S'no time to stay inside! Winslow Homer and Other Artists in the Snow.

Snow! Winter! Sledding! Shoveling! And the other adventures of winter. Oh my!

For eons artists have created snowy scenes. It's difficult, because typically the artist is OUTSIDE in the weather while capturing the look and effects of snow.

For example, below is a wood engraving by Winslow Homer. "A Winter Morning - Shoveling Out." It was published in a newspaper.

First, I wonder what the woman in the center of the drawing is doing? Any ideas?

Drawing by Winslow Homer in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.

Then, I wonder: Where was Homer positioned for this scene? Consider the point of view of the artist. Did he slog out by the shovelers and perch himself on top of the snow? Where was HE?

My second image is a photograph of an ascent of Mont Blanc in 1861, by Auguste-Rosalie Bisson.

"The Ascent of Mont Blanc," 1861. Auguste-Rosalie Bisson, French photographer.
Photo in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
A great blog post on the history of photography, including the demise of Kodachrome film is:
"Nostalgia Old School: When Film was the Medium" This ascent was at about the same time that the famous Civil War photographer,. Mathew Brady, was documenting the brutal scenes of dying Union and Confederate soldiers. He also used large glass plates for his cameras. His largest glass plate was 19" x 16".

In this era, photographers used used glass plates for negatives. They had large cameras on tripods with massive accordion-style bellows.

This image of Mont Blanc is held at the Metropolitan Museum. It is a 16" x 10" photographic image. I don't know the size of the glass plate Bisson used, but it probably would have been at least 10" x 8", or it may have been the size for a full-size contact print (16" x 10").

Bisson was accompanied "by an experienced guide and twenty-five porters carrying his plates, cameras, chemicals, and portable darkroom equipment. Notwithstanding the paralyzing cold, a blinding snowstorm, avalanches, and the expected nausea and vertigo of high altitude exploration, the team reached the 15,781-foot summit on July 25, 1861. Bisson exposed three glass plate negatives."
From the object description online at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Just so we are all on the same page here: the Sherpas had to carry everything up and down a mountains, including the climbing gear, a "portable" darkroom, food and shelter for about 30-people, plus at least 4 large pieces of glass. 

It was after Bisson shot the scenes at the summit, that he re-created the scene of the ascent. He again set up the tent, portable darkroom, and camera, and posed the figures in a way suggestive of the ascent. Then he shot this image.

Do you think all the Sherpas would have been incredulous at this point when asked to re-create the ascent for the photographer? Maybe thinking "crazy Europeans....."

Every time I look at this photo I am astonished to consider that they are carrying sheets of glass with them up AND down the mountain! 

Luckily for me, I painted this skiing scene from a photograph provided by my nephew. I was able to sit comfortably in my studio with a cup of coffee. But nearly every extreme sport photo has a photographer that has gone first and has to keep up with the sportsperson while attempting to capture the pinnacle photo. 

My next examples of snow features snowballs. These are massive snowballs. The first one is a trading card declaring a "Happy New Year."

What you think is going on? I don't know whether to laugh or call the authorities. 

"Happy New Year," from the New Years 1890 Series issued by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. This was a trading card from their series of 50 cards issued 1889-90. From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, NYC.

The second snowball image is from a Japanese woodblock print. Although this seems like a much more cooperative group, the attire concerns me; one snowballer is barefoot. My goodness.

"The Snow Ball," 1770. Suzuki Harunobu, Japanese artist.
Woodblock print approximately 11" x 8.5".
From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.

These images remind us that, for an artist to capture a winter scene, you need to get in the action. You need to stand knee deep in the snow. This was the title of a blog post when I interviewed multimedia artist and plein air painter, Stephen Quiller, about his experience being outside in the elements to create his paintings. Several of his paintings are featured in my blog post, including this one below.

Flickering Late Light along the Ridge Trail, © Stephen Quiller 2016.
Used with permission.

In the interview, Quiller said that one of the most valuable elements of painting outside in the open air is that you “start to see things differently”. As an artist, an environmentalist, and student of nature, Quiller is committed to sharing the fragile majesty, and the breathtaking color of the great outdoors.

I frequently venture outside in crazy weather to paint.The goal is to catch those fleeting changes in the light or the mood. I too know that experience of standing knee deep in a snow drift captivated by the light. 

This painting is in the collection of Yale University.

This oil painting by Winslow Homer is called "Below Zero" and shows two likely hunters or fisherman holding their snowshoes since it was too unwieldy to use them in those conditions. They are literally standing thigh deep in snow near the edge of the water off the coast of Maine.

Winslow Homer was very likely positioned "outside the frame" of this view capturing the scene. He preferred to paint on site. The bundled pair may or may not have actually been there during his painting session.

Oil paint wouldn't freeze until about 4 degrees below zero, but the texture of the paint gets thick and unfamiliar. So it's difficult to work in temperatures below zero. And considering this is called "Below Zero," Homer could have done preliminary work at this site, and finished it in his studio. 

Since I paint with watercolor, and water freezes at zero, in the winter I sometimes have to chip the ice in my palette to continue painting en plein air--or, outside. So for me, as a watercolorist, when it freezes solid--it's time to go home.

A couple of years ago I was sketching and painting in the snow at one of my favorite nearby open spaces. I was very quiet. i was concentrating. Soon I was surrounded by a large group of deer. Maybe 11 or so in total.

A photo by Jane M. Mason of the deer visiting her while she sketched and painted on a snowy afternoon in Niles, IL © 2022.

I sketched and painted and finally had to leave because the sun had set. Darkness is an issue, too! I completed this piece in my studio after warming up my fingers and my frozen paint. (Maybe a cup of coffee, too?)

Contact me if you are interested in a print or paintings with this subject matter.

Here is a painting of a wintery, snowy scene from my imagination. 

As you know, I love teaching. This is a snowy tree painted by an elementary-age student of mine when I was teaching at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. This is an example of how the energy and confidence imbued in the artist is evident in the brush strokes. Oh to paint with such confidence and impunity. 

Contact me if you are interested in a print or paintings with this subject matter.