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.
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