Despite it being high summer in the Alps the weather can be unpredictable, so on the damp and dreary days I go back to unfinished work from the winter. It seems really strange painting snow on a hot summery day, but when I look out of my skylight and see the mountains shrouded in mist it isn't a problem.
This is the Refuge at Barmettes, a very welcome hostelry to stop for lunch or a warming vin-chaud, adjacent to one of the high lifts at around 2000 metres.
On this day there was a clear blue sky to the east and a huge bank of cloud to the west as the sun was sinking, it peeped out from a gap in the cloud, just brushing odd spots on the snow, before it finally sank below the mountains. It was really cold.
The sun goes off the mountains quite early in the winter months. You can see there aren't many skiers outside the lodge, and only a few skis lined up, that means most people have set off down for to warmth and security of their cosy chalets.
There is a bit of glare in the sky in the photo which doesn't show on the painting. I used medium to allow me to get a smooth finish on the sky, it is a bit more reflective and I don't have my camera with the polaroid filter here with me. I will have to re-photograph it when I get my posh camera back from the mend. (It had an accident on the high seas!)
Refuge Les Barmettes en hiver
40 x 30 x 5 cms
Acrylic on stretched canvas
£235 ready to hang
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