Painting Progression-Sleigh Bells-Step 9

The final session is the most satisfying.  Everything comes together to create an inviting winter scene.  I add darks where necessary and model the snow with light and dark tones to create contour and light and shadow.  The edge of a palette knife is used to simply suggest wire on the fence posts.  White highlights are one of the last things I do and these help to guide the viewer's eye to specific areas in the painting.  I embellish the coats of the horses and add final details to the harness.  The last thing to do is add a signature!  Fini.

Painting Progression-Sleigh Bells-Step 8

Once all of the basic elements and areas have been initially painted in with alkyd paint, I begin the process of finishing each area, maintaining a harmonious relationship with the overall picture.  I begin from the sky (the most distant background) and work my way forward, adding detail, contrast and harmony.  I have embellished the light in the sky somewhat, softened the hills in the distance, and added detail to the buildings in the middle ground.  The trees on the left are painted in, providing a nice border and visual stop on that side of the picture.  I spend quite a bit of time on the trees and underbrush on the right side of the picture, deepening the green of the foliage, creating subtle shades on the snow of the branches and detail in the tangle below.  More detail is added to the snow and the roadway,  the fence posts are added and finally I spend much time painting the horses and harness and the sleigh bells from which the painting gets its name.

Painting Progression-Sleigh Bells-Step 7

I have blocked in the rest of the foreground snow and shadows, creating a rutted look in the surface of the roadway and contours in the mounded snow at the shoulders of the road.  The contour lines of the road help to draw the eye into the picture and the horses appear to be in motion as they draw the unseen sleigh forward. 

Painting Progression-Sleigh Bells-Step 6

The mood of the painting starts to change rapidly as I begin to paint in the middle ground.  The muted tones of the snow on the large pine trees on the right side of the picture create a nice contrast to the brighter white of the snow on the ground leading into the foreground.  These tree branches keep the viewer's eye from leaving the picture and frame the focal point of the colorful red barns that the horses are approaching.