This morning I heard of a weather phenomenen called diamond dust which occurs when glittering particles of ice in the air catch the sunlight in freezing temperatures- causing shining motes and creating a fog that softens the landscape with a glittering glow.
I headed out to paint on Saturday with some of the newly arrived lapis lasuli paint (see my last blog post) on my palette, and with my dog Winnie. It six degrees centigrade so no diamond dust, but it was a stunning afternoon and the snow looked even more beautiful than ever. I didn’t have to go far before spying this stand of saplings . It was the shadow caused by the evening sun that caught my attention- and the shadows were a worthy subjects to experiment with my new lapis lazuli oil paint https://www.michaelharding.co.uk. It was all perfect with the sun gleaming - not even cold and the snow had been blown by the wind into ridges not unlike sand on sand on the strand when the tide goes out. The snow had melted into holes around the trees which was interesting too.
Winnie it has to be said was not so pleased to be sitting around in the snow. He is a very vocal dog and ten years old, so he knows his own mind - I often feel he wants to speak, and he moaned to me a bit as I was not throwing a ball for him. When a family passed by he went up to them and complained about his treatment to them too they petted him and went on their way . Overall though, while he was a bit a bit discontented probably because he got wet in puddles on the way and was now sitting beside me (most of the time) on the snow, he was excellently behaved.
New Strada Easel https://www.stradaeasel.com/
I am very excited, because my new plein air easel arrived from the US yesterday. I have had the same light easel for a few decades now and it is truely on its last legs - although it has stood me in very good stead. This compact design of this new easel, however should enable me to transport my paints and brushes easily anywhere. I most probably won’t be going out today with it as the windchill is minus 18 degrees centigrade here today, but I am looking forward to all the coming seasons here in Canada and spending time outdoors painting.