A corner of the garden
Posted: January 13, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized 27 CommentsSo much snow has fallen in Montreal that I can’t get out of my driveway. Actually I did get out but since the streets haven’t been plowed yet, the car got stuck several times and I turned around and came home. I’d rather paint than wait for a tow truck on a day like today. Good day to sketch views from my window.
There’s lots going on in a corner of the garden. A smokebush — damaged in a thunderstorm some years back — is held up by a bamboo ladder. The yew in the corner is half its regular height, weighted down under all the snow. And the oak tree in the opposite corner of the yard is still dropping leaves even in the dead of winter, much to the annoyance of my neighbours. The snow is piled up quite thickly on all of this, so I painted the bits of things that were visible, and tried to contrast the texture of these with the whiteness of the untouched snow. Sketched on a pad of Saunders Waterford Rough paper.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
What, no wheelbarrow? Great picture.
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Haha, that’s funny Anne. This is the opposite corner of the garden, for a change.
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I thought my neighbor was unique concerning wandering leaves 🙂
I love this. I feel as though I am looking into your yard. You’ve captured the snow, its gentle weight and the flowing curves of the trees that must bend. I really like how you say so much with so few strokes and with just the right type of colour. Now guilt, I must go out and shovel our driveway. Cheers, Chris.
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Nope, your neighbour is not unique Chris. I wonder if you have the same problem as me this year. For some reason, the oak tree in the backyard did not lose its leaves this fall. Usually they drop quite late, after the maples, but this year they stayed on the tree. In over 25 years, this has never happened. No idea why.
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♥ Notre pays ce n’est pas un pays c’est l’hiver! ♥Gorgeous out though..gorgeous..yesterday was Freaky Friday:)
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C’est vrai Monique. But our ugly Friday turned into a beautiful Saturday, didn’t it. And it remains beautiful, albeit a bit cold…
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No one paints snow as well as you!
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Ah, thanks Eileen.
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Fallen leaves on snow. Fallen leaves anywhere. Fallen leaves mean beautiful trees. And the painting is beautiful too!
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Sandi, that is how it is this year. Lots of leaves still falling off the oak tree. Thanks!
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You make the ordinary extraordinary!! I’m still working at it.
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Donna, thanks!
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Beautiful shadows Shari
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Thanks Doug!
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Beautiful snow scene. So familiar.I can feel the cold. I dislike rough watercolor paper but you do as well on it as any other. Our huge oak tree also still has some leaves which occasionaly fall, tho the maple is bare.Fortunately, it falls in our yard. Looking forward to more snow scenes.
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WE have the same problem Judy. The leaves of the maple fall immediately but the oak leaves are still on the tree. It’s a very odd year.
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This painting brings back memories of the heavy snowfalls that happened from time to time in my hometown of Montreal. (In Winnipeg the snow adds to a light cover every week but seldom in a big dumping…it accumulates by never thawing till spring) . Your snowy branches have a beautiful contrast of white against brown, or green. Thanks!
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Jean, I had no idea about the way snow falls in Winnipeg. I picture you getting big dumps like we do. This is an unusual year for snow. Lots and lots of it. I’m sure overall, though, we get less than when you used to live here.
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You are so good at doing snow scenes with all the practice you get. I love that you have such great views out your windows, which helps if you are stuck inside in the snowstorms. Lovely!!!
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Thanks Joan.
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I love “Corner of the Yard.” I can feel the cold of the snow. I love looking at the shapes not.covered by snow as new, previously unencountered, objects. Artist has the viewer looking through new eyes. Thank you. Even the mundane becomes miraculous through the eyes of the artist. Yet she has left the setting ambiguous enough that wr may imagine magic in every corner and plane of this image.
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Ah, so poetic. Thanks Geri.
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Stay warm!
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Thanks, I’m trying. Wearing lots of layers!
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Anne Farmer asked and you answered my first question. I miss the wheelbarrow. Maybe we should start a fanclub. Lovely painting, even if the star attraction of your garden is missing!!
Nessa
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After you sketch a snow scene, how do you remember where the whites should remain?
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Tom, I am usually looking at the scene so I know where the whites are, and those are the areas I leave out. I have done so many snow scenes that it has become second nature to paint around the whites. Regards,
Shari
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