February 2nd - Already?

Today is both Ground Hog Day and Superbowl Sunday. Yikes! The first time, ever- these dates have collided.
I am hoping that Punxsutawney Phil sees the shadow of Peyton Manning and the Broncos winning the game.

This is what folks in cold climates do in the winter; watch too much football and talk to groundhogs. I never understood these things when I lived in California where it is never ending Spring. Painters go outside and enjoy ubiquitously pleasant weather year around.  Here in Colorado, where temps last month hardly rose above 5, we must flow with the seasons. This season being the really cold one.  In December I was busy with 3 shows all going at the same time and involving about 50 paintings, big and small. And I am very grateful,  but by New Years I was very ready to watch football and meditate on rodent weather predictions. I guess we all have times like this.
It isn't inspiration I lack, just motivation to follow through. This blog for example, I have written it - with pure genius I might add, a hundred times in my head, while driving, talking on the phone, sleeping . . . 
it just never made it to hard copy.
So, what does a plein air painter do during these dark days of winter when motivation and inspiration are at low tide?
My studio did get a pretty thorough cleaning this month, but mostly,
I lean on the classes that I teach to keep me moving forward. Class times are social, for sure but we take simple set ups and hone the craft of painting with no pressures. This is very different than painting for the market.

Essentially, I took the month off and tried not to say "I should be painting" but pondered the snowflakes and let the joy of painting, the "WANT TO"  to come back.
When the full moon rose above Mount Blanca on Jan 15th, I snapped this photo from my back porch. Sometime in the next few months the inspiration from this will show up in a new piece.