How to Paint Snow

Feb 27, 2019

Believe it or not, one actually needs to make that infamous "yellow snow" to make the brightest whites we see in the snow.  It's something I have just discovered, and wow, it makes a huge difference in bringing that snow to life!

How DO you paint snow ?????..?!@* 

 

If you've already tried just plain white, you'll begin to realize how flat that can be, and that if you really look closely at snow, it's hardly white at all!

 

 

A winter view of the Mississippi River inspired me to attempt snow painting for the third time.  

 

 

Believe it or not, to make good snow, you need a little bit of yellow!

 

For this painting, I tried using a limited palette with yellow, blue, red, white, and gray.

 

  

 

A closer look at the foreground of the painting reveals a bit of  yellow snow.

 

  

 

When viewing the painting as a whole, the yellow snow appears less yellow, and mostly bright, as if the sun is shining directly upon it.  The yellow tint was essential in creating these highlights to show changes in elevation and lighting.