Snow Blind

"Frozen Stream" 8 x 10 in.

We have had a great winter....at least from an artist point of view. Everyday has been cold with beautiful sunshine (typically we are cloudy with lots of rain and snow).

I took advantage of the clear skies and headed high into the mountains to find some snow. When I arrived it was 10 degrees and I nearly froze my toes off. However, that was not the most difficult part of the painting. It was the snow blindness. Snow is such a highly reflective surface light hits your eye from everywhere. After about 30 minutes or so I couldn't see a value or color for the life of me. My eyes were completely shot.

So I packed up, took some photos, and headed home to finish the study in the studio. Upon my return, I read a blog by John Hughes. He recommends buying some cheep sun-blocker sunglasses and popping the lenses out to give your eyes some protection from the glare. I think I might try that next time I'm out in the snow.

Here is a link to John's blog and website for those who are interested in his work. He is a fantastic painter: http://johnhughesstudio.com/blog/hints-tips-blog/.