How Weather Affects My Paintings

The Cardinal
Oil on Canvas Panel
16 x 20 in/40.6 x 50.8 cm
Copyright Byrne Smith 2014

I don't know about other painters, but the weather certainly affects my paintings. I'm talking about the actual weather, you know, what's happening outside your studio.

When it's either too hot, which it is a lot here, or too cold, which only happens this time of year, it affects how I paint. Not only that, I find I paint sun and partly cloudy landscapes when the weather is "good" and rain and fog when the weather is "bad."

I will say I am much happier painting when the sun is shining both outside and in the painting on my canvas.

Although I rarely paint snow because it rarely snows here, as in almost never, I did paint today's image to include both sun and snow. I like the bright red colors of the cardinal and the berries along with the out-of-focus background and the blue sky.

It's a cheerful day and a cheerful painting, and that's how the weather affects me and my paintings.