Winter Inspiration: Story Behind the Painting

Sometimes the winter months seem like they will never end. That initial delight when the first snowflakes of the season arrive can turn into a cold and dark dread of winter's final days. Even my creative spirit at this time of year can feel sluggish as if it was laden down with ice crystals.

In November, a lovely customer ordered my Autumn Leaf print with the Albert Camus quote: "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower". She contacted me once she had received her order and asked if I knew of the beautiful winter quote by Camus. I didn't and what a beauty it is: "In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer". Isn't that gorgeous? Quite beyond enduring unpleasant weather and dragging seasons, it speaks to the strength that we can find inside ourselves when life is difficult.

She said she would be interested in a companion print with the winter quote and had a wonderful idea of what to include with it. She suggested winterberry also known as Ilex verticillata. Do you know it? It's a beautiful shrub--a species of holly native to parts of North America. When the rest of nature is brown, grey or covered with snow, winterberry sports beautiful bright red berries.

While I wasn't able to find winterberry in my local forest, I did find branches of it at a nearby garden centre. I absolutely loved painting the berries. A greater challenge for me was creating the lettering in watercolour to match the quote I had done for the autumn leaf image. Watercolour paint is capricious. Hand lettering with a small paintbrush is not like using a computer font that remains the same each time you use it, although in the middle of this project I sort of wished it was! I did so many tries before finally coming up with a version that was similar in weight and tone to the previous quote. I am happy to say that my winterberry print is now available in my shop, on its own or coupled with the autumn leaf print.

Thank you to my lovely customer and Albert Camus for the wonderful winter inspiration!

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

You can buy directly from me below. Your order will be processed through my secure Shopify shop. Shipping is free in Canada and the US. A flat rate of $7.50 applies to all other destinations. Products are shipped within 3-5 days of your order. ~ Kathleen

Dream in Color

Do you dream in color? I'm not sure if I do. Meeko might though. He woofs in his sleep which makes me think that he must have very nice dreams.

I just bought this t-shirt for myself. I saw it on a woman at the MOMA in New York in July. I went up to her and asked where she got it! Maybe it will inspire me if I wear it when I'm painting. Hope so. I bought it here.

And speaking of dreaming in color, last night I ordered my iMac. Do you ever have moments when your fingers hovers over the 'enter' key. Should I? Should I not? I took a deep, deep breath and did it! It is my Christmas present from my husband (and then some). I wonder if I should wrap it up and look surprised when I open it on Christmas day? I have a feeling that I won't be able to resist using it before that. It's expected sometime next week. I can't wait.

Sweet dreams!

Live What You Love

Several months ago when I decided to get back to my painting, I bought a very beautiful letterpress print from an artist named Hijiri. (The texture of this print is gorgeous.) Hijiri has a shop named Heartfish Press on Etsy.  To date, the print has sat on a shelf near my computer, just beside the stairway to my studio.  It's a lovely reminder to keep focused on my art.

Flowers are also an ongoing source of joy and inspiration.  I don't know what I'd do without them. Not all parts of my garden are as beautiful or well-tended as I would like them to be at the moment, but I was still able to gather a pretty bouquet this morning.  It's composed of salvia, verbena bonariensis, lavender, gaura and lemon verbena.  I'm bringing this little vase up to my studio.

The past few days have been full of challenges but I've managed to keep painting. Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement. ♥

I've been working on two paintings:  a sunset scene of the small lake in front of where we live and a simple painting of a stem of yarrow (achillea millefolium) that I picked from my sister's garden when I visited her this summer. I picked a stem of yarrow from my own garden yesterday to use as a reference for the finishing details. 

As for my printing headaches, I found a man with a lovely soothing voice on YouTube (someone said he sounds like Harrison Ford) who explains how to manually calibrate a monitor with the brand of calibrator I own.  I was relying on the automatic settings which may have been affecting my print output.

I am planning to scan a number of my paintings in the days ahead to make prints for an arts & crafts show that takes place in Dorval from October 13-16th*.  I'm hoping that the technology gods will smile down on me and everything will come together. (You mere mortals can send your positive thoughts my way too.) There's a good possibility that I might also rely on some advice from my in-house Photoshop wizards, those two clever daughters of mine.

*  *  *  *  *

*For those who live in the Montreal area, the arts & crafts show is called Boîte de Noël.  It is a juried show that has been held annually since 1977.  I've been a participant for at least the past 16 years.  The women who run it put a huge amount of time and energy into it.  The whole show is set up like a boutique. It's at the Royal St-Lawrence Yacht Club at 1350 Bord du Lac in Dorval on October 13 (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.), October 14 (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), October 15 (10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) and October 16 (11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.).  My cards and prints (fingers crossed) will be there.

*  *  *  *  *

Hijiri, the New York artist who made the beautiful 'Live What You Love' letterpress print in the top photo, featured my post on her Heartfish blog today! Quite a thrill. Check out her blog and her Etsy shop.  She's lovely and so is what she makes. Thanks Hijiri! ♥