Water and Snow

Yesterday, despite a million other things I should have been doing, I sat down to paint a little and was so glad I did.

I have a habit of scooping something from the fruit bowl and taking it up to my studio to paint. Unfortunately, sometimes I get diverted by other things and forget it's there. One of fruit's virtues and, I suppose, downfalls is that it is very quiet. It might be useful if it shouted down the stairs every now and then 'Hey Kathleen, you might want to get up here, there's only so long we'll last!'

I did get up there in time. I did remember. Chloé was the one who suggested that I leave one pomegranate whole and cut one in half. I love the juxtaposition of the outside peel and the wonderful seedy inside of the fruit.  I painted it on a beautiful pad of Sennelier rough grain paper that Lucile gave me this past summer. I was thinking about Lucile when I painted the pomegranates and I tried to leave my painting a little looser than I normally do--inspired by her endlessly beautiful and fluid watercolour paintings.

Meeko and I are so happy to have our forest path back. We can only walk there during the winter as it is too swampy the rest of the year. We are so lucky that it is at the end of our street--a tiny slice of natural paradise in the middle of a suburban development.  It is the only place that I will let him go off-leash. He knows the routine. He knows the path. It provides a wonderful combination of freedom and peace for both of us.

On one of our walks this week, Meeko and I walked past one of the last bits of autumn colour outside--a lovely leaf hanging on despite the wintry weather around it.

Making our Christmas tourtières is one of the next things on my list. Still a number of things to check off my in order to be ready for the days ahead. Good luck with your lists!