This is evidence of the working methods of the artist Frederick Simpson Coburn sketching in the Eastern Townships.

Drawn on paper from one of the sketchbooks imported from France, the composition describes in charcoal and crayon a winter road descending from the foreground, flanked by wooden posts. As was Coburn’s custom he roughed in the cedars and the pines with charcoal, then accentuated with a black and occasionally green or brown crayon. The distant horizon is punctuated by blue hills, the same medium blue crayon he used to imply the shadows in the snow and to add substance to the sky where a cloud is central.

While retaining what is pertinent to his scene, any and all unnecessary detail is overlooked. Using this study, one can well imagine the master consulting others of logging teams or travellers, juxtaposing them into this scene, evolving into a fresh oil painting.