Eardley was greatly inspired by extreme weather conditions such as blizzards and storms. Painting on location outdoors, she worked quickly and with great energy. She would have as many as a dozen paintings in progress at a time, stopping work on them when the weather or light changed, and waiting days or weeks for the same conditions to return. The artist made comparatively few watercolour sketches: she preferred pastels and chalks, and gouache paint, which is thicker than watercolour.