Calm Before the Storm

The weather still isn't cooperating for outside work....

and another snow storm in the forecast....

so I'm working from my photos.

This quiet study is from a wet spring

we spent at Presquile Provincial Park.

Up early in the moisture laden air..

colour was muted and the air still.

Path to the Beach - Leslie Snider

And across the field

 I captured this group

 on their morning stroll.

Morning Stroll

 

Last Summer

Presquile PP -  Pastel  - Leslie Snider

Presquile Provincial Park

 in southeastern Ontario 

offers a variety of habitats

 both seaside and forested.

Flat and spacious 

it's a walkers' or cyclists' paradise.

This is just one of the many vistas 

and laneways 

I'm so very fond of! 

Presquile PP -  Photo  - Leslie Snider

 

Light in the Undergrowth - pastel

Light in the undergrowth

This pastel was inspired by a series of photos 

I'd taken of light 

filtered through the spring woods

onto the forest floor.

Boosting the Energy

 As a change of pace from the subtlety of the May  sky studies

 I used these recent photos 

from my spring camping vacation

to experiment with colour 

and a more energetic approach 

to composition.

 

 

Threatening Skies

Another in my series of sky studies in 

pastel on toned paper.

Artistic Influences - early nature studies

Having been inspired by the Van Gogh's detailed responses 

to the natural world

 it was time to go back to the drawing board.

  

 I hadn't  worked with coloured pencils 

but as a former student of mine had left some behind

 I thought it was a good place to begin.

In these early sketches 

I tried to be non-judgemental about composition

 and respond purely to the colour and energy of the filtered light.