The Snowy: A Fusion of Heat and Frost

In The Snowy, Barry Novis rejects the traditional tropes of winter art, opting instead for a palette that pulses with visceral energy. By utilising gold, white, tones of crimson, and black, the work captures the high-contrast intensity of the alpine world — a place where the sun’s glare is as sharp as the mountain air.

The canvas is a vivid battlefield of light and shadow. Pure titanium whites provide a brilliant, expansive ground, mimicking the blinding surface of a fresh snowpack. This brightness is shattered by bold, black gestural strokes that represent the jagged ribs of the earth — exposed rock, deep crevasses, and the blurred speed of a descent.

Woven throughout this monochromatic drama are veins of radiant gold and rich tones of crimson. These hues act as the heartbeat of the painting; they represent the "alpenglow" reflecting off the peaks at dusk and the rush of adrenaline in the skier’s veins. The heavy impasto technique gives the work a tactile presence, with the paint layered like the frozen crust of the mountains.

The soul of the piece is a cross-continental memory, bridging two distinct chapters of Barry Novis's life when he was skiing in Europe and Australia:

 

• Zell am See, Austria: The sharp black and white contrast draws from the dramatic verticality of the Alps. It captures the sophisticated, architectural shadows cast by towering peaks and the precision required to navigate their steep, icy faces.

 

• The Snowy River Region, Australia: The gold and crimson tones are a direct homage to the Australian High Country. These colours mirror the unique, sun-scorched light of the Southern Hemisphere—where the sun hits the snow-gums and the iron-rich soil of the Monaro plains, creating a warmth that persists even in the deep freeze.
   

Overall, The Snowy is an abstract celebration of the "flow state" — that singular moment where the warmth of the sun and the heat of the body collide with the silent, frozen stillness of the world.