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For the next 24 hours this painting is $50, after that it returns to the retail price of $90. 
If you would like to purchase this painting click here.

On the morning of the first snow last year, walking along the Salmon Creek Watershed, we came across these two lone benches. They seemed to be crying out for someone to come and rest for a minute. I could have titled this "Waiting for the Thaw" but I liked the idea that you had to have a reservation to use the seats, and as we know, reservations can be hard to come by.

This was a really fun painting to work on, almost (but not quite) painting itself. At every step I would just look at it for the longest time, not wanting to touch it for fear that one false move could be the end of it. I like painting snow and the scenes with snow. First, it gets away from green, which can be the kiss of death for a painting if it's not the right green, or if there is way too much of it. Limited green is a very good thing in my book. And finding footsteps in the snow, and little bushes growing out of it here and there is really fun. On this rough paper, the trees take on a texture of their own without any help from me. It is as if the watercolor is telling me what it wants and is painting itself. Yay! That keeps it fresh and exciting, who knows just what it may do next? That is one of the joys of watercolor, one of the things that I am learning to stop and watch for more. It is one of the many things I have learned over the last 47 days. But more on that in the next couple of days.

Today I listened to and watched out of the corner of my eye "The Golden Cockerel," by Rimsky-Korsakov at the Bolshoi Theatre. The Bolshoi Ballet, Choir and Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre all were a part of this brilliant production. The costumes were incredible, as was the music and voices. Really a wonderful opera!

I got distracted today by all the newsreels of the terrible flooding across the state and elsewhere. My gosh, so many people and entire towns who are facing getting back on their feet, let alone plan a Christmas celebration. I saw video from Leavenworth where much of the area is under water. This city's income for most of the year comes from the busloads of people who come from the west side to see this beautiful place all lit up for Christmas. People can't even get across the state to get there, and that is just one example. Many towns have been evacuated. If anyone knows of a place that is organized to take donations, please let me know. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people and animals displaced by the floods and mudslides tonight.

My prayers are with you too, be safe,

Kristi

For information on how to purchase a painting on this website go to this link here.
If you would like to read about the 50 Days of Painting, you can read this blog post. 
You can see all of the watercolors in this project here.