Winter is a magical time. I love the way the snow sparkles and the silence it brings. In an effort to enjoy the snow a little bit more, I had an idea. I wondered if I could use the snow itself in an unusual way to paint. Was there a way to capture the uniqueness of the snowflakes? Ideas started popping up. I couldn’t wait for the next snow to test them.
With the help of some snowflakes, the first snow speckled backgrounds were created. As the snow landed on the papers, I started painting. I was hooked! I flew through my stack of papers in a few hours, (running out of drying space, frustrating my husband and our dog with how often I was going through the door. ) The snowstorm itself had become an integral part of creating these.
There are so many wonderful snowy scenes that I thought of painting. The first was winter trees. I enjoyed creating these trees so much they turned into a series all their own, a series of “Heavy Trees”. As for the other ideas, they will have to wait until next winter.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the playful side of winter, I reflected on all the sides of the season. Along with the fresh clean sparkling snow there is the other side of winter, the heavy side: mentally, physically and emotionally heavy. The days are shorter, colder and darker. Notice the way that the trees hold the weight of the snow, Its not hard to make a connection that they resemble the weight we often feel on our shoulders. As the snow melts off their limbs, they spring back into their regular bushy form, almost as if there was never a storm. I think we can learn a lot from Heavy Trees.
I hope you enjoy them
