Friday, March 18, 2016

White Easter….

The family will soon be "one, big, happy" group here at Geilo for the next week-putting the everyday, routine behind us for a while and reconnecting.  Easter in Norway stretches from the Friday before Palm Sunday to Easter Monday.  It's a tradition in this family (and about more than half of norwegians) to spend it in the mountains, in the snow, on skis (x-country/slalom/telemark) or snowboard. No matter that the slopes are hard as ice in the early part of the day, and slushy as the sun beats down and melts the icy snow, ski we must!  
I plan to paint.  
Not very popular a decision, but to each their own, I say. I will ski when I feel like it, and I will do other things that appeal to me. I'm hoping to shed the guilt and ignore the side-way glances with raised eyebrows. I wasn't born with skis on, didn't grow up with this tradition, and miss the flowers and birds down along the coastline, where the temperatures are at least 10 degrees warmer-maybe more. 
Back to the painting…..I have a largish painting that I began painting over last year, and it is FAR from finished. I consider the painting that I had on it before an excellent "underpainting".  Also have several smaller canvases that I can play around on that will keep me entertained for the duration. Beside cooking and reading, I figure this will make my Easter enjoyable.  
I have attached a selection of some of the last year's work- it's starting to pile up into a nice collection that I will exhibit a couple of times this coming year.  Hope your Easter is just as you want it to be.