It is rare to expose a work in progress, however, since the intent of this blog is largely to journalize my day to day discoveries as a visual artist, I am bravely sharing today's exploratory study. Like my inspiring friend, the artist Jason Bartziokas, I frequently turn my back on the imposing rock and ice viewscapes Jasper is known for and find rich satisfaction in painting intimate forest settings similar to this. Right now, the gradual transition from winter to spring is bringing new values to my palette. Snow shadows are softening and my paintings in general are losing their seasonal edge. I have opted for a crudely gessoed, masonite surface and applied base painting layers using bristle brushes and a fairly aggressive scumbling technique. In coming days I will gradually refine and isolate these underlying, darker layers before selectively applying gradient hues of white and eventually some skeletal branches. My intent is to keep the overall approach as textural as possible to capture a moment in time when the granular, retreating snows of winter yield to the coming of spring.
