Winter Paintings

Raven Lake is my neighbouring lake. It is known for its majestic rock cliffs that once were sacred to the Indigenous people who revered the raven. In fact, they were not supposed to look at the cliffs as they passed by. So glad that rule no longer applies! I love looking at them, and painting them, especially when the cliffs are dressed in snow or ice, or in the golden glow of evening sun. This painting is framed in a clear maple floater frame.

On Friday- Sunday, Ahne, Graham and I have opened a winter cafe at Pizza on Earth where we sell hot panini sandwiches, hot drinks and home-made soup and pastries. Since I work there on weekends, I have to combine cafe work with painting. I don't always have time to go outside, so I set up the easel in the cafe and paint cafe scenes, like this one. All paintings come with a solid maple floater frame, custom-made in Dorset.

Behind my pizzeria is a yard where we cut the firewood for the giant pizza ovens. Up on a small hill are these slender birches. I painted this on location when it was -26! The sun was shining and since there had been precious few days of sunshine, I just had to get out there and paint. I froze! All of my paintings come framed in solid maple floater frames.

My family and I own and run a wood-fired pizzeria from May - October. We have to cut, dry and stack a lot of wood. Our neighbour lends us his wood processor to do the tedious job more quickly. In exchange, we give him free pizza all summer.

Downtown Dorset.

I live on a windy, twisty road, that weaves up into the hills and dips down to small Shoe Lake and my home. I walk this beautiful road most days and often find inspiration for my paintings.

On the corner of Mary Street and S. Dufferin Street stands this old and somewhat neglected blocky house that makes magnificent green icicles! This painting is framed in a clear maple floater frame.

It is called "The Bug House" because the scientists at the Dorset Environmental Research Centre used to keep their bug specimens in this building. It is now behind the Dorset museum.

Winters in Dorset are quiet - such a difference from the lively summer and all the bustle of business, cottagers and tourists. I found this array of chairs at a cottage on Rabbit's Bay on Lake of Bays. The light in March is beautiful, especially in the late afternoon. The chairs reminded me of people, quietly enjoying the last rays of sunshine and patiently waiting for the cottagers to come to enjoy the beautiful view of Lake of Bays they are facing. All paintings come framed in a solid maple floater frame, custom-made in Dorset.

This painting depicts Dorset's General Store in the centre of my village on Lake of Bays in Muskoka where we live and where my family runs our businesses. It's home for me so I get to paint it often and from every possible angle. This painting is framed in a clear maple floater frame.