Soprano, Donna Brown performs at National Gallery Sunday February 1st

Celebrated Canadian soprano, Donna Brown will be performing in the National Gallery Auditorium at 2 p.m Sunday afternoon with pianist Jean Desmarais and four NACO players as part of the orchestra's Sunday chamber series. Brown will perform songs by Brahms and Schubert and folk songs arranged by Haydn.

Earlier this week on Wednesday and Thursday evening at the National Arts Centre,in Southam Hall, Brown was soprano soloist in the National Art Centre Orchestra performance of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass.

Donna Brown became a leading soprano in Europe in the 1980's and has performed in some of the world's great concert halls and opera houses with many world renowned conductors, including Helmut Rilling, and John Elliot Gardiner. She studied music at Mc Gill University and in Paris and has made numerous music recordings. She is renowned for the "floating golden-hued quality" of her voice.

For the concert today at the National Gallery, Call 613-755-1111 for ticket information. The auditorium is a more intimate space and seats 400 .Tickets are $29 general and $14.50 for students. What a wonderful way to spend a dull winter day - and forget the weather, enchanted by Donna Brown's floating, clear soprano voice. Besides, this diva divine is my beloved sister and I for one won't miss this concert!

Lisa Brown

Preview of New Work by John Alexander Day Available Today at Tay River Gallery

Attention art collectors. A selection of new larger sized paintings by John Alexander Day has just arrived at the gallery. For your interest, we are providing a preview online of new paintings available for sale. Don't delay. Details are provided below. All paintings are framed in quality contemporary floater frames.
1. Winter Tamaracks $1600 24 x 36 oil on canvas framed
2. West Coast Afternoon $2000 30 x 36 oil on canvas framed
3. Nature's Palette. $3200 48 x 40 oil on canvas framed
4. Mackenzie King Winter $1475 24 x 30 Winter, oil on canvas framed
5. Reflections of a farm $1200 24 x 24 Oil on Canvas
6. Reflections of Autumn $2350 36 x 36 oil on canvas framed
7. End of the Day $1175 20 x 28 Oil on Canvas
8. Georgian Rock $2200 40 x 30 oil on canvas framed

Plein Air Painting in Winter: J. Allison Robichaud comments

Winter painting is not any different than any other time of the year. It requires a few more preparations than the warmer climate. The first requirement is to compel yourself to go out and paint. On the 31st of Dec 2008, I went out to do the last painting of the year - the temperature was -16 with a 20km wind giving a wind chill in the -20s.

To go out and paint in this extreme means one thing and only one thing, you win over yourself and the next time it is easier to go and do the thing you love best, painting! Weather stops being a challenge when you challenge yourself.

Prepare and set your palette before you leave the house, if not, you will have an much difficulty squeezing tubes of paint with gloves and if you use your bare hands, it won't be long until your fingers are stiff and difficult to use. At sub zero it takes very little time until your fingers are not working right which then leads to all sorts of difficulties, quitting then rages in your mind. Think of canvas size, every second you save, is that much time less out there. Check every aspect of your equipment, the least little discouragement throws you off your creative exuberance. Canvas size, to me doesn't make any difference, the big ones take as long to paint as the smaller ones.

It is best to have a general idea where and what you are looking for so as to not waste any time, since in winter it is often easier to quit the whole idea because of the intense cold. -3 or -10 is not cold. just slightly uncomfortable. REMEMBER ONE THING, IF YOU FEEL COLD SEEPING IN YOUR BODY CORE, GET OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY!

Each person has their own preference for clothing, it is not a time to be stylish. Layers of woolen clothing, topped with windproof ski pants and a windproof down/exceptional fill jacket, heavy winter boots and wool socks, a toque which is meant to keep the heat in. Gloves and mitts, I use both, the hand with the mitt is my rag hand (I use only rags, paper towels are too difficult to manage, for me in extreme cold ) this hand has a wool mitt in a leather mitt). Most of the time I do not use a glove on my brush hand, because from early November I start to condition my left hand to be tough to the cold, by not wearing a glove on my walk or shoveling snow, or anything else I may be doing outside.

Hand warmers are available at Canadian Tire where the hunting gear is - they are good, I have one and I also have a heat sink belt, activated in the microwave, which in very, very cold January days I may put on. All of the above is before you leave the house, so it requires a bit of thinking to ensure you have forgotten nothing. You can take a thermos, but I never do, I find I really don't have time to drink, since speed in execution of the painting is the primary goal.

Painting outside in the winter is not noodling time, it is fast broad strokes, paint loaded with medium for maximum slide, lots of rags for wipe outs, little or no drawing, suggesting large shapes and the search for complete simplicity. It really is a dance; you ! the universe, all your equipment ready for the absolute joy of being there doing what no one but you can do, creating a masterpiece of our Canadian landscape, and winning over yourself. It is an honour to be out there on a good nose running cold Canadian winter's day. That's what painters have always done.

J. Allison Robichaud.
January 2009


J. Allison Robichaud is an accomplished plein air painter who has earned the respect of fellow artists and fine art collectors alike, across Canada. He has had 24 solo exhibitions and has participated in some of Canada's most prestigious art symposiums.Allison Robichaud is an elected member of the Institute of Figurative Arts (IFA) and author of "The Reflective Stepping Stones of a Painter. published in 2002. His landscapes and still life paintings are highly collected.

Painting in Winter: James E. Pay comments

Since arriving in Nova Scotia 18 months ago, I have painted outdoors more than ever before, although I have always enjoyed it. Mostly, the en plein air painting is in the summer and early fall. For me, winter is studio painting time. Since I'm older now, the hands no longer can hold a brush in cold weather so all my sketching and painting is done through summer and autumn when the warm ocean tides moderate our temperatures. My wife, Eileen, a great photographer, can still add to my resources in winter with our treks outdoors here, so whatever season, there is never a lack of images to paint. Actually, winter inspires most artists. It is when most art clubs meet and mingle and when lots of paintings are accomplished. There is still something cosy about being inside in winter, looking out, hearing the wind, seeing the coldness and trying the capture it all on canvas. That is what inspires me.

James E. Pay
January 2009

James E. Pay trained as an artist in Canada, UK and USA and lists the late A.J. Casson as his mentor. James is a signature member of the United Society of Artists, (UA)London, England and former vice-chairman of Central Arts, Scotland. He is known for his loose style of watercolour painting,acrylic landscapes and florals. He is a skilled art teacher and conducts painting workshops in Nova Scotia.

Painting & Winter: Mary Nunn comments

When I first heard of hibernation in grade school; I thought it was a brilliant idea and always wanted to adopt it for myself.

I’m a studio painter, my work starts from a word, a mental picture or idea or something that I like the look of. From that point the process becomes an intimate one of honest dialogue between me and my art tools. There are rapid periods of intuitive work, play with colours, line and shapes; much longer periods of reflection and evaluation of the next step in the process to a finished piece.

The winter weather keeps me grounded to my home and studio so there is often a breakthrough to a new place in my WINTER WORK.

Mary Nunn.
January 2009
Mary Nunn is an accomplished watermedia artist and gifted teacher who has conducted watercolour/media workshops throughout Canada and the United States since 1984. Vibrant colour is a strong bias in her expressive works. She has exhibited widely in both commercial and public galleries. Mary Nunn is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) since 2003.

Painting in Winter: Debbie Milling comments

"My studio has large windows that allow me to enjoy a wonderful and often fairylike view of the Rideau River. The winter is the most productive time for me as I have very little desire to be outside and love to sit in my studio by my woodstove cocooning and painting at the same time. The light that floods my studio is magnificent simply because of the way it reflects off the snow and the way it changes as it moves through the day. I spend the rest of the year primarily doing research and collecting a vast number of open air sketches and photos which provide me with the material to paint in my studio during winter. As most of my work is of spring to summer subjects, I can often place myself in the warmth and the sun just by painting the subjects even though it is 20 below outside!"

Debbie Milling
January 2009
Debbie Milling paints views of remote Canadian landscapes captured in her travels on horseback and by boat. Her studio overlooks the Rideau River near Ottawa. Milling has participated in several group and solo shows in Ontario and her works have been gaining recognition and can be found in public and private collections across Canada.

Winter Painting: Martha Markowsky comments

Snow and winter, my favourite season and reason for painting. In winter the leaves
have left the trees thus exposing the hidden treasures which cannot be seen during summer. Houses with balconies, laundry outdoors, staircases. Also, the "whites" of winter add high contrasts that cannot usually see in summer. Although most people relate to snow as white, as an artist I see a complete rainbow of colours in the snow.....gentle yellows, soft peach, lovely mauves and blues and then there are the shadows leading the eye throughout a painting, patterns dancing over the mounds of
snow.

Painting outdoors does present the challenge, working quickly before the fingers freeze, capturing nature without getting too complicated....a spontaneous happening, not much time for playing in the paint. This will happen later in the studio.

And the studio. Winter keeps me indoors painting when I am not doing plein air. The song "lazy days of summer" ..... and that's what it is and I will find any and every excuse to go outside, but winter keeps me at the easel, finishing paintings started outdoors. There is the rush to capture as much as possible before the snow melts and the whites turn to browns.

Martha Markowsky,
January 2009
Bottom right photo - Martha sketching on her paper placemat while dining in a restaurant. Photo at left is new winter painting, "Down the Lane."



Martha Markowsky is an accomplished artist well known for her impressionistic paintings of orchestral musical ensembles with brightly coloured depictions of tuxeoded musicians. Other painting subjects include her vibrant nostalgic cityscapes of children at play in old Quebec neighbourhoods, and introspective bar room scenes. She teaches classes in oils and acrylics and conducts workshops in the Charlevoix region. Martha Markowsky recently received the Award of Excellence in the Arts for 2008 from the City of Lachine in recognition of her achievements in art. Martha Markowsky is a highly respected and highly collected Canadian artist and elected member of the Society of Canadian artists (SCA), with works in many prominent private and corporate collections across Canada.

Thoughts on Winter Painting: Kathy Haycock comments

The Season of Snow! It is my favourite time to paint. Busy details in the foreground and beyond are covered with a gently rolling blanket, revealing patterns, shapes and lighting that can be interpreted with any colours of the palette. The weather changes constantly, the character of the landscape is refreshed daily. I can step out my door and never have to walk far for new material. Freezeup and thaw seasons are the most interesting on creeks and ponds. In January shadows are at their most delightfully longest and can stretch right across a pond. Compare that to painting in the harsh midday light of summer….. For winter painting I have a dedicated and unsightly painting outfit of warm clothes that is completely unfit for any other season or event. Oils are the only paints for winter, consistent through all temperatures, and in sleet, rain, snow and wind. In fact that’s one reason I use oils, because winter is my favourite time to paint.

Kathy Haycock
January 2009

Kathy Haycock's oil landscapes are painted on site in all seasons. Early Arctic trips with her father Arctic artist, Maurice Haycock introduced her to the lure of the North and inspired a sweeping and graceful rhythm in her work. Her subject matter is the wilderness around her – near her home close to Algonquin Park, the Canadian Arctic, and the American Southwest. Kathy Haycock is an elected member of Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and is represented in private, public and corporate collections in Canada,USA, Europe, China and Australia.

Winter Painting: Ernest Labelle comments

Well… let’s just say, for this artist, being snowbound can be a blessing. Most of the paintings attached were painted while stuck in the house.
I remember way back when, as salesman, I travelled for Sico, out of Moncton, New Brunswick, that snow country… I was snowbound and/or stuck somewhere many times. Sometimes when stranded in small village motel, with a bunch of salesmen and colleagues, I wished I had had my brushes rather than play poker for a few days! - that’s how we occasionally passed the time – when stranded. And you know, when at home and unable to travel because of snow, I was automatically pushed toward my studio. Still works that way.
Lately, we’ve been stuck in the house and I took advantage of this situation to produce paintings I had promised, and (or) for Xmas gifts. "Spice bottles" (painting below) is one of those, and no – there is no snow on it.
I also agreed to do a scene of Wakefield Train Station – this one is a winter scene (painting top left).

When I look out my window and see the City bogged down by snow and in addition – the bus strike – it gives me good reason to stay indoor and paint.
Painting is my “private evacuation route”.
It doesn’t matter what reason I might have to want to evacuate… weather, bad news, market, illness in family, or just plain “being down”, as soon as I start painting, I forget the world. I just take a plunge into my canvas and forget all the nasty little things that flew my way when I got out of bed, including bad weather. Time goes by so fast and my paintings turn out OK. Guess I’m fortunate.
“Bring on the snow – lock me up – but don’t take my brushes away!”
There is nothing in the world that will distract me or make me paint negative things when I need to “evacuate”. And it does not have to be a winter scene.
I remember – speaking of evacuation – back in Florida, when we used to spend winter in the South – the complex we dwelled in was evacuation-free. It had been built to resist hurricanes – and it did very well. So I managed to round up a few artists of the complex and meet in the “Party Room” and paint…while everyone else “ran like fools and went nowhere…!” we watched the wind from inside tossing garbage cans, plastic lawn furniture, palm tree branches… and gradually forgot all about it and just “painted”..!

So.. bottom line… “Being snowbound, hurricane bound, or just plain immobilized… are just good excuses to pull out brushes and paint…!” I welcome snow storms! I don’t wish for them but I do welcome them. Provides opportunity to “evacuate”. I love watching it fall from a window. In my younger days, I used to go walking in winter storms.
I have pictures of the Sparks Street Mall with a whole lot of people walking around. It’s a summer scene. I think I will turn it into a happy winter shopping spree! Why not? Beats moping because weather is bad!
Stressful moments are not welcome… - but – they can be overcome and turned into productive activities for a painter or artist, or anyone, for that matter. Stressfull moments do, however, pop up, so let’s use them.
My advice to all artists
“Don’t let winter storms stop you or even slow you down – use them to your best advantage – you will be surprised the benefits you will draw… from peace of mind to great paintings!”

Ernest F. Labelle
January 2009

Ernest Labelle is a guest artist featured at Tay River Gallery. Ernest Labelle paints a variety of subject matter including old architecture, street scenes and rural landscapes with primary attention to colour and contrast in a loose style and pleasing earthy palette.He has directed workshops, teaching art in Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal, Baie-St-Paul since 1990.

Art in Winter: Catharina Breedyk Law comments

Winter for me is usually a very productive few months. I put some wood in the fire, make a pot of tea and then the creative juices start flowing. Some days I don't even get out of my pajamas.

This feeling of being snowed in and away from the rest of the world gives me permission to let the work happen. Because I can't go out and do the normal mundane chores it's like the rest of my life is gone and all that remains are all of the ideas in my head and the materials that I have to complete the work.
Even the fact that I can't go out and buy more stuff, affects the work that I do. I have to make it happen with the materials at hand and in the end work that is produced exceeds my expectations and fills my heart with joy.

Catharina Breedyk Law.
January 2009




Catharina Breedyk Law is an award winning fibre artist who lives in the Perth area. Her work demonstrates her passion for colour, fibre and the needle arts. She interprets the world around her in her own distinctive style using free motion embroidery and quilting. Traditional as well as contemporary styles and techniques are employed with a diverse range of subject matter. Catharina is also a skilled teacher in the fibre arts who generously shares her wealth of knowledge.

Winter Art: Comments by Karen Goetzinger

I actually find that right after the holidays and the first of the year I spend more time in the studio producing. Days of sunshine and warmth are no longer a temptation and no longer call to me to "play" and I am better able to focus on my art.

I am inspired by all the seasons, the changing colours and light levels. There is something about that first snowfall that makes the heart quicken and a world that has been shades of grey, taupe and browns for weeks, comes alive in gleaming white and blues with stark contrasts.

We live in the northern hemisphere, so there is not much we can do about winter– it comes every year. We can complain and gripe and retreat or we can dress for the weather and face it head on! Now that being said, as I mentioned earlier I spend more time in my studio during these cold snowy days but I have also found that around February I seem to hit a creative slump. I think the slump is strongly effected by long stretches of sunless days. I have tried to work through the February rut by having lots of sketches in my sketch book from which to choose new works. I have also learned that I need a series that I am excited about, to work on during the winter months. It helps keep my mind active, constantly thinking about that next piece and less about the depressing nature of February weather (a vase of daffodils helps too!). The more prepared I am with ideas, sketches and images before the winter doldrums hit, the better I am able to face the creative block.

I try to meet regularly with other artists, either of the same discipline or other disciplines. It helps ward off the isolation and cabin fever that can be deadly. It is always interesting to hear what they are working on and what is inspiring them. Meeting with these fellow artists can be the catalyst I need to get me out of a creative slump.

There are less distractions but I don't know if I can say I create my best work in winter. I do take this time of less distractions to work on larger pieces in winter, sometimes taking several months to complete one. I find the work I do in winter is resplendent with saturated colours. The brighter and bolder the better! Then when spring seems to be arriving, my work shifts and seems to take a break from the bold, if only for a short period of time.

Karen Goetzinger
January 2009


Award winning artist Karen Goetzinger is well known for her finely detailed textile works that often employ a kimono shaped canvas.Her mixed media textile work is influenced by her roots in traditional quilt making, couture construction, and passion for vintage Japanese textiles and design. Karen teaches at the Ottawa School of Art and is a mentor/instructor in the Fine and Contemporary Craft Mentoring Program.

The Joys of being Snowbound : Comments by Pierrette Dulude-Bohay

I get quite excited when the first snowfall arrives. This means much anticipated isolation at my easel in the studio. The studio is situated in a separate building across from the house. The cardinals, blue jays, chickadees and woodpeckers at the feeders right outside my window are my companions. It helps the creative flow to watch and listen to these happy noisy little friends. The view from my studio is of fields, bushes and trees, always changing depending on the light I see wonderful shadows created by the plowed fields in a myriad of hues and shadows and to complete the tableau I have a view of the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains.

Winter can be beautiful and temperamental. One I remember well is the winter of January 1998, the year the ice storm hit eastern Ontario, the freezing rain created breathtaking scenes. The weather was warm enough for me to go out in my van to paint en plein air. What a time, reflected on frozen waters was the sparkling snow & ice which covered the fences, trees and grasses and the early morning sun made everything purplish bluish. No matter how trying it was to live without electricity during that period I did find a way of finishing up my paintings with the light of kerosene lamps setting up my easel close to the fire in the hearth.

Every year for 12 years a friend and I would organize plein air outings during the fall parade of colours and in the spring at the end of winter when there was still some snow left on the ground. We are always enthusiastic to meet again in the spring after months of isolation. It was a balmy spring day when I left the farm on that March 28th, a few years ago, we were looking forward to the promise of excellent spring plein air excursions in the woods where the streams run fast and there is still snow in the bush, only that year we would not have much snow which was very disappointing. On arrival I had time to get a very nice little painting done sans boots, sans coat and sans hat. By evening it started to snow, the next day we had a full blown blizzard. Plein air painters are very focused on painting when on these trips, that day every artist found a spot by a window and the best paintings ever were created by all. There was excitement and anticipation in the air. By evening we had accumulated unbelievable amounts of snow, to add to the excitement and isolation the electric power went out. Luckily the cafeteria at the camp had a generator so many of the 30 artists present settled down to play bridge and scrabble for the evening in that building. We had fireplaces in each cabin so we were fine to sleep. While we were playing cards in the cafeteria I overheard the owner of the camp speak to the police on the telephone and say that she had a group of seniors staying at the camp and that they were only dressed in city shoes & clothes. I laughed, you cannot imagine a bunch of plein air painters (young and old) without all their layers of clothing prepared for all weather conditions. We woke up the next day faced with forty centimeters of snow on the ground, all the cars in the parking lot were buried under mounds of snowdrifts. When we were able to leave the property the sun was shining and the weather was quite balmy, some of us went to St Emile of Suffolk to paint streetscapes. The village was totally transformed into a winter wonderland, it was all worth it in the end to experience this magical time.

Being a plein air painter is the best but now that I am getting on in years I must admit that you will find me more often than not sitting inside in the comfort of my van with my sketching material by my side rather than traipsing in the bushes carrying an easel and painting gear. Lucky me, for all of the 40 years of being outdoors en plein air in all seasons my head is so full of plein air landscapes that I am now able to do impressions of what I have stored away in my brain.

As a nature lover winter and its forced isolation gives me time to recall, invent and inspire newpaintings with the use of my sketch books, I paint away happily snug as a bug in a rug. Also because I have a lot of fun out of observing the chickens, ducks and geese on our farm I use this time of the year to create fantasy paintings with them as my subjects.

Every season has its beauty, spring with the vestiges of winter and of melting snow, summer set up in my secret garden surrounded by florals competing with each other to be immortalized on canvas and fall with its much too short season of magnificent colours.

Somehow this artist is happiest and most productive during the winter. Using this season as an excuse to isolate herself to paint in her studio is where this artist is most serene in the company of her feathered friends looking out at our grand Canadian winter from the comfort of her studio.

Pierrette Dulude-Bohay
January 2009

Pierrette Dulude-Bohay is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA). Since 1982 she has worked in watercolor to capture the moods and subtleties of our grand Canadian landscape. She has been featured in newspapers and national publications, as well as on television and has won a number of prestigious awards.Her work can be found in many public and private collections. She has studied and continues to work with many national and international artists.

Winter & Painting: Leah Dockrill comments

I have no wintry scenes to show you. I am continuing to work on Vancouver Island / Tofino paintings from photos that I gathered up last May. Other than these, I fear all this miserable weather is sending me off my rocker (cabin fever).

One day a couple of weeks ago I began to appreciate the various beautiful aspects of my cozy indoor environment and I painted my clothes washer in motion. I am including this painting for a chuckle.

However, you can see what has been occupying my mind during this rainy, sleety, icy and snowy December!

Leah Dockrill.
January 2009

Leah Dockrill, former highschool teacher and lawyer, studied art at the University of Alberta, the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Tanenbaum School, and the Toronto School of Art. Painting has been her exclusive occupation since 1995. She works in acrylics and watercolours handling diverse subject matter adeptly including animals,landscape, florals and the human figure. Leah Dockrill is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Artists (SCA)since 2000.

Plein-air Painting in Winter: John Alexander Day comments

What can I say about winter, but I look forward to it coming, particularly because being an artist I get excited by the first snowfall and I think of the painting opportunities it brings with it. Although the fall has its leaves and bright colours, this season is also brings out the artist to paint. Scenes I might pass by in the warmer months I might not give a second look may well have been transformed into something extraordinary by its winter blanket. Winter truly transforms the ordinary and makes it spectacular.

Being an artist who works plein air can be at this time of year uncomfortable with the colder temperatures, but if you dress for the occasion then the results are well worth it. A few people might they say snow has no colour, but if you paint outside like me you will find it has very reflective qualities and colour bounces off it in the most incredible ways. From the sky, the trees, buildings, the sun, and even bright colored clothing from people can all add to a scene. These subtleties would be totally lost if you take a photo of the same scene.

Winter can offer the same opportunities as in the fall but in a different way, you just have to look for it. Depending on the weather and how cold it is might determine the size I would paint. So in other words I work smaller when it is really cold as I need to warm up, a large flask of hot coffee certainly helps here.

There are certain things you have to be careful of when painting outdoors in winter, such as the spot you are standing will soon get packed down and icy surprisingly quickly. On more than one occasion upon standing back to view my progress, I slipped backwards and hit ground with a thud and my brushes were sent flying into to air! Good thing is there no one around usually to see you "flat out" on the snow, so your dignity still remains intact!

Once I am out painting in winter it never seems as cold as I first imagined and I always come home feeling I have experienced something.

John Alexander Day
January 2009


John Alexander Day is an accomplished painter with over twenty years painting experience who prefers to paint outdoors to capture the qualities of light and atmosphere in his paintings. Day captures the character of his settings using his characteristic strong brushwork. John Day is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and is a highly collected artist.

Winter Painting: Deborah Czernecky comments

AH … Our great Canadian Winters! Something that we love to hate at various stages of the season. Since moving to Victoria, BC - a part of Canada this is truly "GREEN" year round (okay, the weather Gods out here were a little confused this season, but we're back to normal temperature from +6 to +11c). I must admit I do miss the white stuff for plein air painting. However, if I'm that desperate for a taste of white cold, I glance across the water to the east and admire the snow capped mountains or I drive 45 minutes up island to touch it!

From the art side of the equation, I find wintertime a chance to let me complete my half-finished paintings that have been hanging around the studio collecting dust for the past six months. But ... if the sun is shining and beckoning me to come out and paint, off I go. After painting a decade in the Ottawa Valley, Winter Plein Air painting on the West Coast is different and challenging in it's own unique way. The biggest challenge, is the "WIND"! I'm now very educated in the four types of winds out here from gales to hurricanes, plus their speed values (the weather channel is very educational with this information)!
Not only has my easel been air borne but I've almost join it on several occasions! Another uniqueness in painting out here, is the "GRAY BLANKET" that moves in at the end of November and stays till the beginning of January. One definitely learns how to paint gray values, warm to cold, out here. After awhile this type of painting for me becomes dreary and boring even though other painters are ecstatic over this. In closing I must admit I'm looking forward to the Spring painting trip I'll be participating in the Laurentians this April. Let it Snow!

Deborah Czernecky
January 2009

New Works in progress.










Deborah Czernecky is a plein air landscape painter living in Victoria BC. The diverse scenery she encounters in her travels is interpreted with her characteristic bright,vibrant colour and attention to structural forms, landscape formations and patterns. Czernecky's delightful portrayals of the Canadian landscape have made her a favourite with art buyers in the National Capital Region.

Winter Painting: Margaret Chwialkowska comments

Winter is the most creative time for me. I also believe that I produce the most and my best work in winter months. My favorite are the snowstorm days when I can feel cut out from the outside world and totally submerged in the the world of painting. On warmer days I like to take long walks, often along the Ottawa River, hoping to find an inspiration for a next painting or just remembering the same spot yet at a different season. I love painting winter scenes, but often diverse to other subject matter.

Margaret Chwialkowska
January 2009



Award winning landscape artist Margaret Chwialkowska is inspired by the Canadian landscape, particularly the Ontario rivers, and forests of Quebec. She paints in oil, "alla prima," blending pigments together directly on the canvas using a pallet knife in a loose spontaneous style creating rich sculpted scenes infused with light.

Painting Winter Scenes: Normand Baril comments

Winter and water are my two preferred subject to paint. Winter for me represents a superb challenge as the colours of nature have changed immensely and change everyday to a point that it is difficult to go back to complete a painting on location. It is for these reasons that I take so many photographs and use them as references. There is no way that I can reproduce a photograph and that is not what I want to do. I want to reproduce my feelings when I saw the scene and do an interpretation of the subject seen through my camera lens. A photograph is a moment of the day with all the colours that I can reproduce on a digital photo; not all colours are reproduced on a photograph as you are well aware. Winter is the subject that I enjoy to work. New paintings are in the works, unfortunately not completed.

Normand Baril
January 2009

Normand Baril has painted with Pastels since 1979. His compositions include landscape, still life, portrait and figure. Baril’s admiration of natural settings and the untamed beauty of this country is a constant inspiration to him. Baril is a signature member of Pastel Artists Canada, Pastel Society of Eastern Canada and Pastel Society of Canada.

Painting in Winter: Anne Barkley comments

A perfect afternoon for me is to be in my studio, coffee and music on, and snow falling silently outside the windows. I don't have to go anywhere else, or do anything but whatever I can imagine doing with paint and canvas. It's heaven on earth - looking out on the quiet countryside, replenishing my inventory and my spirit for the busier months ahead. What more could anyone want? This is often when I pursue new directions, new ideas, or revisit old motifs with a new eye; there are no boundaries, and I am free to fly.

Anne Barkley
January 2009


Anne Barkley's artistic interest is in finding a complexity in simple abstract shapes that will call on the imagination.Her abstract compositions mesh multiple tones and modes of application into an aesthetic that combines hard edges and flat spaces, deep recesses and diffuse borders. Barkley is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA).

Winter Painting : Alan Bain comments

I love painting in winter, but it does present a few complications! The obvious ones; temperature, depth of snow, snow blocking the roads usually travelled, open water mostly gone, trees overwhelmed with snow, are really what winter painting is all about. When everything else fails I paint in my truck. I’m left-handed so I sit in the right hand seat, and my palette is set up between the seats. (The others have removed seats from their vans, and they can sit in the back with a sliding door open.) Brandy, my Beagle, understands the changeover. When I get out my driver side, she grumbles, then walks over my palette and settles down in the left-hand seat. She drinks from my painting water, and once spread freshly squeezed out Indian Yellow all over both seats.

And on the other hand, there is a brand new quality of light, a whole range of crisper shadows, and gorgeous contrasts, and everywhere longer views that just don’t exist in a leafy world.
There is either absolute silence, or sounds are transmitted muted and mysterious. The whole bush takes on a dark/light attraction; branches etched with snow, pines drooping under snow loads, Shadows helping round the snow shapes. And every view always has depth, we don’t have to search for the stream or road or street to provide us with perspective, the bush is open in every direction.











Every January, and again towards spring, I paint in and around Algonquin Park. Charlie Spratt, Paul Thrane and I usually camp in a motel at one end or the other of the park and venture days into the park to paint. This past year, in January 2008, fifty yard fog, horizontal rain, and winds bringing down trees and power lines. 2007 Minus 26 (-26C.) was the warmest! 2006 my Suburban went off the road down a 60 ft. embankment, buried in 4 ft. of snow. $3600.00 damage! 2004 really heavy snow on the way up, melting the next day, beautiful misty landscapes perfect for watercolour! But slippery, slimy roads that called up real driver skill. 2003 Used my new GPS unit to venture on logging roads way back inside the park. Not supposed to be there, GPS said I was about three miles away from Hummingbird Lake! No hummingbirds though!
But we keep going back! The challenges are far outweighed by the attractions of winter bush.

Alan Bain
January 2009

Alan J.T. Bain is a plein air painter who paints the vast silent lands of the Canadian boreal forest and has travelled extensively both as a geologist and as a artist across the Pre-Cambrians of Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador. Bain is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (CSPWC) and elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists(SCA).

Artwork in Winter : Heather Assaf comments

As I am not much of an outdoor sports type, preferring walks with my dog on pleasant days, I look forward to January, February and March as a time to learn new techniques and experiment on different surfaces etc. I have a new DVD and two new books that I am anxious to get into as soon as the holiday season is over. If I find a workshop that interests me I will take one during that time or in the early spring.

I find it easier to stick to a schedule in winter as I have a fairly large property with many gardens to tend to and I love to be outside in the warm weather months. My productivity level drops in the summer because I am a studio artist and as long as the weather is good I want to be out there enjoying it.

My artwork these days is intuitive so the weather conditions have no effect on me, other than (possibly) colour choices. I tend to draw on images and information from my subconscious for inspiration when I start a painting and never know what the subject matter (if any) will be until I am finished.

Heather Assaf
January 2009

Heather Assaf is a mixed-media artist and an intaglio printmaker. Heather is interested in abstract qualities working with collagraphs and etchings. Her love of vibrant colour and design is evident in her work. Heather studied at the Handprint Studio, Harrogate, U.K. under English printmaker Peter Wray in various methods of non-toxic etching and collagraph printmaking.