WINTER colours

Winter might not have a reputation as being the most colourful of seasons. It lacks the showiness of autumn, the vibrancy of spring and the sheer variety of summer greens. Nevertheless, I believe winter offers as spectacular a range of colours as any of the other season – if you know when and where to look.

A landscape blanketed under snow brings its own palette and, when the eventual thaw arrives, this also throws up some interesting colour combinations for the painter to consider, as the receding snow often reveals isolated patches of unexpected colours.

This was just the case when I went out for a winter walk late one afternoon. Walking around a bend in the lane, I was immediately struck by the brightly-coloured hedge, a dazzling orange set against the blue shadows of the snow. Some of winter’s