8x10, oil on canvas

Painted in the studio from a photo I took over the weekend at Morton Arboretum.

I’ve always wanted to paint a landscape with patches of snow. I finally got my chance with this one.

Lots of firsts with this one: My first snow scene; my first time using a knife to scratch out details such as the tall grasses; my first time tackling fluffy white clouds; my first painting of a photo that I took in the same weekend with the specific intention of painting it.

I am still struggling to figure out how to paint dark on top of lighter colors. I know that the general advice is to paint light over dark, but there are times that you just have to go the other way.