1545 March Ice

I had some time so I headed out on the first excellent plein air spring day of 2015. I didn't have to go very far. A large beaver kept me coming for a while. I think he wanted to come ashore and gnaw on a big red oak that had fallen the previous summer. He didn't seem keen on waiting a couple of hours so he left. A red squirrel was chattering about something. The birds were still rather quiet.There was no sign in the sky of the approaching storm.
The cold waters of Jim Day Rapids were very dark in sharp contrast to the ice. The ice was every colour than white and I did my best to match them. The snow in the shadows were deep blues and turquiose while the snow in the sun light was a blinding white - Mie scattering... The scene was largely blacklit so the colours are weak at the expense of the strong contrast.

This was a location for artist a century ago... Armstrong 1906... same place - different century.

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