Baby Snowman and Mama

It has never snowed so heavily in the Netherlands like this for ages! According to news sources not since 1978. So heavy it is that flights are cancelled, sporadic train service, bus routes nationwide suspended and traffic at constant standstill. Thankfully I don’t have to travel to work but feel bad for those who do. One of the positive things though about heavy snow is being able to play in it! That’s what the kids in our neighborhood did. They built a snowman! Well one and a half snowman actually…

And once the large snowman was done, they tried to build another one but somehow stopped halfway through most probably as it was getting dark around 4pm. This halfway-finished snowman, though, resembled the baby version of the completed snowman to me, how cute! And overnight, the pair was left there and sadly gone a few days later. But I did manage to take a photo of them both in the daytime and in the evening. And then occurred to me… how about a painting about the two snowmen? That’s right, the “mama and baby” pair!

Conveniently, I spotted a large piece of black A3-size paper in my pile of art supplies. What a great opportunity to use it now! Naturally the best medium was pastels. First sketched the outline with white chalk pencil before filling in with the soft pastels using the side of the stick. Incidentally, the slightly uneven and bumpy surface beneath the paper was wood which gave an interesting imprint, perfect for a snowy texture! Blended the area with my finger and lightly retraced outline with pastel pencil. And wow! My cute little baby snowman with his mama, how about that!