Paintings of Epic Proportion - Part Two

And the beat goes on...

I continue to work on my two 30x48 inch winterscapes.   My self challenge is to keep working the two paintings simultaneously such that they continue to evolve at the same pace.  

The painting on the left of me hiking up Mount Putney in Vermont has been much more enjoyable and I tend to work on it more.  

What I like about it is - no, not that I am the focal point - but the fact that the morning light is warm and the shadows are cool.   The sunlit snow is a cadmium red/yellow light tinged titanium contrasted with pale pthallo blue, a reflection of the morning sky.   The shadows are cerulean blue/purple cool gradations.   I'm still working on making the shadow colors and values consistent.   The reflecting property of snow results in diffused shadows all the way down the hill.

 I also like that there are three distinct areas of interest, which it good - I think - because this is a very large canvas.   1) The uphill, eastern area to the left has the most contrast, the dark pines, the brightest shine on virgin snow and the many saplings casting shadows down the hill.  2) the tall and thin hiker, leaving footprints behind, but taking her shadow with her, walking up the long snowy path, following skiing tracks to the summit, 3) the downsloped southwestern area to the right, less bright and more wooded with large trees and interesting branch patterns.

In my next post I'll describe my progress and challenges on the other snowscape, which is the Newfane, VT town common.