Tuesday morning at the hardware store
Posted: January 13, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized 11 CommentsThis scene caught my eye today: the back lot of the local hardware store on a busy morning. Trucks pulling in and out, dropping off loads of stuff or picking up orders; a tractor plowing the remnants of yesterday’s dump of snow; and some of the store workers loading up the blue dumpster. It was a busy scene full of all kinds of junk that I love to paint.
Fresh snow adds a lot to a complex scene like this. The layer of white helps to separate a series of dark surfaces like the wooden pallets and the piled tires. When I first saw the scene there was no one at the dumpster but as I snapped my reference photos, the two guys showed up. Lucky me.
I had planned to paint from my car but there were so many trucks crisscrossing in front of me that I decided to paint in studio. In the end, I’m glad I did because there were lots of small details in the scene that would have been hard to paint in the car. My surface was a quarter sheet of Saunders High White 140 lb paper, and I used a variety of blues and oranges to capture the muted winter light.
With lots of teaching trips ahead of me in 2026, I have been filling my palettes and taking stock of what I will bring with me. I just posted about it in my newsletter, and also updated my Art Materials page on my blog. Have a look here.
I absolutely LOVE this scene, Shari!
Yvonne, it’s great to hear from you. Thank you!!
Every place that you paint I think would be so much fun to photograph. This is a wonderful spot!
It sure is. I love this spot and I will return for sure.
What a great angle and I love the palette you chose to brighten up the day!❤️
Thanks Michele!!
What a gorgeous painting Shari! I am currently following your online classes on sketching winter scenes, after we’ve had some snowfall in the Netherlands last week. So this one comes at the right moment for some added inspiration ! Gorgeous colours despite the muted weather, I love it 😍
Thanks Chloe! I’m so happy you are enjoying the winter class. I will look at your work today!
Kenny would love this.:)LOVE it.Family business since the get go.
Feel free to share. I don’t know Kenny!
The owner:)