Winter Cabbage with Snowy Owl Painting

This painting is about the chill, the snow and the winter landscape we know and love.

Both New Jersey USA and Cheshire England appear in compositions like this and aspects of my childhood have a great influence on what and how I paint.

My mother loved bright green and ceramics that were wonderful vegetables or cabbage leaves, therefore the colour green and cabbages often feature in my compositions.

My Grandmother loved roses and birds. The red cardinal and woodpecker on the cabbage were always feeding outside her bedroom window. I remember it vividly.

I let my imagination run wild in this composition, making the cabbage larger than life, the birds and animals smaller or larger than real life. Sometimes it is the utter freedom of throwing “scale” to the wind, that helps you come up with spontaneous surprises.

The Snowy Owl is a striking feature because of its colour and wisdom. I like to feel the owl has the last word.