found a small painting of my mother's that I have always cherished (above left).  It's a study that hung in her home, signed but never framed.  I have no idea if she painted it from a window in our home, or while standing out in the snow in her boots...  but it reminds me of my childhood home, the yard, and the hours and hours we spent outside in the snow.  I can almost hear the quiet "plop" the snow will make when the sun warms the branch just enough.  
I can smell the wet wool of my soaked mittens after making snowballs, forts, huts, and sledding down the front hills before coming in to hot chocolate, and rolled newspaper to put in our boots.  Mom's painting draws me into the snowy woods behind our home... it's very poignant for me, as all my senses and memories feel activated.

Next to Mom's painting, is one of mine from a few years ago, "Snow Shadows". I've been studying the variety of colors in our two paintings.. similarities and differences.  I painted a small hill across the street from our yard, again on a warm winter day.  Completely different palette from Mom's painting, but I can still hear the warmed snow falling from branches.  

Someone told me a number of years ago that snow paintings aren't appealing, too cold.  Neither of the above paintings feels cold to me.  I feel the warmth of the sun, and the allure of snow in the pines... some 40 years apart.

Thanks for looking.  I enjoy all your comments.

"Snow Shadows"

Enjoying a quiet week between the holidays before heading back to school in the new year.  We haven't seen more than a token flake or two, happily, on Christmas Day, but it's coming.

I'm working on something larger in the studio; but thought I'd post the view out the front window from a winter past. There is so much warmth in the snowy landscape.  I'll hold that good thought when snow is a reality here this year.