FOX TRACKS

I did this study mostly in the field but finished some of the details in my studio (where it was much warmer). I love painting snow (and skies) and look forward to winter for this reason alone. It's always a bit of a catch 22 with me though for although one of the great delights in winter is tromping through new snow, I don't particularly like the cold. Still, I do try and get out as often as possible both with my paintbox and my camera.
In this painting I tried for a zig-zag format to lead your eye into the work and kept most of the warmer grasses to the back. The small sparrow on the right is a Chipping Sparrow, most of which have flown to southern climes by the time of any early snow but there are occasionally stragglers still around. I'll probably do a larger version soon but this oil is just 8" X 10".