Yay! Winter is Here!

We already had our first and second snowfalls and they created a lovely, white landscape all over. Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons of the year, so you know I won’t be moving to Florida when I retire. There’s nothing I like better than a nice snowscape to show off to you. It took me years to perfect a technique in my own painting of snow with not just white but with a rainbow of other colors to indicate drifts, shadows, etc. I think this work by Ohio artist Charles Basham perfectly evokes a frosty winter day. If you look closely at this snow scene, you will note touches of cobalt violet and phthalo blue in the shadows. 

The Season of Snow is Here.

Charles Basham (born 1952 US) Morning After the First Snow, 1988, pastel on paper, 56 x 76 cm (22” x 30”) Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, © 2025 Charles Basham (BIAA-359)

Basham uses a palette of pure, vibrant colors much as the Impressionists did, while depending on direct observation and working outdoors. Basham's method has always been direct observation, usually from his own land. He makes pencil sketches in 15 minute increments to catch the nuances in changing light and color, usually at early sun or late sun. The sketches are then worked up in the studio into pastels in vibrant colors. You can see more of his gorgeous pastels at https://www.jeraldmelberg.com/charles-basham-pastels/ .

Background

Throughout the history of art in the United States, there has been a visual fascination with material reality. The old love of realism in art were too deeply ingrained in the American public to completely die out even with the advent of Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism in the mid-1900s.

From mid-century to the present there have always been artists working with the recognizable figure. The most famous of movements to return to figuration was Pop Art in the late 1950s, and New (or, Photo) Realism of the 1960s. The movements themselves were a reaction to what was perceived as the domination of Abstract Expressionism in the art world in America.

Since then many artists continue to produce realist work in a variety of styles. Many artists continue to be influenced by the photographic realism they see in works as far back as the Hudson River School. Others are influenced by the Impressionism that insinuated itself into mainstream art around 1900 to become a permanent fixture. One insistent strain of modern landscape painting is a combination of the observed and the subjective interpretation of nature.

Charles Basham was born in Wadsworth, Ohio. He lives and paints on the family's 100 acre farm. He received his BA and MFA from Kent State University. From his earliest work, Basham has predominantly represented the landscape. Like the Hudson River School artists, his landscapes are usually devoid of the human element, save for the occasional plowed field. This emphasizes the glory and power of nature.

Correlations to Davis programs: Explorations in Art 2E grade 1, 3.5, 4.4, 6.1; Explorations in Art 2E grade 2, 1.7, 4.3; Explorations in Art 2E grade 3, 5.4, 5.5; Explorations in Art 2E grade 4 3.1, 4.4, 4.5; Explorations in Art 2E grade 5, 6.2; Explorations in Art 2E grade 6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3; A Personal Journey 2E 5.4; The Visual Experience 4E 8.13; Exploring Painting 3E pp. 110-113, pp.154-161; Experience Painting, Chapter 3, Dry Media