Painting from life every day has a powerful effect on my growth as a painter. I don’t have time to paint from life every day, but participating in a challenge really helps! I did it last year during the month of January, and then again this year.

On January 29th as I stood in a snow-covered field at dusk, with no one else around, I watched flocks of geese screech across the pink sky. I folded up my easel since the painting light was gone, put on some warmer gloves to revive my hands, and walked further into the field to admire the mountains and feel the cold air on my face. January has taken on a brilliance now that I’ve done multiple plein air paintings during the last two Januarys and it’s been amazing.

I hope you enjoy my collage of January paintings from 2019!