small studies illuminated by the stark light of winter
a series of small sketches inspired by winter in pastel, watercolor, pencil and pen and ink from the trails to the backyard completed en plein air and indoors by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
February 12 to March 10, 2004
Opening Reception
February 12, 6 to 9 pm
From bright blue skies to brilliant fluttering chestnut leaves, forest green spruces to amber oaks, shiny red rose hips to olive green moss, winter is a very colorful time of year.
I know there are others who love winter out there, and while some think it’s colorless, white and gray, I enjoyed walking around and sketching all the color I found after leaves had fallen until the first green shoots of spring. In 2003 I had the opportunity to hang my art in a unique space and the idea of an exhibit of my winter artwork came all at once, including the name, “Winter White”.
I love winter so much, and found I had so much artwork already. I was excited to include my trail sketches and daily sketches of other subjects, including inside my house. And a printer I worked with had purchased a digital printer and for the first time ever I could have my post cards printed locally for an affordable price.
“UCP Pittsburgh” was the United Cerebral Palsy offices and training center. They had designed the building with an art gallery on the main floor so they could invite the public inside. My brother was in their program and came to this building daily at that time; he did not have cerebral palsy, but they discovered their training could benefit people who suffered deficits from any sort of brain damage, and my brother had had a traumatic brain injury. I was thrilled when they invited me to hang a show there and immediately put this idea together.
“Winter White” is a series of small sketches, none larger than 12″ x 12″, inspired by winter in pastel, watercolor, pencil and pen and ink from the trails to the backyard, completed en plein air and indoors—often standing on my deck or sitting in the front seat of the car—illuminated by the stark light of winter.
Many of them show various textured surfaces and a variety of lines and styles; these small sketches were just as much experiments with materials and styles as they were attempts to capture the essence of a winter scene. As experiments with style I was very fond of square images as well as tall narrow paintings and narrow horizontal paintings.
The headings will tell you how I categorized them. Enjoy the footnotes about my inspirations and the sites where the scenes are.
This show was hosted by United Cerebral Palsy’s Centre Avenue Gallery in February, 2004. You can also find this artwork and information on a permanent page on this site on my Exhibits page, 2004: Winter White
Availability of artwork
Some of the originals are still available, priced as noted and with ordering options where appropriate. I have also made prints or notecards from many images, and the ordering information for those products is also available.
color
Whoever said that winter was just brown and gray wasn’t seeing the same world I do.
Whether I’m walking the trails, driving down a back road or just looking out the window, the colors of winter are a constant inspiration. Snow reflects any color depending on the angle of view and time of day, and even without snow the landscape is rich with the colors of jewels. Even interiors are different as the leafless trees admit more light and the sun, at its lower winter angle, fills rooms with clear, stark light.
Panhandle Outbound
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Panhandle Trail, Collier Township
foot of snow, 10 degrees, January, all alone on the trail
Panhandle Inbound
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Panhandle Trail, Collier Township
same day, on the way home
November Colors
pastel, 7″ x 5″, $50.00
Chartiers Creek, Carnegie-Rosslyn Farms in late November, not quite winter but feeling so, yet the honeysuckle berries are bright in the sun and all the rushes, grasses and brambles bear a soft warmth.
Ducks
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Chartiers Creek, Carnegie
local trails
Along with Panhandle, above, wandering the woods across the hills, tracking along streams, and following railroad tracks through the valleys are some of my favorite afternoon walks.
Bell’s Run
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Carnegie-Crafton
snow and shadows and trees and reflections
Walking the Tracks
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Carnegie
Scott’s Run Road
pastel, 10″ x 8″, $50.00
Collier Township
old farms
I was once quite surrounded by working farms and retired farms with interesting rustic buildings and houses, hillside pastures of waving grasses, old apple orchards and simply quiet open space; now these have been turned to neighborhoods. I managed to capture a few before they disappeared.
Solstice
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Ewing Road, Collier Township, the last few trees on an old Christmas tree farm, now gone with houses built on the land
The moment when the sun stands still,
as it seemed to at this frigid, snow-covered
winter dusk,
spruces standing dignified sentinel
to the moment
of transition.
(This is another of those beautiful places that isn’t there anymore.)
Purchase a print or greeting card
Frost
pastel, 8″ x 8″, $100.00
Settler’s Cabin Park, Robinson
Township, the site of one of the original farmhouses, and the overgrown field with the tracks still clear in the grass.
After the Snow Squall
pastel, 10″ x 8″, $75.00
Ewing Road, Collier Township, a cool old barn at the edge of an old Christmas tree farm
Evening Farm
pastel, 10″ x 8″, $50.00
Ewing Road, Collier Township, the lovely open hillside that once was a pasture
avian visitors
I feed the birds in several feeders around my back yard, photographing them as they flutter and fly around and occasionally with the opportunity to sketch though it’s difficult with all that movement.
Birds in Snow
pastel, 7″ x 10″, sold
my front yard; watching the birds at the feeders is like watching waves on the beach
Purchase a print or greeting card
Also see Backyard Birds Holiday Cards
Jammin Jay Blues
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
my back yard, the blue jays making noise in the mulberry
Purchase a print or greeting card
Also see Backyard Birds Holiday Cards
Snowbird
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
my back yard, a little junco in a snowstorm
Purchase a print or greeting card
Also see Backyard Birds Holiday Cards
Accent
pastel, 6″ x 13″, sold
my back yard, a cardinal bright in the snowy branches
Purchase a print or greeting card
Also see Backyard Birds Holiday Cards
local parks
Backroad
pastel, 5″ x 7″, sold
Settler’s Cabin Park, Robinson Township
Remnants
pastel, 5″ x 7″, sold
Settler’s Cabin Park, Robinson Township
Remnants of an old farm, and a season
The First Shadows of Evening
watercolor, 7″ x 5″, sold
Carnegie Park
Hills at Dusk
pastel, 13″ x 6″, sold
Stream in the Snow
pastel, 5″ x 6″, sold
A Walk in Frick Park
pastel, 6″ x 8″, NFS
You just never know where you’ll find art.
interiors
The stark angled sunlight of winter fills our rooms as well.
Rehearsal Hall
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, now called the Lincoln Gallery
Winter Window
pastel, 8″ x 8″, sold
Kelly at my side window, my little cat in the stark pastel light of a winter afternoon looking out at the big winter outdoors
Purchase a print or greeting card
Afternoon Nap
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
Stanley on my bed
An old cat, a gentleman,
he has found a quiet spot, upstairs in the afternoon,
and has so perfectly placed himself a little off-center
on the expanse of white bedspread,
illuminated by stark winter light
through the window.
(Stanley finds all the best places.)
Purchase a print or greeting card
Also see Winter Cats Greeting Cards
structures
Snow falls on everything in winter, and the bare trees reveal scenes we’ve not seen.
On the Edge
pastel, 6″ x 6″, $50.00
Carnegie hillside
Snow in the Alley
pastel, 5″ x 7″, sold
Barrett Way, Carnegie
Snow Shower
pastel, 5″ x 7″,sold
Third and Third, Carnegie
The Shortest Day
pastel, 6″ x 6″, sold
house up the street, a scene I see from my desk every day
Night Window
pastel, 5″ x 7″, sold
house across the way, a scene I see from my kitchen window
in the backyard
Paintings of little scenes in the snow.
The Fallen Branch
watercolor, 5″ x 7″, $50.00
back yard certain shades of blue watercolor are impossible to scan
Colorful Shadows
watercolor, 6″ x 4″, $50.00
back yard
Gentle Shadows
watercolor, 6″ x 8″, $50.00
back yard
Set Pricing on the Three Paintings Above
They aren’t framed alike but are alike enough in content and style that they make a nice grouping.
The Fallen Branch, Colorful Shadows and Gentle Shadows, three for $100.00. Please send an email if you’d like to buy these three paintings as a set.
Morning Snow 2
pastel, 8″ x 8″, $200.00
back yard next door
Morning Snow 1
pastel, 8″ x 8″, $200.00
next door, other side
Set Pricing on the Two Paintings Above
Morning Snow 1 and 2 are available as a set for $300.00.
Winter Cherry Tree
pastel, 8″ x 10″, $75.00
outside my studio window
Tracks
pastel, 8″ x 8″, $75.00
outside my front window
Standing Trees
pastel, 6″ x 6″, $50.00
my neighbor’s back yard from my deck
pencil, ink and charcoal
All are from my little sketchbook, all done en plein air from the woods to my chair at my desk, looking out the window.
Light Woods
pen and ink, 7″ x 5″, sold
Settler’s Cabin Park, Robinson Township
Tree Study
pencil, 5″ x 7″, sold
outside my studio window, the cherry tree
The Sentinel
charcoal, 5″ x 7″, sold
tree at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall
The Path of the Elves
charcoal, 5″ x 7″, sold
tree at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall
(Treebeard the Ent)
Creek Study in Snow
charcoal, 7″ x 5″, sold
my private beach, Carnegie
The Wrought Iron Fence
pen and ink, 5″ x 7″, sold
Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall
I hope you enjoyed the show!
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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.