Winter Rides Art Series | Valenti

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A landscape frozen.

Winter riding for me is all about slowing down and getting outside as often as I can. Here in the midwest we all struggle with a shorter riding season because of the harsh winter months. So if you want to keep riding outside like I do, you have to make some changes.

Embrace quiet time.

I’m over dressed and heading back outside for a ride. Many days the temperature is in the 30’s, on a good day the 40’s! I set my cold limit at 20 degrees F, and it hurts. So being all bundled up means layers of clothing, means weight, means restricted movement, means slow. Not that I need an excuse, I am slow. But I love the quiet rides, the solitude of winter. Time to reflect, to think, to dream about summer.

Winter Series Paintings

The work I’ve been doing lately has been a departure from my loose watercolor drawing style and really much closer to my very graphic digital poster work. I’ve been looking for a way to move in this direction on a larger scale and these little paintings may be part of the answer.

They are more graphic in nature. More about the place than the cyclist, winter is like that. The open spaces and frozen landscapes with bared trees allow a wider view of the world. The landscapes open up in winter. The shapes of my world when riding are simple, like what is represented here. Open acres of frozen farms, wooded trails and hilly roads that rise in front of you. It seems an eternity sometimes to go up the hills we just bounce up in summer. Damn how the fitness leaves us so quickly in winter.

My colors are strong and muted. Cooler overall but not overly dark, even though the winter days may feel that way. I’m hoping with this series of work I find a way to translate them or some version of them to the larger canvas. I’d love to see what happens to “Winter Wheat” on a six foot wide canvas. I’ll keep you posted.

Until then, keep riding outside, thanks for your support and let’s start counting the days until spring.

Ciao

See All the Available Winter Series Paintings

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Michael Valenti is "The Veloist" - He is an avid cyclist and artist known for his Cycling Art work. Each year Michael chases the Pro Peloton at the Tour de France and other major cycling events. He is available for event and corporate cycling related projects as well as personal commissions for art.

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