Living just below the arctic circle, winter is long, it is cold, it is dark, and often it can be very very hard. Frequently hitting -40 in the mercury and some days dipping down to -50 this winter has been particularly tough. It was during some of the shortest, coldest, darkest days this year that I realized I had the tools in my own hands to counteract the darkness and bleakness that can creep in. Colour is the tool of my everyday life. I live and breathe it, and if I take the extra moment to pause and observe I see it everywhere around me, even in the darkest days or dullest moments. Walking down the road on an overcast grey day, I realized that the snow still piles in waves of blue, purple and pink. Lights from the city reflect in full rainbows of colour on the blanket of white. It was this realization that the snow-covered world is not in fact a blank canvas, but a very full and complex narrative of colour, with subtleties, textures, soft glowing colours creating a kaleidoscope all around us that inspired me to make this body of work. This is my attempt to capture the colours of winter all around me, and the unique way light plays in these scenes. The frozen world is not in fact very grey or very dull at all, it is quite the opposite, and this creates a wonderful challenge in studio.

Once I opened myself up to painting the vibrant colours of winter, I suddenly found myself painting images of open water, and sun filled days. Even though it is still winter where I live, the process of preparing this body of work kickstarted spring from within for me. In this collection you will see images of winter scenery with all its colours, as well as blooming flowers, rolling waves and the whisper of spring.

As I continue to work on these paintings, with the world turned upside down, the promise of spring and a fresh start becomes even more evident in each new work, as I look towards better times ahead.

- Jennifer Walden