Snowy Durango

Snow on Durango Mountain, 2013, oil on linen mounted on panel, 12 x 9 inches 

I'm back from my Colorado trip; the plan was to do some painting in Durango, where the scenery was incredible, but luck had it that soon after I got there the weather turned very uncooperative. It rained and snowed, and if that wasn't enough there was a thick fog in the area, blocking all visibility of the mountains. I was able to find shelter on Durango Mountain Resort, while people skied I worked on the painting above. It may look like a grisaille but it's not. There are five colors in this painting, but due to the falling snow and fog everything appeared grey. There was a great absence of color that day, everything was lit evenly due to the lack of direct sunlight, frustrating me a little because I really wanted to use color. I tried to push blues in some areas but had to keep it to a minimum because if I went too far I would have lost the mood of the day. After freezing my fingers and feet what I got in return is a grey painting, a runny nose, and a cough that gives me a headache. Next time I think I'll try to paint the mountains in the summer.