Christmas in July, painting an oil study on board

Christmas in July was an afternoon study of the Middleburg Christmas parade in 2009 when it poured snow. Those of us brave enough to take our cameras out got them soaked in the heavy wet snow but were blessed with once in a lifetime photos. This particular composition was a fleeting moment as Middleburg Hunt passed at the beginning of the parade. It was not a special photo, but on a hot July day many years later it was enough to inspire a unique study of colors.

I have seen numerous paintings of that magical parade and it always bothered me that the paintings looked like the photos. Fun, but quite boring in color. Most see snow as white. The camrea does not often pick up the blues and greens. In low light, the shadows of a photo went to black in greyscales. I set out to paint the hovering mood that the snow made rather than what the camera took. We all wondered how much, how long the snow would continue and if we would be able to get home! It would be the first of a record winter in snowfall. It was two or three feet by the end of the day.

A toned board of transparent earth yellow was in the studio. I really did not plan on a warm tone background for the cool color mood I was planning but oh how that surprised me! The warmth of the toine shines through like the attempt of the sun in the heavy snow and clouds. That yellow sparkles against the purples. Seeing that success opportunity early on in the painting study, I choose to allow my blue to be dark sap green in the deepest shadow of the foreground. In the larger painting I might plan for a cleaner shadow in the background.

Colors in this study are Indanthrone blue, Quinacridone Violet, Hansa yellow deep, Cobalt green and titanium zinc white. In the next study or canvas I might add strength to the orange glow by drawing in transparent orange over a dry transparent earth yellow wash.I quite like the red orange though produced by the quin violet over the background wash. I suppose I might have to do some small color tests. Thinking too hard is not my style though. I will find more hounds and maybe another huntsman as well as better figures for the parade route. Possibly another red such as Perelyne red might be a good addition so as to get a few bright highlights on the huntsman coat. I don't know how much that would effect the mood though. The cobalt green made the snow and horse highlights work well. Thinning the quin violet allowed the wash to show through and turn the hunt coat into the right color for the light. Thin paint is always different than more paint. Simply not the same opportunity as paint is built up. I have never been fond of loosing the fresh under painting as this work could be. A more finished work can take notes from this piece but will not be the same.

Most importantly to take forward is snow is not always white and cameras give us our memory of composition but does not dictate color palette!