Winter watercolor paintings by Inese Poga
Posted on by Inesepaints

Magic winter night

While I have decided to stay away from snow paintings since I’ve got already too many, I still did a winter watercolor painting, just a quick one for mostly celebrating this time and things we need most in our life. I think we all need a little magic and a few miracles.

We need certainty about the days to come and self-assurance that all goes well. We need somebody’s understanding shoulder to cry on and somebody’s smile to warm up on a chilly winter day. We need peaceful, healing silence filled with lights of candles, flavors of delicious meal lingering around the house and lovely greetings on Christmas cards.

I personally need a real, live Christmas tree, and I have it – a beautiful one. The green, living tree is to remind that love never ends. It always returns and is more resilient than ever before.

We need miracles to also remind us that many things are not what we thought, neither that simple, nor that easy to understand. Miracle touches us all. That’s a new outlook and a new hope, but most of all, it’s a never-ending trust in good outcome for us.

If you are observant and if you love watching the sky and stars, you know that the universe is full of miracles, and it is up to us to believe in them and to shake off the tiredness and lack of determination. We need to open our eyes and start seeing.

This watercolor painting is called “Magic winter night”. It could be called winter night miracle also.

Creating Magic winter night watercolor
Magic winter night, watercolor, 18 x 24 in or 46 x 61 cm, first washes go into the sky area, adding salt when wet shine on paper starts disappearing
Creating Magic winter night watercolor
Step 2: identifying all parts of painting with light washes
Creating watercolor Magic winter night
Magic winter night, step 3: adding more layers
Magic winter night watercolor, almost ready
Magic winter night watercolor is almost ready. I’m adding more layers and salt on paper while it has still some shine

When I was trying to take the last pictures, my painting was still a bit wet. It is watercolor on a thick paper, it takes a while to dry. Nothing compares to watercolor when we’d love to create a quick winter painting. The white of paper does the trick. I used salt to create the sky and snow in some parts. As hard as tried, the photo still doesn’t look right to me when compared with the actual painting, but it will have to do. Enjoy!

Winter landscape painting in watercolor

Magic winter night, watercolor, 18 x 24 in or 46 x 61 cm

May you have your Christmas miracle and may the lights brighten up the way into a better New Year!

31 Replies to “Magic winter night”

    1. Thank you very much!
      Merry Christmas to you, too!
      I hope the New Year is good and better for all of us!
      Happy New Year!

    1. Thank you Sue very much!
      I wish you also a very merry Christmas!
      I hope all is fine and nice at your place.

    1. Thank you very much Margaret!
      This is the time to enjoy the simple great pleasures which are always available to us. Stay safe!

    1. Thank you!
      Merry Christmas to you also if you celebrate!
      Yes, it is salt. I have a small sealed container always close by. I use salt for foliage, rocks sometimes, for sky like here.
      I like easy things and that’s the easiest one can do for quick effect.
      It is possible to apply it also in a more careful way, but I just wanted something real speedy.
      I will see how it goes in the New Year, but I will need updated photo taking equipment, I’m so tired of the way iPhone distorts all my paintings. It especially cannot take pictures of large paintings, and this one is large. I hope I can manage that in the New Year.

    2. I’m with you there in terms of taking photos which get distorted. For Christmas this year I got a portable photobooth which provides strong diffuse light and helps you take photos dead on. We’ll see how it goes!

    3. Thanks Jo!
      That’s interesting. We bought once some kind of enclosed, you could say, box or booth, with lights attached and you could direct them onto whatever there is inside. I guess, that’s not the same what you have.
      I was reviewing my pictures, and they are just not my paintings frequently. I have been taking photos with Apple iPhone for a few years now since 2015. The photo camera I have is a good one, I’d say rather was a good one, Canon whatever, but I think it’s outdated. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has 3 cameras, I believed that feature would allow getting good pictures. It’s a disaster actually. There is hardly ever red color, yellow is all some weird greenish or brownish yellow. Most often, it turns my paintings blue. My guess is it’s way too automated, it applies everything automatically, and whatever edits one can make on the phone or on computer, they are all global. Therefore, restoring color glitches on pictures is an impossible task.
      Taking pictures is also a very time and effort consuming task. I take some 200 pictures of each painting in different settings and with different light. I’m lucky when at least 1 or 2 pictures turn out to be more or less what my painting is. Nowadays, everything is directed to improve and manipulate reality, therefore, when I need a picture of actual reality, there are no tools for that.

    4. I also take a lot of photos before I find one that matches what I see in reality! I’ve yet to use my photobooth but I am really hoping it will work. The lighting is done via two bars of adjustable LEDs. You can change both the power of the lights and the colour temperature. It also has a film of translucent white material between the area for photography and the camera so that the lighting is diffuse. We’ll see…

      Anyway, hope you have a great new year!

    5. That sounds good! I think it will work because you can adjust everything.
      I charged up the camera from some 15 years ago, maybe not that many. Apple iPhone isn’t just going to do that. I used it quite often since the files are quite small and it’s quick, but it damages and has damaged all colors in my paintings. I researched, and, yes, many people are extremely unhappy with iPhone 11 Pro Max cameras and the distortion they cause. The phone was very expensive, and I believed all they said, and it’s been nightmare.
      People obviously judge art based on how they see the image online, and my images never have the fine-tuned colors, colors are not even close to what they are in actual painting. When I have a building or still life items on painting, iPhone distorts their proportions and perspective, as well. It’s been a real struggle.
      In the future, I will have to find some better something.
      Safe and happy New Year to you also!

    3. You are very welcome.
      I’m just getting real busy here with all the preparations for 2-person dinner and Christmas settings.

    1. Thank you very much!
      Merry Christmas!
      Snow paintings always have some interesting aspect to them. Once a year, why not to paint some?
      I also wish you and your family good health, everything the best and creative success in 2021!

    1. Thank you very much!
      Merry Christmas!
      There are paintings which always allow to wander around and walk in if the viewer wishes so.
      It’s nice you think this one is that type of painting.
      I didn’t take it too seriously, just applied loosely washes all over, yet, I am glad this makes sense and looks attractive.
      Happy 2021 and good health, lots of joy and personal success!

    3. Happy New Year to you, as well! Certainly, nicer, safer, more productive and less confusing year.

    1. Thank you Julie!
      Yes, it was fine, the tree still looks very festive and very beautiful.
      We don’t go for gifts that much because my family is across the ocean in Europe, and husband’s family is scattered around Canada, but in far away provinces.
      Other than that, everything is good.
      Safe, healthy and happy 2021! It should be less confusing and more fulfilling year, as well as safer than we just had.

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