” Skating in Yosemite Late Christmas Day” by Stefan Baumann
This painting was painted late Christmas day on location in Yosemite National Park. Every so often I take off and spend the holidays doing what I enjoy most, and that is painting on location to capture the feeling of the day; the mood, the temperature, and the stories of places I travel to experience. Spending Christmas outside, apart from religious Holiday, feels different than any other holiday. The light is low as we approach the shortest day of the year, the pace is slow, and the conversion of the cold air and the smoke from fires that people enjoy while they spend the day in their homes with their families creates a feeling that the earth is quiet and peaceful, and that the future is hopeful.
This painting reflects what was on my mind on this Christmas Day. I drove through the park searching for inspiration looking for something that represents the essence of the holiday. However, in Yosemite there was only one place that could represent what I was dreaming of finding. I knew that Yosemite had a skating rink and nothing says “holiday” more than families enjoying an early evening skate at the rink. In my painting of the scene, I removed the fence around the park and replaced it with Christmas lights, and I placed myself in the middle of the rink painting; after all, I did not want to miss out on this very joyous day in Yosemite.
Plein air and Alla Prima artist Stefan Baumann, host of the PBS painting series “The Grand View, America’s National Park through the eyes of an artist” and author of “Observations Of Art and Nature,” travels in his vintage travel trailer painting America’s western landscape. Baumann paints outdoors with oils and canvas capturing stunning vistas, wildlife, western landscapes, National Parks and still life, thrilling art collectors throughout the world. He has many collectors acquiring his paintings as investment internationally. His painting style is called Romantic Realism with Lumunism and the extraordinary way he captures the effect of light is a truly an American Style used to paint the Western Landscape. He can be seen painting in Yellowstone, Yosemite and in the Grand Canyon and Baumann’s “how to paint” DVDs filmed on location in the National Parks are the very best on the market.