From our backyard

It was cold but armed with winter clothing and mittens I managed to paint this 16"x20" piece outside in our backyard. Still it did not take long before my brushes got frozen and oil paint got stiff. Could not finish this in one session had to do it over three. 

On Christmas Day

It was again too cold to paint outdoor and yet could not pass the day without painting something, and again the view from the bedroom window was just too tempting to pass. 

On Christmas eve

Painted from dining room window before gusts were coming for dinner. 

Snow covered junipers

Painted this view of the junipers covered with snow around noon when the light was so strong and bright. Still too cold to paint outdoor and had to paint from the living room window. 

A view of Brandon Cemetery

After a last minute Christmas shopping done at Canadina Tire 

Land of Birches

Also made for the member show this year. Hope it will bring back the memory of the fall season. 

Land of Aspens

This painting was made for the annual member show at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba this year. 

A glimpse out of my doorway in the morning

 Again too cold to paint outside and had to paint through the storm door in the morning.

A night before Christmas Eve

Painted from the window when it was dark outside and all the Christmas lights were on across the street. 

On a bright morning

A window view in the morning painted in a hurry. 

Looking out of Sarah's bedroom window

Hope I have captured the dusky light effect of a winter afternoon when I painted this view out of Sarah's bedroom window.

Looking out from our doorway

A view from our door way. I painted this view sitting on the floor looking through the storm door which was frosted over in 10 minutes.

A corner of our backyard

The dazzling light and color was so impressive. looking out of the kitchen window this is what I saw at noon.

Again out of the bedroom window

Down with the flu and had to stay at home. Yet, pulling up the curtain after waking up I was so attracted to the view outside and painted again at the window.

Another view out of the bedroom window

It looks deceptively warm outside when it was extremely cold in fact. Painted this view again from the bedroom window at lunch time.

When the street light was on

It was dark and cold outside when I looked out of our bedroom window. However, when the street light was on it transformed everything in sight.

Cold and windy sky

Could not resist the temptation to go outside painting this morning. It was so cold with temperature plummeting to minus 31 degree when I started to paint this view on our doorway. Oil paint started to freeze just a few minutes into painting. I had to get back into the house to get some relief from the biting cold !

A special moment

The sun was setting and the moon was rising. Again too cold to go outside and had to paint this view from our living room window. Just a matter of few minutes when the sunlight was completely gone giving way to the evening sky.

A glimpse of our backyard from the window

Just too cold to go outside painting and too running out of time after coming home from work. I simply set up my sketching box on our diner table and painted this view of hedges with snow looking out of the window.

On the bank of Assiniboine River

At Dinsdale Park in Brandon, I painted this view from my car. The river was frozen almost completely except where the dam was. The color of the inky water contrasted quite dramatically with the white snow. It was so quiet there at the moment.

Looking out of Sarah's bedroom

Sarah will be home for Christmas soon! Can not wait to see her again. Looking out of her winter around noon, I just found the view beautiful with the grove of juniper caught in the warm sunlight in front of the hedges , and with the snow starting to accumulate on the red carpet on our patio.

Ode to the season !

I would like to title my collection of winter paintings as Ode to the Season. There is something about the winter season that is both visually exciting and sublime. Each time I see the light and shadow of a winter day I can always feel a burst of joy surging through my heart like a current of electricity translating itself somehow into a sort of visual music full of energy and jubilation often found in Beethoven's symphony. Waking up this morning to be dazzled by the bright light outside I pulled up the bedroom window curtain to paint what I saw.

The shed and hedges

Finally it was not too cold for me to be able to stand outside to paint again. Nevertheless, it was still cold enough to get a frost bite on my fingers. Few minutes into painting this view my brushes started to get stiff and the surface of my painting board started to have a thin coat of ice on it. Still managed to finish this painting before my fingers and nails started to feel numb with cold.

Across the street

Always intrigued by the effect of the light in late afternoon in winter when the house across the street is caught in the path of the receding sunlight. It is just a matter of few minutes before the sudden descend of the advancing shadow of the night. It was cold but sunny when I opened the door and did a quick oil sketch of this view after coming home from work.