Painting in Winter: Tricia Savoie Comments

Winter is not my favourite season, although I love painting winter scenes.
Getting out ‘Plein Air’ painting in winter is a bit of a challenge – I suffer from the cold with my feet and especially my hands getting cold extremely quickly due to rather poor circulation.
I find our Canadian winters just a bit too long. I certainly do not mind the snow, in fact like it, as it seems to warm things up – but I dislike the frigid temperatures. I would like winter to start mid December and end around the end of March, and have the temperature not go below –10C during that period. Do you think I am pipe dreaming? Probably.

I have been out painting in the winter, but usually have to stay in my car to do so and just paint small ‘sketches’ due to the above mentioned reason of hands freezing quickly. I dislike painting with gloves on, but find it an absolute necessity when it gets close to 0 degrees. My best outdoor winter experience is not being completely outdoors.
When going to the E.C.O.A.A. winter paint-out at Bark Lake (near Irondale), the cafeteria has windows around its 3 sides, and you have a view of either the lake, or the swamp, or the road to the cabins to paint, but in the warmth of inside. You can also paint inside the studio, which has windows on two sides with other wonderful views.

There are occasions in winter when we have a warm spell, with no biting winds, and you can get outside to paint for short stretches of time, which I have enjoyed greatly. Sometimes with the sun shining, reflecting off of the snow, you are almost too warm. But no complaints here.

With regards to studio painting during the winter, again – I don’t mind as I have at least 2 groups that I paint with indoors so there is comraderie and friendship going on through-out the winter months, as well as painting alone in my studio. With one group, we put up slides (mostly winter scenes in the winter) and depending on where you stand (or sit) depends on your perspective of the scene – not unlike being outside, but with more comfort.

Tricia Wilmot Savoie
January 2009


Tricia Savoie is a prolific landscape painter with a passion for colour and light and painting outdoors,"en plein air". Savoie has received many awards for her paintings and is a member of a number of area art associations. She teaches art for the City of Ottawa in various locations. Her works have wide appeal with frequent art buyers in Ontario and also hang in private and corporate collections in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and across Canada.