Winter Weather At Last: A Fairytale World

All photos by me.

After spending most of my childhood in Texas, where there is very little in the way of a discernible change in the seasons aside from hot and hotter, I have an utter and complete fascination with snow. For a child who loved reading the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and the various Red, Blue, and Violet Fairy Books, all of which have tales of Snow Queens and winter lands, the rarity of snow or even sleet was extremely disappointing.

Thus, when my family moved to an area where there was at least one good snowfall every winter, I developed the habit of wandering for hours in our woods every time it snowed, reveling in the enchanting sound of falling snow and the way the ordinary world could be transformed in a matter of minutes into the world of the fae, dangerous and beautiful, silent and yet full of music.

To an artist's eyes as well there is endless fascination and inspiration. Ice and snow exhibit some of the most exquisite, detailed patterns one will ever find. If you bother to slow down and look closely, new worlds reveal themselves to the naked eye. I invite you to try it next time you're outside in the snow.

Chance of Snow

By Hiroshige, via Wikimedia Commons

There's a chance of snow in the forecast, so... cue falling snow effect!

Let's Escape Winter in a Faraway Land

I know people are probably getting tired of the ice and snow now. But there's nothing you can do about it, so why don't you look at pictures of beautiful places instead? Take a look at these fabulous pictures by David Clapp of the Hebrides, which are the islands off the west coast of Scotland.

David Clapp, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, www.davidclapp.co.uk

David Clapp, Callanish Stone Circle in Callanais, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, www.davidclapp.co.uk

The Hebrides are a part of the British Isles particularly steeped in myth and legend. Before Christianity it was reputed to be the retreat of holy men and this holds water, considering Fingal's Cave (an incredible place I hope to visit someday) and all the standing stones that are to be found on the islands. Later, Colum Cille (Saint Columba) established a monastery on Iona, one of the Hebrides, and spread Christianity to the Picts. It's no wonder holy men liked it there. I think I could be perfectly happy to live in austerity in a place like this...

David Clapp, Luskentyre, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, www.davidclapp.co.uk

The scenery is so stunning too. Ethereal and mysterious are adjectives that come to mind.

David Clapp, Elgol, Skye, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, www.davidclapp.co.uk

David Clapp, Mangurstadh, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, www.davidclap.co.uk

So, is anybody coming with me?

The Snow Queen in Art

What with all the snow on the ground, lately I've been thinking about the Snow Queen, both of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairytale and the other representations of her in mythology and folklore, notably as Skadi or Skade in Scandinavian stories. There are so many beautiful representations of her in art as a consequence of these stories.

I've drawn a great deal of inspiration from the idea of the Snow Queen. Several years back now I did my own version of the Snow Queen or Ice Queen. I've done numerous small paintings and sketches of her, but this is the only image I have saved of one of them.

Edmund Dulac is one of my very favorite illustrators, and he does a lovely version of a snow maiden that I find simply enchanting. If I could get away with it, I'd dress like that every day.

Edmund Dulac, Ice Maiden, 1915, http://www.artsycraftsy.com/dulac/dreamer_of_dreams_p.jpg

Dulac also illustrated Anderson's The Snow Queen, and I haven't found any illustrations of that story to surpass his.

Edmund Dulac, The Snow Queen Flies Through the Winter's Night, http://www.artsycraftsy.com/dulac/dulac_snowqueen_streets.jpg

Edmund Dulac, The Snow Queen On the Throne of Ice, 

http://www.artsycraftsy.com/dulac/dulac_snowqueen.jpg

We mustn' forget the North Wind though. Without him, the Snow Queen wouldn't have anyone to pull her sleigh. Kay Nielsen, another favorite of mine, has done an excellent portrayal of him.

Kay Nielsen, The North Wind Went Over the Sea, 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/irmavepisalive/4107090518/

Nielsen also did a lovely piece of Sleeping Beauty in the snow. This dainty little painting is so sensitively rendered.

Kay Nielsen, Study for Sleeping Beauty

Nielsen also did this wonderful illustration for the book East of the Sun, West of the Moon. If polar bears were docile creatures, I wouldn't mind having one for a stead myself.

Though no-one can top Nielsen, Amanda Clark comes close and has done a lovely version of this same story herself. You should check out her enchanting blog, http://earthangelsart.blogspot.com/, and her Etsy shop full of covetable prints of her incredible art, http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthangelsarts.

Amanda Clark, East of the Sun, West of the Moon,

 http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/east-of-the-sun-west-of-the-moon-amanda-clark.jpg

There are so many more beautiful versions of ladies in the snow, but that's all for now! Happy New Year!

I Dreamed of a White Christmas...

...and I got one! This evening it started snowing and now the world is white and glittering. I am so happy! At last I have snow.

Winter is for Rest

Now that I'm done with finals, I am ready for a nice long winter rest. I'll be working on a lot of art over Christmas break, but it will be at my own pace, and I'll be working on things I want to work on. It's a very important difference.

I greatly enjoy winter, especially when it snows. Lately I've been looking at paintings of snow and noticing how the masters were able to convey so well the quality of winter light. I wish that where I live looked like this right now, seeing as it's December...

Vilhelm von Gerfelt, Winter Picture With Cabin at River,  18th - 19 century, Wikimedia Commons

But alas, it looks more like a late autumn day where I live, like in this painting, which captures the quality of autumn light so perfectly.

Alfred Sisley, Die Klienen Fleisen Im Frühling, 1880, Wikimedia Commons

Monet did an excellent job of capturing winter light in this painting. He didn't just paint pretty scenes of water lilies.

Claude Monet, Snow Scene At Argenteuil, 1875,  Wikimedia Commons

I also really like this winter scene by Caspar David Friedrich. It's a more gloomy scene, but very interesting. His style is almost modern realism, but he died in 1840, and this picture disappeared in Berlin in 1945... hmmm I wonder who was responsible for that.

Caspar David Friedrich, Monastery Burial-Ground Under Snow, 1818, Wikimedia Commons

On that gloomy note, I'm off to make supper and relish the fact that I don't have any homework to do.