In spite of having a birthday in this month, January in the north country is always incredibly long. It’s typically a time of snow, blizzards, bitter cold weather and incredibly short days – starting about 3:30 p.m. early in the month. It’s no secret that I’ve been known to have my pjs on and the electric blanket on the bed turned on 6 by p.m. on terribly cold days! And all this can be especially hard on those of us gardeners who watch with disbelief as other regions talk about preparing to plant in February or March and we know there are at least 100 days before the ground thaws in our neck of the woods!
Yet it’s a wonderful time to be in my studio and paint. This week’s painting, Night Woods, 11” x 13” on 300 hot press watercolor paper, captures a favorite subject o’ mine – paper birch trees reflected against the closing down of the light in a deep woods.
