Hey Everyone

Today I want to share with you a painting that I did for my niece, her husband, and her children. In this painting I wanted to create a special place, one that they experienced first hand.

Winter Village 11 * 14 Oil on Canvas

Jennifer, my niece along with her husband and children moved up to where we live in the snow and it was quite a winter when they decide to do this, in fact, they said that the winter was more severe than any winter that has taken place in more than 20 years.

You see all of our family is from Southern California and living here in the North has certain advantages and disadvantages. The summers offer some of the most beautiful scenery that you've laid eyes upon and in the summer the weather is amazing. For several months of the summer the sun begins to rise at 3:40 in the morning and filled with energy doesn't think about going back to bed until after 10:00 in the evening. The offer of the summer here is endless days.

The winters here on the other hand are quite the contender. In the winter months it's quite the opposite, the sun seems like a slumbering bear. It doesn't seem to have the motivation to get up in the morning and when it does it's quick to bed back down. These winter months can feel quite long and when you think it's nearly over it snows again. For us that are anticipating the spring, the melting of the snow, these winter months can take on an existence of their own.

The winters are enchanted but long and quite beautiful as well. In the scene I painted for my niece you can see her two children waiting out front for there dad to arrive home from work for the evening. The youngest is building a snowman and his older brother is waiting with their dog as he sees his dad coming over the hill. I imagine that my niece is inside preparing dinner or baking a wonderful creation.

In the scene you can also see a church with its congregation out front. My neice and here family enjoy the church community and so I've added it to the scene.

In the farthest portion of the scene you can see a ski village lit up at night. After this long winter my neice and her family decide that they prefer the summer sun of southern California and so after the winter they decided to move back. We miss them up here and this is her reminder of the winter they spent in the snow.

Thanks for taking a look and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!