Is Winter over yet

Winter in Minnesota just doesn’t want to let go this year.  With such an early start to the snow fall last fall, the season seems endless.  It is difficult for me to find inspiration in the bare trees, and blue/grey snow, so for the most part this winter, I have drawn on my memories of autumn.  I dig through my snapshots searching for interesting subjects, and then picture myself back in that place with the sun, the warm air, and the magnificent colors all around me. 

I remember my last outdoor art show last fall was in October, and the temperature was in the 80’s in Stillwater that weekend – which is very unseasonable.  I knew that it would be the last summer-like weather for quite a while, so I really tried to take it all in and enjoy every second of it.  That feeling of grasping onto the last bits of summer was the inspiration for most of the paintings that I have completed this winter.