A Cure for the Common Cold, Revisited

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Previous | Next

Flowers in a Wooden Vessel 1606 Jan Brueghel the Elder

“. . . when winter approaches, covering everything in ice, I take pleasure in the view – and in my imagination even in the scent – of flowers, if not real ones then the artificial kind found in the painting.” - Archbishop of Milan, Federigo Borromeo (1564–1631) founder of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana library and art gallery in Milan, Italy

Winter seems particularly fickle in our part of the country this year, with frigid temperatures and overcast days pivoting into mild, sunny ones and then back again. This, and the attendant colds we have each contracted, has “helped” us turn our attentions inside to the studio and still life painting.

In a more positive spin, we try to see winter as the time when we can feel free from the guilt we normally associate with painting indoors on a beautiful, warm day. Cozy and wind-free, we can afford to study inspirational books, test new pigments and immerse ourse…