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Here we are! - already marching into March just when it seemed - to me, at least - that dreary February would never end. Daylight savings time looms this weekend, and the spring equinox is right around the corner!

Have you checked your gardens lately?  Just today I discovered little green daffodils shoots peeking out around the birdbath.  All the lovely snow and fitful warmth for the past month have worked silent miracles down deep in the soil, awakening spring bulbs. Calling artists of all stripes! - don't miss the opportunity to capture the bold profiles of  daffodil, tulip and hyacinth, especially after the next sparkling snowstorm! Take plenty of photos for later work in the studio, or bundle up and hustle outside for a quick bit of plein air painting.

One of the joys of winter in Colorado is seeing familiar landscapes metamorphose from all that vibrant summer color into mysterious, primal shapes outlined and molded by fluffy whiteness.  A heavy snowfall distills gardens and mountains and valleys and cities down to the essential elements - lines and shapes, dark and light values - quieting all that fussy detail.

For the watercolor artist, painting snow should be one of the easiest things we do - after all, snow is white, paper is white, so what's to paint?  But squint your eyes a bit, blur those hard edges and concentrate on value - and you'll notice delicate lilac shadows at the bottom of a slope, blushing cornices, cerulean grey ripples, sun-struck crests. Then translate those lovely shades into gentle washes with lost and found edges.  Delicious!

My painting "Tulips In Snow" was, I thought, completed several years ago, but gradually something did not sit well with me about the composition.  It didn't "talk."  In fall 2018, I presented it to my monthly critique group, hoping for some insight on how to bring coherence to the work.  Voila!  Of course!  My snow was too-too-too white, the values too stark between the lush vegetation and surrounding background.  I had been unwilling - yes, afraid! - to attempt further development for fear that I would totally ruin the painting. But with the encouragement of the critique group ringing in my ears - hey, what's a little paper and paint? - I plopped "Tulips" on my easel, dipped my big, fat brush into some lovely puddles of color, and proceeded to have a little fun with shading and value.