Clouds Over Winter Road

Clouds Over Winter Road
Oil on hardboard panel, 7x5

I'm SO glad I was able to get this painted ahead of time, when we still had snow on the ground! I like to stay two or three paintings ahead, allowing me a little wiggle room when life gets SUPER busy. While a beautiful blanket of snow was still on the ground, I captured a cloud show in the sky.  With clouds still heavy from the freezing rain overnight, it was a bit challenging to capture all of the nuances of the gentle color changes within each cloud.  I start by laying in the predominate colors, followed by the shadow colors.  Next, I brush in the peach and pale yellow tones, then finish each cloud with the thick highlight color.  By doing this, it gives those clouds a 3D feel, as if they are pushing forward.  I've also used my knife to "pull" that snow from the edge of the road, so you can feel the depth of the snow and "pop" those highlights.  This is painting number 808 in 808 days.