At first glance, winter landscapes may look drab and lifeless. Green leaves have fallen, and naked, brown and gray branches are exposed. Grasses turn pale and the once red and orange autumn leaves return to the earth, blackened and decomposing. But - look a little closer.

Winter has its own palette.

A clear, blue Carolina sky makes the distant sun seem brighter. Skies reflect in glassy ponds and swamps, full from the rain of last night’s storm. Bright green lichen pops next to the dark, spore-covered granite. Evergreens dot expansive views, no longer blocked by thick layers of leaves. Mother nature has been painting. I can’t help but do the same.

Winter has inspired some of my favorite paintings. Often they begin with neutral grays and browns that form vertical bones of trees. From there, colors explode and build vivid layers of rushing water, hardy foliage and all the details that fill the spaces in between. My palette changes with the forecast, sometimes gray and dark, other times dazzling blues and greens. Here, we don’t get just one view of winter. There are dozens, and each becomes an impressionist’s Portrait of the South.