Over the shortest days of this past winter—from mid December through mid-January—I created 21 small, 5×5 inch, plein air paintings of the sunrise. Painting sunrises as they happen had been on my mind for while, and it was pure chance, not planning, that I did it over the solstice season. It proved to be a good time for this work.
Painting the sunrise did not take a lot of time, usually no more than an hour, and a significant amount was gained, including increased self knowledge as a painter. I heartily recommend this as an exercise for any landscape artist, if only for gaining the satisfaction of having created a piece of art before 7.30 in the morning!
December/January mornings have some benefits for the sunrise painter: Dawn/sunrise occurs relatively late so it is not too arduous in terms of getting up and being ready and working before the light has appeared. At 6.30am I was setting up my paints and paper. At 6.50 the pre-sunrise light began and by 7.10 it was over, the sun was up and bright.
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-10b sky, trees](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-10b.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11a sky, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11a-205x300.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11b sky, trees, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11b.jpg)
There are two drawbacks, however, but both are easily solved: First, it is cold outside. I was lucky in that my screened porch faces east and south, and is entered through glass doors, so I got a good unimpeded view of the sunrise from inside the house; so solving issues about staying warm.
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11c sky, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11c.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11d sky, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-11d.jpg)
The second problem was the short duration of a winter sunrise. I had to maintain a fast speed of execution. I had to be completely ready – brush in hand, paints on the pallet — 15 minutes before the event. I also painted small, using heavy weight paper, usually Arches oil or watercolor, that I gessoed several days in advance. Because of the need for speed, all the paper was in a 5×5 inch format, measured out with Frog Tape onto a board. The small size enabled two or even three paintings to be done in one 20 minute sitting.
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12a sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12a.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12b sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12b.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12c sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2018-12-12c-197x300.jpg)
It sounds like a truism that sunrises change over time, even over as short a period as 20 minutes, but that change is really felt when one is sitting there observing it moment by moment. I was astonished by the variation in color both by the minute, and from day to day. That handful of 20 minute periods where I created 21 small paintings increased my sensitivity to the color and mood of the beginning of the day.
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03a Trees, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03a.jpg)
The night between January 2nd and 3rd saw the first snow fall, the air in the morning was white, reflecting the fallen snow
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06c-297x300 January 6th was a cloudy morning, but the light and sky changed](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06c-297x300.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03b Trees, landscape](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03b.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06b sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06b.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03c-293x300 (1) Sunrise Sky January 3, 2019, 5x5 in., oil on paper](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-03c-293x300-1.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06a sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-06a.jpg)
January 6th was a cloudy morning, but the light and sky changed
I gained more than just this aesthetic appreciation for the changes over a sunrise, I also learned/developed various techniques and styles of working.
One of the most unexpected developments was how I progressed as a painter. I began by trying to copy the scene, first by only including a few trees on the horizon so the sky was more prominent. Then I began to add only one tree in the view. After that I found myself increasingly painting just the light of the air. This was brought home to me in early January after the first snow fall. There was a pervasive whiteness to the light and air that I found myself constantly trying to capture. This was an instinctual reaction, I didn’t set out to do it, it just happened; and the drive to capture the air as opposed to objects in it continued from then on.
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17a (1) sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17a-1.jpg)
By January 17 I was painting the light more than just the sky
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17b sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17b.jpg)
![LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17c sky](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LyntonL-sunrise-2019-01-17c.jpg)
Another unexpected result from creating this pre-sunrise art, was being able to clearly see the trunks and branches of the deciduous trees that surround my yard. They formed a striking silhouette against the sky that was lost once the sun was up and shining. I sketched (using micro pens) many of the surrounding trees, which I feel should help future paintings as I now have a bank of interesting shapes to draw from.
![Plein-Air-Sunrise-10-768x497 Trees](https://lindalynton.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Plein-Air-Sunrise-10-768x497.jpg)