• Home
  • Blog
  • Paintings for Sale
  • Painting Course
  • Top Painting Tips
    • Prints
  • Art Coaching
  • Resources
  • Free Download
  • Artist Statement
  • Podcast
  • Painting Podcast
  • Contact
  • Reference and Tutorial
Malcolm Dewey Fine Art
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Paintings for Sale
  • Painting Course
  • Top Painting Tips
    • Prints
  • Art Coaching
  • Resources
  • Free Download
  • Artist Statement
  • Podcast
  • Painting Podcast
  • Contact
  • Reference and Tutorial

How to Paint Snow in an Impressionist Style

29/12/2020

Comments

 
How to paint snow colors.

Snow is a fascinating painting subject
. In theory the colour of snow is white, however in real life it is anything but. Snow has the ability to reflect different kinds of light and creates wonderful shadows. Snow shows off natural landscape features in a mysterious and exciting way. If you want to see your landscape transformed, wait for the snow fall and a magical new landscape is created overnight. Snow has long fascinated artists and they are many examples of how artists have interpreted this enigmatic subject.
​

 In this lesson I want to focus on two particular kinds of light which you will typically find in most situations. I will discuss the colours that are appropriate in such landscapes and how you can open up your creativity and expressiveness when facing these landscapes. Let's Begin

The Painting Demonstration

 Light effect number one : Clear Warm Sunlight

This is probably the ideal situation where the Landscape has been covered with snow the night before. There is a sunny sky and beautiful snow covered land. As with any landscape sunrise and sunset will provide stunning light effects. It is this type of warm light that I will devote this lesson to. 

In this case the sunlight is also filtering through trees or is approaching distant hills. In any event the sun is at a low angle to the landscape. The effect is usually one where the sky is warmer near the horizon and the sky gradually cools down to reveal blue sky at the zenith. The typical sunrise/sunset look is apparent.

 The Colour and Temperature of Snow
 We must keep in mind at all times that snow is cold. Especially when the sun is beginning to set or is rising. We all know that the temperature becomes quite cold at that time of day. At winter time and with snow on the ground it may even be approaching freezing temperatures yet the sky is going to appear warm. 

The sun still does its duty and throws out warm rays of light as it rises or sets. Of course we perceive the light as warm seeing the light through the atmosphere. 

Since we do not have temperature to play with all we can do is try and create an effect with paint. Now it has been shown that snow in shade has a blue cast to it. Blue is the colour of cold. As artists we are fortunate to have many shades of blue to choose from. Which shade of blue do you prefer? To express the cold snow I prefer to use cobalt blue as this in my opinion is one of the coldest blues to use in this case. 
​

Snow that is touched by the rays of light on the other hand will reflect the warm rays of light and the snow will appear to be warm in colour temperature. Therefore we have to depict this with colour using warmer colours. A touch of yellow lemon with white or alizarin crimson and a little yellow to create a blushing orange are all colours that will give the illusion of warm light.

​
Snow in warm light
Snow with warm light
In the demonstration you will see that I have exaggerated the cold colour considerably. In some instances I have used blue straight from the tube and this cold cobalt certainly gets the idea across. 

Where the shadows originate at the base for the trees the colour is darkest and coldest. As the shadows move away into the open more light is reflected into the shadows and they will become softer and warmer.

The light reflected from the sky is warm and therefore the shadow will warm up as well. A blue shadow will turn into a warmish grey-blue or perhaps a warm violet and then disappear entirely as the shadow expires. 
​

Also the edges of the shadow will become softer as the shadow moves away from the object casting the shadow. 

​Where the Light Is striking the snow I've used yellow and orange and alizarin crimson to create warm snow colour. I'm also using the complementary colour relationships between orange and blue and yellow and violet to accentuate the colours even further. This contrast between complementary colours and warm and cool colours adds energy to the painting and makes it more exciting to look at .

​
 Add Expressive Colour
This extra dimension created through the use of colour is what makes the painting expressive and eye-catching. 

In the trees the sunlight rapidly cools down from yellows into oranges and cool reds and then into burnt sienna and dark purples and ultramarine infused colour. 

In the sky itself the bright yellow also continues to cool down into orange and red and then cools down further into greens and blues. This gradation of colour can be painted on first and then you can go over that with the tree shapes. 

You will notice that tree branches overlapping the brightest part of the sky will be influenced by the Light due to refraction. The light curves around and envelopes tree trunks and branches. In some cases you won't be able to make out the branches at all due to the brightness of the light. A lost and found effect takes place.

The branches that can still be seen will appear warmer and lighter than trees and branches further away. This simple device of changing the colours of the trees overlapping the light creates an effect of radiant sunlight. 

You want to avoid the trap of painting a dark silhouette over the sunlight thereby creating a two-dimensional looking silhouette that is far from realistic. While this painting is expressive it still looks realistic as you can relate to the scene based on your sensory experiences of similar scenery in the past.

This is the essence of impressionist painting where the impression is translated through your response to the painting into something you can understand and appreciate.


​Light Effect Number Two: Cool Light effect
 The second situation is an overcast Sky. In a light overcast sky the sky is in fact still quite bright. This is because the sunlight is striking the cloud cover from behind. We on the land can almost be compared to being in a lightbox where the opaque layer of the lightbox is bright but the light is evenly spread across the entire surface. In this case the light is bright enough to still cast shadows cast across the landscape. However there is a big change to the nature of the light .

Shadows Change 

 Because the light of the sky is considerably cooler than in the previous example the shadows will not be as cold. The shadows will become slightly warmer and take on a more neutral appearance. This could range from cool violet to warm violet. Perhaps yellow ochre or a cool purple where the shadow is at its darkest. Therefore I'm not going to use cobalt blue unless I have considerably desaturated the colour .

​
How to Mix Warm Shadow Colours
Shadows in this situation will mostly consist of alizarin crimson, blue and white. I may add a little touch of orange and blue and white to get a warm or cool grey. Whatever mix I use the result will be a fairly neutral version of violet blue or orange. 
​

The light colour on the snow itself will have less yellow and will be more like yellow ochre a touch of violet and white. The snow will still be cooler further away due to aerial perspective and warmer in the foreground, but overall the colour is much subdued.

To add variety I will use a range of violets, purples and desaturated blue in the shadows and white and ochre in the light areas of the snow.

Remember that complementary relationships between colour will still apply. The subdued yellows will still look lively against the complementary cool violets.

Remember also that adding a little complementary colour to another colour will desaturate the colour. Once you add white it will considerably reduce the saturation of that colour.

​For example blue mixed with orange will lean towards green, but when you add white it will quickly desaturate and may be quite muddy until you add a little more blue to cool it down or a little more orange to warm it up. The same results can be achieved mixing yellow and purple or yellow ochre and violet. 


​
Snow colors in cool light
Snow in cool light
If your colour looks lifeless and muddy simply add more blue or more of the warm colour to bring it back to a more saturated grey. These greys are not a mix of black and white, but it's simply a way of referring to a type of neutral colour that is very similar to those found in real life.

 You will notice from the demonstration video that the same scene can be completely transformed depending on the nature of the light. Therefore as an artist you have to take close note of what the light condition is at that time of day and make the adjustments necessary to communicate the light effect. 

It is when artists fail to note the light and simply look at the objects and then paint an imaginary scene substituting what is real for preconceived ideas what a snow scene looks like that you end up with something that looks fanciful and unrealistic. An impressionist painting will always give the feeling of reality, but contain an expressive element as well. The idea is to help the viewer feel the scene rather than simply record the accuracy of objects in the scene. This is the fundamental difference between realism and impressionism.

 Study the demonstration. Try out the painting for yourself. Experiment with colour. Experiment in slightly warmer shadows. With that basic rule in place you can express yourself as much as you like with colour and shape. Enjoy painting snow!

​

Learn How to Loosen Up Your Painting Style




Tired of tight and overworked paintings?
The solution is easier than you may think.
In this course I reveal the tried and tested
approach to a looser painting style.
Anyone can learn this method.

LEARN MORE
How to Loosen Up Your Painting

Pin for later ...

How to Paint Snow Colors

Comments
    FREE Book
    Picture

    Color Tips for Artists:
    ​Free
    Picture

    Book Bundle Special
    See More
    Picture

    Author

    Malcolm Dewey: Artist. Country: South Africa
    View Portfolio:

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Art Business
    Artist Notes
    Books Worth Every Dime!
    Its An Artists Life
    Musings
    News
    Painting Course
    Painting Demonstration
    Painting Tips
    Podcasts
    Popular Posts Archive
    Reviews


    Picture

    Picture

    Visit Malcolm Dewey Fine Art's profile on Pinterest.

    FREE
    ​GUIDE

    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Picture

Studio:  Troon Crescent, Port Alfred, South Africa
​Malcolm Dewey Fine Art is committed to top quality art, excellent educational material and having a great time! To back that up all works sold come with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. Simply return the work, undamaged, within 30 days. Returns at purchaser expense. All transaction are protected by third party bank-level encryption to keep your information safe. Plus your email address is safe. No spam - ever!

​Copyright 2010-2020: Malcolm Dewey Fine Art
​
Picture
30 Day Money Back
Picture
Secure Transactions
Picture
Picture
No Spam Ever!
Photos used under Creative Commons from maHidoodi, buggolo, Fabio Téllez
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Paintings for Sale
  • Painting Course
  • Top Painting Tips
    • Prints
  • Art Coaching
  • Resources
  • Free Download
  • Artist Statement
  • Podcast
  • Painting Podcast
  • Contact
  • Reference and Tutorial