What is revealed beneath the snow in the spring is always a surprise. I came upon this scene on one of my hikes. The intricate shadows and the variety of textures is what I focussed on. To recreate the effect of what I saw, I had to go beyond my usual repertoire of skills. I had to experiment with charcoal powder and the beautiful effects it creates, and the effect acrylic paint had on this charcoal. I departed from my original image as I enjoyed playing with the mediums. The whole piece turned into an experiment to try to capture interesting effects that could represent the snow melting on dirty streets or rocks thawing in the sun. This was a very 'fun' piece to create that took innumerable hours.