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!

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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

After the Holidays

We have had freezing rain here most of the day. It has been a hazardous day for drivers and pedestrians. I'm so glad we drove back from Ontario on Friday and have been able to relax at home this weekend. We were in Ontario for a whole week to visit my family. We were supposed to drive Emma back to her university residence tonight but will wait until the morning when roads are likely to be easier to navigate. There are areas in Quebec without power. Our lights flickered this afternoon but, so far, we are lucky.

Hazards aside, the ice-encased garden is really quite beautiful. I posted a few photos I took during daylight on Instagram earlier. Tonight with our Christmas lights on and the street lights in the background, the garden is positively luminous.

Emma will be back at university tomorrow. Chloé goes back to school on Tuesday. I am so looking forward to getting back to my routine and painting again but it was very nice to have a break and do other things.

I hope you all had a good holiday and I wish you the very best in 2015!

Spring, Where Are You?

Winter weary. Frost fatigued. Ice impatient. It's interesting how the very people who look forward to winter's first magical snowfall can be the same ones who don't want to see one more single snowflake at the season's end. Count me in. I am tired of wearing boots, hats and mittens. I don't want to scrape ice off the car's windshield one more time or shovel the front steps. I'm finding it hard seeing photos of blossoming trees and plants in others' blogs and Instagram feeds. I am aching to see my garden.

Although the calendar says spring arrived here about a week ago, this is still very much winter weather.

And yet, once temperatures rise, Meeko and I will no longer be able to take our daily forest walks. The little forest at our street's end will be too wet and swampy in a matter of days or weeks to walk in. So, I realized that instead of hating the last few days of this long, long winter, I should be cherishing its final moments. So I shifted my focus and my mood followed. Interesting. A recipe perhaps for other areas of my life?

I took these photos near the end of the day two days ago while trying to drink in the beauty of the snow, shadows and light. I thought about the freedom and joy that these forest walks give Meeko several months a year. I thought about the times I laugh out loud at Meeko's crazy antics in the snow or his goofy expression as he runs back to my side on the path. I thought about the welcome break these walks give me in my day and the peacefulness they provide to my spirit.

Oh spring, I can't wait for you to come but do you know what winter, I'm actually going to miss you.

The sun goes down and one season slowly concedes to another.

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 
― Mark Twain

Blue Sky and Blue Lines

There is a stunning blue sky today. It's so nice to have so much light. Much of January was grey and sombre and my mood by month's end matched it! Having light makes a world of difference to me. I can stand the cold and the snow if you give me a little sunshine.

Today's light created the most beautiful shadows in the forest where Meeko and I walk. It took my breath away. It was like being part of a beautiful tapestry made of tree trunks and blue shadows.

Meeko and I aren't the only ones who enjoy walking through the forest. We noticed lots of animal tracks today in the fresh snow.

Generally, I let Meeko go off-leash in the forest. But he lost those privileges last week. He caught the scent of a dog and took off down the pathway--completely out of my sight and in the direction of where the forest pathway exits onto a road. I ran after him. Me run? Me run in the snow? Yes I did! Thankfully, the dog and owner he had gone to greet stayed in one place and waited for me. The owner said she knew it was odd for him to be all on his own.

But really how long can you stay mad at a face like this?

Happy February to you all. I wish you blue skies wherever you may be.

A Love Note to December

December has arrived. Our snow came and went and is, as of today, back again. Yes!

Last week looked oddly like springtime. It felt so strange to lose the snow so quickly. I didn't take photos then.

Here are some of the wintry photos I've taken in the past week or so when we did have snow. The forest walk that Meeko and I take once a day and occasionally twice is restorative for me. About 35 to 40 minutes surrounded by nature is a joy. Meeko bounds and leaps and then waits for his less rapid companion who is usually off taking a photo somewhere. We both revel in the sights and sounds of the forest, each other's company as well as occasional encounters with fellow nature lovers, both two-footed and four-footed.

Airborne! 'Superdog' in his head and in my heart. :)

If you look at all of the frozen water, you get a sense of why we can't walk here for three seasons.

Wrap yourself up. It's getting cold.

Autumn and winter. Soul mates.

Love in the forest.

Gorgeous spiky frost on the marsh. It reminded me of a feather boa.

Touchdown after leaping over the log!

Frost-tipped echinacea in my garden. (The only photo not from the forest.)

My beautiful heart tree. When I was trying to find it again, I actually said
'Where is my heart' out loud and then 'There it is'.  My heart.

More leaf love.

Is there such a thing as too much leaf love. I don't think so.

We have lived in our house here for over fourteen years. I didn't know about this beautiful path, even though it is just at the foot of our street, until we had Meeko.  I owe thanks to my furry friend for so many things.

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Happy Spring!

We are not enjoying spring weather here yet. We had a big snowstorm on Tuesday so our spring so far looks like the photo above. Meeko is enjoying his snowy walks so I am trying to concentrate on his joy while outside. Trust me, under that fur are happy eyes. :)

While inside, I am painting 'spring'. I started working on a painting yesterday that I have had in my head for the longest time. I wanted to 'paint' my blog and shop name. I chose the name 'Trowel and Paintbrush' because of how much I love both gardening and painting.

The second photo has a little more detail in the flower.  I've used Fabriano Artistico soft-press 140 lb. paper for this painting. It's the first time I've used their soft press paper (a grade between cold press and hot press). I'm not sure how much I like it yet but it is very easy to lift and push colours around on it which you can't always do on other papers. 

In the past couple of weeks, I have also put the finishing details on paintings that were in my 'almost finished' pile. I've already posted these on Facebook and Twitter but will include them here for those who only follow me here. 

So as you can see, there is a winter palette outdoors but the palette inside my head is definitely one of spring! The first day of spring was yesterday here but I am still celebrating. And happy autumn to my friends down under!

A Little Winter Beauty

Here is a selection of scenes from our stay over the holidays in Muskoka, the cottage region in Ontario where my parents live. They didn't have as much snow as some years, but it was just enough to be pretty. We walked a lot when we were there.

Do you see Woody Woodpecker in the above photo? It's a pileated woodpecker. They are so big and noisy (both their knocking and squawking)! Wish I'd had my long-range lens when I saw it.

Emma was looking at some older paintings I did in my studio just before Christmas and was saying that I should do landscapes again. I used to paint a lot of landscapes, especially when I worked in oils many, many years ago but also when I started working in watercolour many years ago. Maybe I'll paint one of these beautiful Muskoka scenes in the weeks ahead.

I'm not really fond of photos taken of me and I don't tend to be very cooperative. My sneaky daughter Chloé managed to snap this one between the trees.