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Passion for Snow – W.L. Palmer

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I am a nighthawk and I often find myself unable to sleep until well after midnight. Last night, I was watching the Antiques Roadshow on PBS. I like to watch from time to time and see what kinds of outrageous things people bring! Every so often a painting shows up and it is fun to see what the appraisers have to say.

Last night was the season opener in Baltimore. A woman brought in a painting of a snow scene that absolutely took my breath away. It turned out that the painting was by a turn of the (19th-20th) century artist Walter Launt Palmer. I dropped the remote and ran to the computer to look up everything I could find on this artist.

Palmer’s style is a blend of traditional realism and impressionism. He had been to Europe and the Far East and his work with colour reflected that. He was known for his ‘snow’. He was not officially a member of the Hudson River School but was mentored by F.E. Church who was. The establishment tended to ignore Palmer because he often stepped away from their brand of realism. I am not a particular fan of many of the Hudson River School and have largely glazed over 19th century American art as a result. This painting opened my eyes….

I admire art from many genres and every so often I find something that I might aspire to, and learn from. After an hour of combing the ‘net, I found some 30+ paintings, most of which were winter scenes, that made me want to pore over them and study them. Here is one called “Brook and Hemlocks”.
Walter Launt Palmer

I get a real sense of the love and reverence Palmer had for the silent season. Many of his paintings are of places that could be easily be right here. He saw the richness of colour in reflected in snow. You will rarely see white in his paintings. Apparently there is a small showing of his paintings in Albany, New York this month at the Albany Institute of History and Art. There is a wonderful review here.

Like Palmer, I am passionate about this season. Many of my paintings from the last two years are of cold and snowy places. Perhaps my bones are not old enough to understand the longing for warmer climes during our coldest months, but, I find it difficult to imagine how I could be complete as an artist or a person, without a northern winter and lots of snow. There is more colour to be seen at this time of year, than any other.

Painted Horses...
Of Bees, Magic & Angels' Breath

Comments

  1. Michelle,
    I’m a huge fan of your work. Though I am not a realist painter, I can certainly appreciate a masterful realist painter when I see one. Beautiful!
    Love,
    Linda

  2. Thank you Linda!
    I aspire to be half as good as W.L. Palmer. If I can paint one like the image above someday, I’ll die happy!
    🙂

  4. Unfortunately, this one isn’t mine. I wish! LOL!

    Some of the works that I post here are by other artists as well as my own. I revel in art in general and I am inspired by so many artists and experiencing their work is very much a part of the journey with my own.

  5. I absolutely love realism. I’m not much for modern art. Winter scenes are just so beautiful, warm and makes you want to go home next to your fireplace and snuggle up. The antique rodeo show is really interesting and wacky at the same time. Some of the stuff you wonder how they get so much for!!!

  7. Very nice picture.. along with the other ones you’ve shown in here. Unfortunately I can’t even draw a stick person well. 🙂

  9. Wow, very nice. I also love the winter, and the snow. When I was studying art at the University of Louisville, I would often walk next door to the J.B Speed Art Museum and stare at a painting by Fairfield Porter. It was a simple, small painting of woods and snow, and I can’t for the life of me remember the title, because I just looked at the painting so much. I could even faintly smell the paint on the canvas (or maybe just imagined I could). The winter is so wonderful and woods in the winter…just magical.

  10. Wow! Thanks for your comments, Phil, cooper, mikster, offendedblogger and Deb!

    I get a kick out of ‘discovering’ art. It inspires my own work.

    As for the smell – I think oil paintings smell for ages after they are done. It is lovely, isn’t it?

  11. 1. Grampa says “Thank you”. You know how he loves to be remembered on his birthday.

    2. “Brook and Hemlocks” . How beautiful is that !!
    Time cannot change the colour of new fallen snow, only an artist can preserve it for ever.

  12. I too saw the episode of Antiques Roadshow which led me to the internet to find out about W L Palmer.That painting on the show was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Thanks for posting “Brook and Hemlocks”, it is a beauty also.

  13. Hi Mom! 😉

    Elaine – I have to agree. I wonder if the owner of that particular one will sell it or not. I wouldn’t…. if I were so lucky to possess it!

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