A loose row of dark pine silhouettes of varying heights breaks a low horizon, sitting slightly left and right of center. Above them a wide, hazy overcast sky stays open and quiet, with no sun and no detail at the horizon.

Heavy snowfall is built from dozens of thick, rounded dabs of white paint scattered unevenly across the sky and trees. Soft haze blurs the lower tree line into a flat, snow-covered field where sparse dried grass tufts poke through. The light is diffused and shadowless, which gives the scene a hushed, melancholic stillness.

Palette-knife impasto and coarse linen canvas grain, visible throughout the sky, give the surface a tactile, rustic feel. The muted palette of taupe gray, deep pine charcoal, ivory and linen beige keeps the mood restrained.