WINTER SCENE BY TOM BROWN

“A BRISK MORNING”
5X6 inch original oil
Painted in the warmth of my studio

A friend in the U.K. emailed me a photo yesterday showing how different the weather is where he lives compared to sunny Southern California where I make my home. I couldn’t resist doing a small painting from his photo.

With his permission I am showing his photo, from which I painted this. For the artists who follow my blog I am also including step-by-step images of the painting as it developed.

I kept it very simple. I began with a gray-toned panel and lightly sketched the big shapes with thinned paint. Then I began establishing the lightest tones as well (1).

Once these were in place, I blocked in the darker tones to define the fence, car and shrubs. And I placed a few dark tones in the background that would become the distant trees (2). From that point on, it almost painted itself.

With a few strokes of the brush the tones in the background quickly became trees, sky, the neighbor's home, etc (3). For the foreground, I used a few very bold, loose strokes to give it a bit of life. And it was done. Click the image at the top for a larger view.

Thanks for sharing the photo, Vic. Stay warm!