Aspects of Winter
I had recently watched a programme called ‘Tales of Winter…The Art of Snow and Ice’ on BBC 4 (probably available on iPlayer and well worth watching.)
The programme explained that painting harsh winter landscapes had been largely unheard of as they were viewed as places of fear and danger, and not of beauty and majesty and they were certainly not considered places to visit. However, the artist and critic John Ruskin helped to change the minds of those who could afford to travel with his beautiful watercolours of the area around Chamonix in France, and winter travel and the painting of the landscapes became all the fashion.
I challenged the members of the Stoneleigh Group to think “harsh winter not snowy Christmas” and they did not disappoint.
Lesley Lee, Stoneleigh group leader.
