The following story features Edward Sprafkin, who will be joining us on the faculty of Acrylic Live, an online art event, March 25-27, 2026, with an Essential Techniques Day on March 24. (No tech skills? No problem! If you can click a link, you can participate!)
On the Landscape Painting “Fresh Powder”
By Edward Sprafkin
The inspiration for this painting was the contrast between the frosty foreground shadows of snow framing the sun-drenched, warm light illuminating the distant snow-capped peaks. I was particularly interested in how variations in color temperature could simulate the interplay of light and shadow within the composition. Living in the desert Southwest, where snow is uncommon, lends a certain emotional response to this winter landscape as well.
For my Acrylic Live presentation, I will demonstrate how to use the color wheel not only to depict light and shadow, but also to change the time of day, using a photo reference only for inspiration, not to copy. We will begin with a daylight desert landscape as our reference and end with a fiery Southwest sunset painting. Participants can follow along and then apply the concepts covered to their own projects.
View more contemporary landscape paintings here at RealismToday.com
