I haven’t drawn a winter landscape in charcoal yet, so when I saw a scene that reminded me of farms during the winter months that I grew up around I decided to give it a try.
The Quiet of Winter, a charcoal drawing (9×12) was done on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper. Smooth surface paper has less texture and was chosen for the scene so the snowy landscape would appear as a sweeping, softer atmosphere. I have little experience drawing buildings and this one gave me more challenges than all the elements combined in this entire scene, lol (just keeping it honest). And that’s why I’ll keep right on trying, because one of these days structures in my work will show better, but for now ~
It was interesting working out snow with charcoal, but it seems a little too cold for me and I much prefer drawing landscapes in other seasons that show some life. Thanks for checking in ~ click onto the image for a larger view.
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Oil Pastels by Mary 
Love this! So fine…
Thank you – appreciate your response.
Kudos to you Mary, for working buildings. I ignore them every chance I get;)
You are so kind Elena – buildings are not my thing, all those lines and perspective. The one in my drawing, well I think it was drawn four or five times and finally I had to say enough. Although I’d love one day to put an effort into trying to draw a European village, perhaps I’d make a more convincing structure. Thank you for stopping by!!
Lonely. I really like the foreground in this piece!
Thank you Pauline. I was attracted by the look of abandonment with the broken fence and it ended up giving the scene a feeling of cold isolation.
Hi Mary,
Funnily enough, we had a light fall of snow in North Wales last night, whilst I was out with Maureen at Tennessee Williams’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’. Love your charcoal snowscape – it gives me that authentic shivery brrrrrrr feeling!
Fond regards,
Paul
Oh Paul I bet you two had the best time – a classic play! Thanks very much for your thoughts on the drawing, glad you enjoyed the “cold!”
I’ve always wondered about drawing snow. Your snow looks fluffy and deep. Brrrr. I really like the battered fence. 😊
Thanks Joanna – it was interesting. I really wanted to add a touch of gray-red to the barn, but decided to leave it alone, maybe I’m getting itchy for working with some color again.
It looks like the land must having in my Grandpa’s day. When getting snowed in could mean weeks without power. It looks like games of checkers beside the fire, three pair of socks and outhouses!
Love it Brenda – you always bring on the creativity in your words. You know we are going to need a little hot chocolate too!! Thanks so much, winter’s coming to an end – I hope it will be a graceful ending and not a harsh bang as it closes the door!
Yes, I hope it’s already spring. Some years it comes this early. 🙂 I see green shoots as hopeful as me.
Charcoal works remain a favorite for me. There’s something uniquely expressive about it, I think. I like the darker lines and detail in the foreground adding to the sense of overall depth.
Hi Jeff, thank you very much – I couldn’t agree more about charcoal. When I paint or work in graphite it tends to be more tight, but with charcoal there is a certain permission to be more loose and it worked out well in this scene. I enjoyed reading your reaction to the scene thanks again ~
Your capture of the peace is fantastic here, Mary. I espec. like the fence and bare shrubs in the foreground.
Thanks Jet, it was a great scene to work out in charcoal – which was a perfect medium for the dull and flat foreground trees and shrubs.
Beautiful, snow and all. 🙂
Thank you Judy – couldn’t let winter go by without trying her out in charcoal.
Lovely
Thanks Derrick!
It looks peaceful and quiet to me and just lovely!
Thank you very much Fiona!
Brrrrr! I think it is amazing how you can make a frozen white snowy scene out of black charcoal and make me feel cold in the process. 🙂
Love your feedback and description Dorann – always fun to read. Hope the chill wasn’t too bad!! Thank you, I had a good laugh!!
Lovely, Mary. It feels so quiet.
Thank you so much Cynthia!
This does look like a cold day, with a lot of deep snow…but it’s also quiet and restful.
That farmhouse beckons to me. It would be so much fun to traipse through all that untouched snow to peek inside!
Hi Silver, thanks very much – I like your description of the drawing. Sometimes winter scenes like this can be deafeningly quiet in the dead of winter. Yes, wouldn’t it be fun to see what’s inside the barn!! Thanks again ~
Beautiful, Mary. Winter is indeed quiet, especially these days. Hope you are well!
So happy to hear from you Elisa – great to see you again. Thank you for your kind thoughts on this scene!
Who else but Mary would decide to draw the whitest stuff with the blackest tool? 🙂
Ha, just had to give it a try Cynthia to see if it would be a convincingly cold scene. Yep I think it’s one I’d rather look at than be in the middle of. Hopefully it won’t be too long before you begin to see the signs of Spring. Have a beautiful week ~
Very lonely, very wintry.
Yes, you have it Prospero – the cold of winter a scene that can’t shake the chilly air. Have a wonderful week ~
A charmingly soft, silent and simple scene which reminds me of my childhood at my granny. Love the fact that is so uncomplicated, understated, even though is a winter landscape it gives me warm feelings, it might sound crazy but that’s how I feel 🙂
It’s very appropriate send of for the last day of February, love it!
Have a most wonderful week Mary!
Hi Eva, thank you so much for your thoughtful response to this drawing – love that it brought back happy childhood memories. I always enjoy reading your reaction to the drawings and your great description “uncomplicated, understated” is just perfect for the bleak landscape in this piece. I’ll take your warmth with this cold!! Have a wonderful Leap day!! and rest of the week my friend!
Thank you Mary, you too! Hugs~Eva 🙂
Really lovely, especially the way you lose the crisp focus as we recede back into the landscape….you are really very good with charcoal 😊
Thanks Seonaid for your lovely feedback and compliment – always appreciated! I like your read on the scene.
There’s beauty in this well-composed, bleak landscape
Miss Mary
real beauty
Big hugs
uncle john
Thank you very much Uncle John – bleak is the perfect word to describe the forgotten fields during the harsh winter months. Have a wonderful week ahead ~
Again you have captured the quietness of this scene….and a feeling of days gone by……beautifully rendered as ever. Have a lovely Monday and week ahead…janet:)
Hi Janet, thank you very much. I loved your description, it is what I wanted to convey in this piece. Hope you have a beautiful week, happy Monday to you my friend!
Have you thoughts of an exhibition down the road? Have a lovely Tuesday….Janet:)
Hi Janet, oh my your question is such a compliment and I’m truly flattered. I’d like too at some point, but I feel I have some additional learning and things to get accomplished with the level of my work before it could hold its own as an exhibit. But that and selling are both on my bucket list for my art. You really made my day with your question, thank you my friend.
It takes quite a while to organise a good exhibition, and so now is the time for you to begin to think about the logistics.. You are accruing a solid body of work….and so I am sure it wont be long. Have a beautiful weekend. janet. :)x
Your confidence brings tears – thank you my friend. Thank you for your advice, I’ll be giving it a lot of thought as I plan my next steps.
Beautiful, Mary. The trees alone make this a standout, in my mind. And with charcoal?! I wish you’d do youtube tutorials! ❤️
Thank you Laura – it was a great scene to workout in charcoal. Youtube? So funny, I still haven’t figured out how to do a video on my phone ~ thank you for the compliment though. You all would have a good laugh if you saw how I work !
I would love it!
Nice work Mary! I agree, I think its really hard to capture snow in charcoal. The features you have added though, the broken fence etc really add a nice touch to convey the feeling of the scene. ~Rita
Thank you Rita – it was a scene that reminded me of the cold and harsh winters in NY where i grew up. Along Interstate 90 during winter the farmlands always took on the look of abandonment and desolate, except for a spotting of deer in the late afternoons. I enjoyed your feedback, thanks very much!
Lovely to look at! I grew up in this scenery in the prairie winter. One never forgets the cold & loneliness. I’m so grateful it was +50F here today. I walked for hours. Mary, I always so look forward to your next piece. Thank you!
Thank you Resa! One never forgets growing up in those harsh winters, for me I’d rather be in the warmer climate. Your temps sound so nice – so glad you spent your day enjoying it.
I can see the beauty Mary, really I can. But we all know I am a sunshine and warmth kind of girl. 🙂
Awesome Susan, loved your comment! You and me both, I rather like your sun bathing scenes – happy, cheerful and warm!
Here is to happy, cheerful and warm! Cheers and thank you Mary
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Thank you very much!
A wonderful reminder of my youth, I grew up with snow and snow storms.
Thanks Charlie – makes me happy that the drawing brought back some wonderful childhood memories for you.
Very beautiful Mary.
Thank you so much Nicodemas! Have a great week.
You too!
such beautiful, the colors deeply powerful, it speaks a story by itself…
Thank you for your beautiful comment Mihrank, it’s wonderful to read your reaction to the drawing.
Beautiful drawing, Mary. It looks so very cold though and reminds me of why I’m living here in Florida. 🙂
Love it Sylvia – you are so right! It’s why we enjoy the weather in TX too – pretty but no thanks!! Thanks so much and hoping that you are getting more settled into your new place.
Thanks, Mary. Yes, I’m settled and hubby is working up on the scaffold. 🙂
Oh my, will the drywall be done soon?
Well, there are still 90 sheets stacked on the floor, so I wouldn’t like to comment on the “soon”. 😕
Oh wow, yep he has his work cut out for him!
What a lovely picture… 🙂
Thank you so much Maniparna – have a lovely week!
Thanks…wish you the same…:-)
bellissimo una sensazione di pace e tranquillità bravissima
Thank you so much Gabriarte for your lovely comment, means a lot!
The drawing shows the smoothness of the snow. I like how the composition of trees, grass, fence, ….it enables us to feel the cold of the snow, also the beauty. ❤
Thank you so much for sharing, Mary!
Hi Amy, loved reading your feedback and how you read the scene – wonderful to see it through your photographers eye. Thank you so much!
Although I’m not a fan of the cold, Mary, your drawing fills me with warm memories of visiting my grandmother when I was child. I remember many barns settled on land that appeared abandoned. The detail in your drawing, especially the broken fence, it wonderful.
Hi Jill, thank you!! Love to hear when a piece of my work brings back fond memories – makes my day. The barn was is so typical for the many abandoned farms that are scattered across the mid-West and East these days, very sad – imagine the history behind them. Glad you enjoyed the scene! Have a great week.
Ah, it’s a beautiful soft and serene image, Mary. A scene we didn’t see this year and most likely will not either as it is spring already! We’ve had a rather warm February – or should I say …early April! Wishing you a beautiful week ahead. 🙂
Hi Marina, thank you so much. You know we didn’t see any snow this year also – our daffodils were up and nearly gone, a fast Winter and now I’m seeing some perennials out front budding wow! I hope you have a wonderful week my friend, take care ~
I adore this picture. Provided there was some heat I would love to go and write in there.. Lovely.
Thank you Chris for your nice feedback – so funny, we’ll make sure that there is a heater running for you!!
Nice, reminds me of bitter Michigan winters.. 👍🏻❤️
Thanks so much John – I’m with you, the scene reminded me of Western PA and NY during the winter storms. Nice to see it, but not live in it!