Viewed from indoors, a tranquil blanket of snow contrasts sharply with the fury of the recent snowstorms; pity they arrived mid week and chose a week when I had little time to paint. Already late, squinting through a steamed up windscreen, I inched along untreated roads; this is no way to appreciate the snow. I finally got an opportunity to sketch when the thaw was already well underway. The late afternoon light was also starting to fade. Forced to search the higher ground for a suitable subject I eventually came across some sheep sheltering from the cold in an abandoned barn with an old cottage close by. The evening had already started to close in by the time I began to sketch. Ironically drawing a dimly lit scene is in many ways simpler than working in daylight; gone are decisions about what to include and more importantly what to leave out; only the main shapes are visible and hopefully the paper. The cold also helps; it would be hard to produce a fussy sketch on such an icy evening. In addition to transforming familiar landscapes snow also has this simplifying effect, decreasing complexity and even erasing some parts altogether. The artist must concentrate only on the essential elements of the composition before perhaps adding some detail to highlight the focal point. The light had all but faded before I thought about adding detail. Without the camera or indeed the sheep that had moved off when approached, I resolved to return in the morning to complete the sketch. If you normally sketch during the day instead of venturing out at night, try squinting or working only from memory to simply the landscape. Poor eyesight is also a blessing, simply removing the glasses produces a wonderful blur; shortsighted artist's have a big advantage, snug in the studio on a cold dark night while I'm out sketching sheep.