Snow Sky and Winter Girls

It' a fairly mild morning here on the prairie and the sky has "that look."  You know the look I mean, that brightish shade of light grey cover that's almost white, but not quite .  The sky that promises, or threatens snow, depending on how you view it - snow sky.

I can't say I mind if it snows.  It's pretty and for an artist, that counts.  But there's more than that.  There's something about being here, out in the country, fresh air all around that takes me back to my childhood winters, playing outside, sliding, and skating.  Yes, I can skate.  Well, I could skate, it's been many a decade since I've laced up and hit the ice.

That said, there's an outdoor rink about a 2 minute walk from my house.  It's not flooded yet, but when it is, we're thinking of buying skates and checking it out.   

There's nothing more quintessentially Canadian than skating outdoors and that's the feeling I'm having today.  That's also the vibe of this painting, which I call Winter Girls.  That carefree feeling of gliding across the ice, surrounded by snow-capped trees.  Maybe trying a spin or two.  Maybe not.  There's a youth and vibrancy to skating that's hard to describe.  It's just impossible to feel old when you're floating along the ice... I'm counting on it.