AlanArt

Between running round like a loon enjoying the new snow and recalling the hardships of winter for the furry things that have neither central heating nor supermarkets yesterday, I thought I would bow to the inevitable. Just as the Fairy tale of New York is everywhere at Christmas, now is the season of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Frozen water, fresh snow and a "can't work so we might as well play" attitude is just about right for Egham right now. I saw an estate agent in a suit standing in the falling snow showing off his brand new sledge to some excited colleagues - kudos! Who cares how hard things are, wrap up warm and arse about! I proclaim this as someone who has but one miniature wood burning stove for heat. I know very little about Bruegel but this young lady who is apparently somewhere with proper winters has picked one intriguing highlight - the bird trap.

Anyway, whilst I was out yesterday I gathered some material, so the plan for the weekend is to do a couple of decent oil sketches to see if there is potential there or not. Egham bypass in the snow, smudgy and wet-on-wet, with dirty greys, earths and yellows. Who was it who described car lights in a traffic jam as rubies and diamonds? There'll be a bit of that going on too.