Figures....

So this is what we have got but dont be daunted by the size of the hill- it's all surmountable! This is what it looks like after another whack at it!

See its all a matter of steps and I have simply wainted a while for things to dry a bit, then gone back over with another layer of thin paint. Its amazing what a difference that makes. See half the problem 'artists in the making' have is trying to finish too early. Be PATIENT.

But one of the problems I just created for myself in my exuberance of finding a good subject was that  the light source I painted the background in was coming from the right while the source for the subject is from the left! So have a close look at what I've done to the previous painting! I've changed the light. See the tree trunk....before the shadow was on the left and now its on the right. Same with the rocks. I've moved the shadows from one side to the other. Not a big thing but its a detail that is noticed!

Grass Technique

Grass in snow is not hard if you know how to do it. Familiar isn't it! If you know how to do something you are not pioneering new territory and generaly speaking the only difficulty is remembering exactly how it was done previously. Now I want to focus on this because its about technique. Like just about anything there is a way of doing something efficiently and effectively and a way not to do it. The way that is the latter is generally slow and poorly executed with a result that is less than hoped for.

In grass as with just about any other feature I paint I look for the tool that will best serve the purpose. Now i carry on about my pastry brush for a very good reason-it works! And not just for skies and large areas but for smaller features-like grass. See the trick is to reshape it so it can perform the function I want. Now go and look at the grass in snow and work out the mechanics of it as a subject. It is spiky, long, thin and generally brown to yellow in color. So if i reshape the flat bristle of the pastry brush so they separate and have their own individual space and are still springy they should be able to gather paint then deposit it.

Heres my brush in a refashioned shape.... ready for work!

Now if I skip it through some fresh paint it should pick it up and deposit it just as surgically on the canvas like this....

Now I repeat this whereever I want grass. Then with the little liner brush I go to work defining these individual strokes making them both darker here and there and lighter.

And again....

See how easy this is. While I was doing this painting I was also filming how to paint a similar winter scene and demonstated exactly how I do this and the other elements that go to make up such a scene. In that demonstation I separated each element and dealt with each so that others can see exactly and precisely my technique. And of course it is all in high definition which is the ultimate in true to life imaging. So if you really want an eyeful take a look at this when it eventually surfaces. Its called painting a Winter Landscape and it is the You Can Paint site which will be launched in a month or so and contains all my instructional material.