Imagekind Gallery Outdoors_and_Nature

Salt Marsh at the Edge of the Sea

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

tides of time

shadowed in midnight blue
i lie,
sprawled in this desert of a bed,
wearing nothing
but the scarlet of my desire
always waiting
no one comes

we are born alone
we die alone
there's no reason
for us to live alone
in between
sometimes though
it just falls out that way

there is a certain beauty
in being alone
no need for costumes
no need for truth
keeping oneself to oneself
can be freeing

but when the fire burns
too hotly
i rise from that bed
and throw on some clothes
and walk to sea
the timeless sea
that lies quiet tonight
under blanketing clouds

the moon in her silence
hangs high and majestic
as i throw off those clothes
and stand alone
always alone
and give myself over
to the changing yet changeless
tides of time
© 2013 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by Michelle Abruscato.

Confetti of Blossoms

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

curved moon shines silver
on riotous blossoms
in spring's dark splendor
~ RC deWinter

September Sunrise

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Sunrise beautifies even this marshy stretch of the Brudenell River in Rosneath, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Just Out of Reach

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

unreachable

sometimes you have a run of luck –
what we call luck, anyway.
the universe smiles and shines
a spotlight on you
and a wonderful thing happens

you are gifted with something looked for,
prayed for, wished for, worked for
you are blessed with confidence,
buoyed by success, enriched by a gift
or warmed by love

then there are times
the universe leads you to a tree and
you look up and see that perfect apple,
that luscious fruit you’ve been longing for
but it hangs inches away from your grasp

your arms are just that much shy
from being able to pluck it
there’s no springboard, no ladder,
no one to lift you and nothing you can stand on
to claim that prize

best not to linger and look too long
or you’ll find yourself hemmed in
by a circle of thickets,
sprung up while you were dreaming,
frozen forever in the vise of hopeless yearning

it’s the cruelest of jokes,
the torture of the unfulfilled,
when that which we desire most
sits before us,
unreachable
© 2013 RC deWinter

Snow Apple

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

snow apple

a greenness in the air,
the heaps of frozen snow sagging
in the sun’s melt,
mud replacing ice on the slates outside my door

and everywhere,
poking through winter’s white blanket,
sodden leaves, forgotten stones
and bits of paper, the evidence of life
dropped carelessly in the dark
of stormclouded nights

i stepped carefully so as not to squish
in the newly-revealed underbelly of my world
and then beheld, as perfect as the day it ripened,
an apple, untouched by the ravages of cold
by virtue of nature’s blanket now vanished

it was a fresh reminder that a newness,
a different season comes,
one gentler and more welcoming than winter

but all i could think was
how will i cope, alone, with passionate spring,
when winter gives such credence to despair
© 2013 RC deWinter

Train Track to Hell

© 2013 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

groping in the dark

we cannot slip our skins and put on another’s life,
never can we truly know the path of someone else,
it’s only through the heart we can approximate
the circumstances of the other –
through their words, unsaid and said.

you may never realize the burdens of their lives,
the love gone by, the monster dwelling daily in their midst,
making every sunrise a brand-new living hell
and every night a prison –
these things are not spoken of.

how can one feel death’s inner gnawing,
unacquainted as we are with teeth and claws
and sucking mouth devouring from within?
at best we can commiserate, and hold a hand and pray –
those that do.

to have loved and lost, perhaps to never want to love again,
the fear too strong, the scar too deep, unhealed in the soul.
the tears unshed behind that sunburst smile,
the secret fear of failure –
things we may or may not perceive according to our inner sight.

nor can we wear their happinesses,
triumphs like a mantle woven gold,
we have our own wardrobe –
be it tattered, be it glorious, be it nothing, nothing at all.

no, in friendship or in love we can only hope to share that which is shared,
we cannot force reality, we cannot take the pain nor change what is
except by being there, to witness what is shown –
to care.
© 2013 RC deWinter

Snow at Twilight

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, arrives the snow.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Starshine on a Snowy Wood

The Birch Wood Beyond the Gate

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

So was I once myself a swinger of birches;
And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
~ from Birches, Robert Frost

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Early on a Frosty Morning

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A meandering stream in a salt marsh in Fairfield, Connecticut sparkles
in the pale sun of Thanksgiving morning.

Colorado Moon

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

imprecation

gazing at diana,
silver,
half-consumed by hungry clouds,
i pray to that great huntress with her bow,
mistress of swift sighthounds,
captive to no man's moods.

i pray for strength of purpose,
to be freed from the need of admiration
in men's eyes,
unbuckled from the weakness of the flesh,
absolved of folly,
cleansed of all desire for helplessness.

oh mother goddess moon,
shed on your pleading daughter
silver strands of wisdom,
shine the light of reason into my darkest wantings,
sever from my being the frayed ropes
that bind the anchor of unworthiness
across my fearful soul.
© 1997, renewed 2011 RC deWinter

Fall Flames Out

Evening Star

I'll Be Waiting

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Meeting Fate

And, having seen his eyes
that locked hers in an endless gaze,
she faced a rushing, all-consuming tide
that swept her, heart and soul,
into a future that led she knew not where.
The thing she did know was
that no lock, no wall, no promise made
could stop her from what awaited in the dark.
And so, trembling but unafraid,
she walked out into the night to grapple fate.
© 2010 RC deWinter

Moonlight on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin
in high summer.

In the Woods by the River

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

An old but still sturdy log fence stands in the woods near the Mississippi River
in Bluff Siding, Wisconsin.

New England Idyll II

Waking Up in Wisconsin

New England Idyll I

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I'll walk where my own nature would be leading:
It vexes me to choose another guide...
~ from Stanzas, Emily Brontë

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Moody Moon

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I am tired, beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you; of squeezing it into little ink drops, and posting it. And I scald alone, here, under the fire of the great moon.
~ from The Letter, Amy Lowell

Thanks to Lucien Martelet for the photograph from which this is painted.

Tapestry in the Wild

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

If You Should Ever Give Me Flowers

If you should ever give me flowers,
no hothouse roses, please,
no stiff-stemmed bunches of man-made colors
arranged by someone else's hand.
No, gather for me the wild things
found along the roadside, in the fields,
by the brook or on the hillside.
Spend your time, not your money.
Gather what you find according to the season
and I will treasure what you bring me, always.
Promise.
© 2012 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian
artist and friend Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Renaissance Santa Fe

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A view of the city, bathed in golden light.

Painted after a photo courtesy of Ted Donoghue.

Morning Glory

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer..."

The glorious sun rises over Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario.

Painted from a photograph by Cheryl Bowhall.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Purple Mountain Meadow

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The Silkie's Song

Oh lay me down in a field of flowers,
we’ll float our passion to the sky
so that birds in flight will envy our freedom
as they migrate, passionless, to those places Nature calls them.

Oh lay me down in a swath of smooth sand dunes,
we’ll sail our passion out to sea
so that tall ships a-skim on the salty dark water
shall marvel, hopeless, at our bright-burning beacon.

Oh lay me down in a bed of soft linens,
we’ll wrap our passion round us both
so that cold winds blowing shall never disturb us
as they howl, merciless, round the corners of the cosmos.
© 2000, renewed 2012 RC deWinter

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Metal Bridge in Moonlight

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge
to cross and which to burn. ~ David Russell

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian
artist and friend Constance Widen.

Late One Night at Chapman Lake

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Another beautiful summer night in rural Canada...

Digital oils; from a daylight photograph shot
at Chapman Lake near Smithers, BC, Canada
by friend and talented artist Constance Widen.

Crossing the Bog

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

ignis fatuus

there’s a fine mist over the future that gives it a sheen of promise,
compelling the traveller to continue the interminable march in its direction.
how often does that glimmer prove true,
spilling a cornucopia of blessings into the lap of the pilgrim –
and how often is it merely a will-o-the-wisp faerie light,
evaporating slyly as one foot after the other sinks ankle deep in mire?

my shoes are stained with mud,
my ankles boast the cuts and scratches of the bogthorn’s embrace.

there have been times I felt that sinister sucking reluctant to let go
but somehow always managed not to panic,
always managed to work free and redirect myself,
even if only to temporary sanctuary.

my shoes are stained with mud,
my ankles boast the cuts and scratches of the bogthorn’s embrace.

I look ahead and see the future once more reflecting radiance
that pulls me, robotlike, to claim it.
who knows if this will be the time I find that blue oasis
rather than the sour grey swamp whose mocking face is so familiar?
© 2012 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen.

Night Crossing

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A cloudy summer moon shines down on a footbridge
crossing a stream in rural Smithers, BC, Canada.

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist
and friend Constance Widen.

Gate to Nowhere

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Who can tell what this gate once protected?

Digital oils; taken from a photograph by Canadian artist & friend Constance Widen.

Midnight Blue in the Mountains

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The heights charm us, but the steps do not;
with the mountain in our view we love to walk
the plains. ~ Goethe

Digital oils from a photograph shot near Smithers,
British Columbia, Canada, by artist Constance Widen.

The Scream of Loneliness

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

that online thing

the small screen glows bluely
in the darkened room.
my eyes unfocus sometimes;
i spend many hours of every day
staring at words and punctuation,
staring at pixels, light and color,
proportion and alignment,
focusing on what i call
cunt-hair corrections,
and even then i miss a few.

even with all that punishment
to the eyes,
when the work is done and i can relax
i grab the phone and boot
the only world of friends i know.
we talk, we laugh,
we bitch about life and love –
or in some cases, the lack of it.
there’s bitter griping
about our country, the world and our place in it.

some don’t understand
this dedication to a universe unreal,
but if you live a life like mine
you surely do.
it’s a reaching out
for light and warmth and
the sound of another human voice,
even if that voice is reduced to
billions of dots in black
on that bluegray screen.

some do it because they’re bored,
some do it because what’s sitting at home
with them is unfaceable,
some do it because they’re afraid
to touch another in any other way.
but we all do it –
hour after hour, day after day,
night after night –
because someplace deep in our souls
we don’t want to be alone.
© 2012 RC deWinter

Digital oils; taken from a photograph shot
October 8, 2011, Plainville, Connecticut.

One Starry Summer Night

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A small red house sleeps quietly in a corner of a wildflower meadow under a full moon in a starry sky.

Digital oils; taken from a photograph by Canadian artist and friend Constance Widen. Best viewed large for detail.

Weeping Winter Moon

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The pale yellow moon mourns for the plants
slain by the bitter cold of a Canadian winter.

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian
artist and friend Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Spring Green in May Moonlight

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Spring green-leaved trees, one hung with wind chimes. stand before a blue barn in the light of a full May moon in rural Weld County, Colorado.

Digital oils taken from an original photograph shot in May 2004.

Nightwalk

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

the unborn

like smoke like fog
the words are taunting me
catch us if you can
pin us to the corkboard of your imagination
and make something coherent
out of what is no more than
will-o-the-wisp
luminous ghostly reflected in moonlight
submerged in the shallows of some long-forgotten pond

they call me they lure me with sirensong fatal
misstep and you’re lost
misstep and you’re laughed at
misstep and you may as well bury alive
all your hopes of redemption
your dreams of desire
your pounding insistent tsunamaic voice
beating ceaselessly endlessly neverforgiveupingly

bury them deep yes and bury them quiet
laid in a grave as forgot as the pond
while like smoke like fog
the words whirl in silence
windborne and wild
to some other palace of misguided song
© 2011 RC deWinter

Mist and mysterious starshine drape a moonlit path
leading who knows where...

Digital oils; detail taken from an original photograph
shot in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada,
September 2003.

Winter Dawn

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.
~ Pietro Aretino

Dawn breaks over snow-blanketed fields, barns
and houses in Smithers, British Columbia, Canada.

Digital oils; taken from a photograph by friend
and artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Heading Home Through the Meadow

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A path through a peaceful alpine meadow near Smithers, British Columbia, Canada is illuminated by the unseen moon.

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist and friend Constance Widen. Best viewed large for detail.

Wrapped in Winter

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A farm field in Smithers, BC, Canada lies quiet and serene in the early dawn
of a winter day.

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

In the Druid Cathedral

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

In the Druid Cathedral

The echo of footfalls mingles with the agony of sodden fallen leaves,
boots striking earth, pilgrim feet tramping, intrepid,
searching out the solace known to generations stretching back across
the filaments of time.
Pausing here and there, I breathe the earth's aroma – musty, musky –
rising from the rot, that slow decay that feeds the forest,
shards of sunlight illuminating ferns and fungi, squirrels and sparrows.
The elemental truth of the placid grove awaits.
So, when I stand encircled by those lofty guardians of green,
I raise my eyes to the canopy of leaves and through their living lattice
glimpse the gods at play.
© 2012 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

One Morning in May

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Imagining May

You tell me it won't matter that I'm past the bloom of youth,
that beauty of the flesh is less remarkable than truth,
and all my years of living bring a wisdom hard to find;
the proof of love's not in the face, but centered in the mind.

Your words a certain comfort bring but still I'm in suspense
'til I can truly know if what I bring is recompense
for that which I no longer am, and nevermore shall be:
a woman wrapped in winsome charms of girlish mystery.

And all the good intentions of a heart prepared to love
are no one's guarantee that what it finds will be enough.
All my inner beauty, all my honesty, my wit
may not ignite the spark from which undying passion's lit.

But hopeful still, I clasp your words close to my pounding heart,
prepared to show you everything I carry from the start.
Do grant forgiveness if I tremble as I search your eyes
for evidence of disenchanted dreams you can't disguise.
© 2012 RC deWinter

Blue Steel Moonrise

© 2012 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

So Silent Be

Words tremble on my tongue, but this I know:
were I to speak them it would be the end.
So silent be, I whisper soft and low.

I can be patient since it must be so;
on this, I realize, I must depend.
Words tremble on my tongue, but this I know.

I hold so many gifts I would bestow
if e’er the giving of would not offend.
So silent be, I whisper soft and low.

But hard it is to damper that sweet glow
that rises from the heat I can’t transcend.
Words tremble on my tongue, but this I know.

Some later day, perhaps, when trust will grow
to conquer all suspicion, you’ll unbend.
So silent be, I whisper soft and low.

For were I honest-spoken you would go,
and lose me one I wish were more than friend.
Words tremble on my tongue, but this I know.
So silent be, I whisper soft and low.
© 2012 RC deWinter

A soft, misty full moon rises over a pasture in Lyme, New York.

Digital oils; thanks to Cheryl Bowhall for sharing the
photograph from which this is painted.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Skyline in Blues and Browns

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The skyline of New York City, the Empire State Building standing straight and tall, as viewed from a ship in the Hudson River.

Digital oils taken from an original photograph shot September 8, 2003.

Uprooted

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Felling the Forest

The winds of change blow, gale force, across the surface of the soul,
uprooting trees, stalwart giants of serenity, having grown there
through the rolling years in solemn and turbulent silence;
their mighty trunks taken for granted,
patterned curtains of leaves protecting, nurturing
the soft dark undergrowth lying quiet and undisturbed
these many moons.
The shock of exposed roots, the despairing crack of limbs,
the sudden hysterical rustle of living green crashing tangled to the earth
alarms the heart.
The unfamiliar weight of shattered wood on soil
unused to being trodden – much less crushed –
beneath fallen expectations, is not entirely unwelcome,
merely strange.
The sky, once shrouded by those trees, is visible now
in all its endless vista.
And, crouching in the fallen forest, trembling yet intrigued,
waits a halfgrown fledgling, unsure of wingspan, strength and loft,
but brave enough, now that the blue bowl of the cosmos is revealed,
to flutter, flap and finally soar from its shelter in the soil
to claim its true domain.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils; taken from an original photograph
shot after Hurricane Irene in Middletown,
Connecticut, September 4, 2011.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Silent Shimmer

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight,
and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the
rest of the world.
~ Oscar Wilde

Digital oils; taken from an original photo shot
October 8, 2011, Plainville, Connecticut.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Into the Mystery

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Unconditional Conditions

Gazing steadfast into your green eyes
as deep and quiet as a woodland pool,
I'm so afraid!
The new-healed cuts,
scrapes,
and feral depredations
from my last encounter
with that wild beast Love
still adorn me,
sticking-inward spines
that pierce the inner being.

You ask me to expose this flesh again,
to turn it out into your hungry hands;
to lay it,
naked,
'neath your hopeful heart.

And if I do,
will you be true
not just in tongue
but also in the soul?
Or will you
like a vandal false
roughplunder all my lace,
ripping it ruthlessly from whence it lies –
limplucent –
on my life?

I ask you for the sun,
I ask you for the moon;
and bring with them the Pleiades,
Orion's jewelled belt,
Cassiopeia's silver crown.

I ask you for the truth –
not to be said
but to be lived –
not for a fierce hot tropic season,
but forever and a day.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian
artist and friend Constance Widen.

Summer Night on Seventh Sister

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.
~ Bern Williams

A view of the Connecticut River from Seventh Sister, aka Gillette Castle,
in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Digital oils from an original photograph shot in June 2004.

Pondshine

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

imprecation

gazing at diana,
silver,
half-consumed by hungry clouds,
i pray to that great huntress with her bow,
mistress of swift sighthounds,
captive to no man's moods.

i pray for strength of purpose,
to be freed from the need of admiration
in men's eyes,
unbuckled from the weakness of the flesh,
absolved of folly,
cleansed of all desire for helplessness.

oh mother goddess moon,
shed on your pleading daughter
silver strands of wisdom,
shine the light of reason into my darkest wantings,
sever from my being the frayed ropes
that bind the anchor of unworthiness
across my fearful soul.
© 1997, renewed 2011 RC deWinter

Moonlight and serenity embrace a walled pond
in Plainville, Connecticut. Digital oils; taken from an
original photograph shot October 2, 2011.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Rose the Dawn

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Misty, roseate dawn light illuminates the sky and water of Chaumont Bay,
Lake Ontario, New York.

Digital oils; thanks to Cheryl Bowhall for sharing the photograph.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Sunset Before the Storm

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Storm clouds gather in a hazy summer sunset along
Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, New York.

Digital oils; thanks to Cheryl Bowhall for sharing the
photograph from which this is painted.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Lake Mist at Sunrise

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A boat rests quietly on a hoist in Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, in the misty rays of a beautiful summer sunrise.

Digital oils with a watercolor wash; special thanks to Cheryl Bowhall for sharing her photograph.

Twin Towers

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Twin Towers

Whether by nature or the malignant hand of man
all constructions –
whether springing from the earth or what we in our hubris erect –
sooner or later meet their end.
There is no controlling the vagaries of the weather.
Perhaps someday we will abandon the seeming necessity
of destroying our own.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils; a view of a hidden pond in a rural
wood in Middletown, Connecticut, showing the
damage done by Hurricane Irene; taken from
an original photograph shot September 4, 2011.

In the Wild Wood

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Facing Facts

Would I could walk that wild wood with you!
Alas, you will not sip this cup I bear.
To walk this wood alone I must construe.

You keep your heart locked in a shroud of rue,
Apart from that which fosters daily care.
Would I could walk that wild wood with you.

Had I the charm of making I would do,
But no such gift of witchcraft do I share.
To walk this wood alone I must construe.

Your shadow taunts round every sacred yew,
And will not pause, but vanishes, midair.
Would I could walk that wild wood with you.

You offer me no lantern shining through
This tangle leading on I know not where.
To walk this wood alone I must construe.

Resignêd though I be to this adieu,
I weep for loving lost to laissez-faire.
Would I could walk that wild wood with you.
To walk this wood alone I must construe.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils of a hidden pond deep in the woods
in Middletown, Connecticut; taken from an original
photograph shot September 4, 2011.
Best viewed large for detail.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Starless Canadian Sky

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

One Way Conversation at Three

Under a starless sky limned in moonlight I lie,
but you have murdered sleep with your steel and your words.
Always you intrude, silent, in disguise,
stalking whatever it is you feel you must vanquish.
Leave me something I can lean on, won’t you?
I am strong enough to stand alone, but not without knowing
there’s a nearby scantling should I falter in the dark.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils; taken from a photograph by my dear friend,
Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Chaos in Morning Mist

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A garden devastated by the falling of a large tree sits in lush disarray
on a misty morning after Hurricane Irene.

Digital oils; based on a photograph by Barbara A. Hill.

Harvesting the Crop

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Ripe and so ready
Waiting for a farmer hand
to pick and complete

Romanticism in digital oils;
adapted from a photograph by
artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Waiting for No One

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

i wait for no one

time and tide wait for no man, so they say.
i believe it.
i will wait for no man myself.
either take my hand and run, hatless, into the wind
or let me go discover what lies out there in the dark alone.
my freedom will be my lantern,
and i am not afraid.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils after an on original photograph
shot October 8, 2011, Tolland, Connecticut.

I Have Somewhere Else To Be

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

simple life

you heard the call too early
i know you had to go
you told me you were leaving
those many years ago

you taught me more of living
than ever i taught you
your song plays in my memory
each note still clear and true
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils; taken from an original photograph
shot August, 2002, Fairfield, Connecticut.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

A Foggy Field in Haddam

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

I
Among twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird.

II
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.
III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a blackbird
Are one.

V
I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendos,
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.

VI
Icicles filled the long window
With barbaric glass.
The shadow of the blackbird
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.

VII
O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you?

VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many circles.

X
At the sight of blackbirds
Flying in a green light,
Even the bawds of euphony
Would cry out sharply.

XI
He rode over Connecticut
In a glass coach.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.

XII
The river is moving.
The blackbird must be flying.

XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
~ Wallace Stevens

Digital oils from an original photograph shot in
Haddam, Connecticut, December 14, 2011.

Gently Down the Stream

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. ~ Tom Stoppard

Digital oils from an original photograph shot October 2, 2011, Plainville, Connecticut.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Oh, oh, oh!
Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!
Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite!
~ from Let's Go Fly A Kite by Robert Sherman;
from the "Mary Poppins" film soundtrack.

Digital oils with a watercolor sketch overlay from
a photograph supplied by Michelle Abruscato.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Fallen In

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

It All Falls Down
Eventually it all falls down, you know:
the sturdiest structure,
the most vigilant defense.
Time works its quiet way with no thought
to permanence,
no respect for craftsmanship,
no indulgence for care.
Small chinks appear, you see –
or no, you don’t, actually –
growing, spreading unobserved,
unnoticed ‘til decay takes hold
and there’s not a thing to do to stop it.
We stack our goodness into heaps,
our strength shored up and hoarded
for the storm with hope that these
will hold us through our passage.
Building is the dream,
saving is the safeguard,
living is the journey,
but Time is always stronger
and eventually it all falls down.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils from a photograph by
Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Pawnee Buttes Twilight

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Evening gently descends over the Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado. Note the natural pictograph-like symbols on the larger of the two prominences.

Digital oils painted from an original photograph shot in May, 2004.

All Down the Line

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I'd rather take,
No matter where it's going.
~ Travel, Edna St. Vincent Millay

A view of a set of old train tracks in Kitimat,
British Columbia, Canada. Digital oils from a
photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.
Best viewed large for detail.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Winter Day Along the South Platte

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A bitter wind was blowing along the river that day, scudding the clouds along in a vivid sky. Ice still partially blanketed the surface, but the frigid water of the South Platte flowed on around and underneath it.

Digital oils; taken from an original photograph shot February 4th, 2002, in Evans, Colorado.

Summersplash

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A picturesque waterfall splashes down over stones
in the corner of a rustic garden.

Shot June 18, 2011 in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Moonrise over the River

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I see the moon, the moon sees me.
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree.
Please let the moon that shines on me,
shine on the one I love.

The full moon rises over a rustic footbridge,
spring trees budding on the hills and the
majesticConnecticut river in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Painted in digital oils after an original photograph
shot May 8, 2011.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Smoky Clouds on a Thursday

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.
~ Henry David Thoreau

Digital oils of a majestic valley sunset from a
photograph by artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Summer Garden on La Cote d'Azur

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Imagine the scent of salt-sea air and sweet summer blossoms mingling
in a meadow under the summer sun in the south of France...

A composite of two photographs by artist Constance Widen
painted in digital oils.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Lady Liberty Lost

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike,
They've all gone to look for America.
All gone to look for America,
All gone to look for America.
© Paul Simon, America

Digital oils. Special thanks to Terry Travers
for the original image and inspiration.

How to Dry an American Quilt

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

An April breeze lofts antique quilts and fabric
swatches in rural Haddam Neck, Connecticut.

Multi-layered digital oil painting from an
original photograph shot April 10, 2011.

October Sky

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _______________________________________
Study of the vivid but serene beauty of a sugar maple in its autumn glory on the night of the Harvest Moon. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting adapted from an original photograph shot in Middletown, Connecticut, October 19, 2010.

Wisteria in Moonlight

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Meet me in the moonlight,
the silverbright May moonlight.
We’ll shed our scarred and sorry skins
and savor spring again.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oils based on an original
photograph shot in Omaha,
Nebraska, May 2006. Best viewed large.

Looking Backward

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A lowering spring sky darkens the woods
on either side of an old trolley track in East
Windsor, Connecticut.

Vintage, grain-edged photograph; shot from the
back car of a antique trolley on May 15, 2008.

The Pilgrimage

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
A lone 14th-century pilgrim on his way to St. Winifrede's Well in Flintshire, Wales, pauses to admire the beauty of the firmament.

Known as 'the Lourdes of Wales' owing to the miraculous cures attributed to its waters, St. Winifrede's Well has been a site of pilgrimage since the 7th century AD. Richard Lionheart, Henry V and James II are some of the English monarchs known to have visited and venerated this holy site. ____________________________________________
Digital oils based on a photograph by friend and talented artist Constance Widen.

The Lichen-Spattered Stone

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Old Stone Wall in April

See! – there – in crevices unmortared,
Left open to the wind and world,
The blown and fallen bits of forest lie.

There, birch bark – curling, peaceful,
Lies hard against the ancient stone
Uncovered by the glacial ages past.

Here lengths of broken branches
Rest, freed from patriarchal trees
To crumble quiet into fertile soil.

Though man has built this boundary
Time’s careless hand has fashioned
This gathering of nature’s endless change.
© 2011 RC deWinter

Digital oil and tempera on a handmade paper surface; taken from an original photograph shot April 10, 2011 in Haddam Neck, Connecticut.

Excellence and Peace

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
A quiet night on a shimmering lake, twinkling stars, a snow-capped peak and an old barn keeping watch; it brought to mind the opening lines of On Hearing a Symphony of Beethoven, a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

Sweet sounds, oh, beautiful music, do not cease!
Reject me not into the world again.
With you alone is excellence and peace... _________________________________________
As for the music - what could be more harmoniously pleasing than the majestic melodies of nature? _________________________________________ Digital oils from a photograph by the wonderful artist Constance Widen. _________________________________________ This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Sunset River

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Paint me a picture of the landscape.
Dance me the dance of the waves.
Sing me of the legends of the river.
Tell me the story of the sky.
~ Author Unknown

Digital oil painting from a photograph by Emily Lassen.

Splendor Under Southern Skies

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

This Joy of Landscape

This joy of landscape -
the gilt-edged grasses
on the early morning common -
is quick to pass
but lingers on like a well-hung canvas

One collects such images
and stores them lovingly
in a profuse architecture of chambers
tier upon tier
until one day you simply lock the door
and walk away
leaving perhaps a little catalogue
of bland entries
for those that stay next door

This is mine
That is yours
together we sing a grand oratorio
a muted requiem

Dance together to the same music
and our finger tips will not match precisely.
To the casual observer, however,
we remain one.

So our apparent little solitudes -
such painfully lonely lives -
melt away while walking
into the mystery seas

of early morning grass
© Michael Kantey, South African poet

Dedicated to my friend, artist Constance Widen, a South African now living in Canada, from whose photograph this landscape of her native land is painted in digital oils.

Autumn Gothic

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The living year decays as winter approaches.

Textured digital oils based on an original photograph shot October 6, 2010.

Starfield

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Moonlight and starshine illuminate an old wall standing in a rural field.

Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen;
inspired by the song Lord of the Starfields by Bruce Cockburn.

The Dawning

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A misty autumn morning dawns on a greengold hay field in Prince Edward Island, Canada. ________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in September 2003.

The Road Home

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Seven stars twinkle through the cloudy sky as the full moon lights the way home.

Digital oils with a watercolor wash; my thanks to friend and artist Constance Widen for the photograph from which this is painted.

The Night Stars Fell to the Ground

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

You said that you'd love me 'til stars fell to the ground...
~ from Song of the Old Cowgirl
© RC deWinter

A view of the grasslands of Pawnee Butte, Colorado, in digital oils;
taken from an original photograph shot in May 2004.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Spring Nor'easter

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

We New Englanders are never surprised when Mother Nature unexpectedly
pulls a surprise from her bag of tricks and hurls it our way. When storm clouds, turbulent winds, rain and/or snow drive the seabirds inland to shelter and whip the sea into a frenzy, one of the best ways to enjoy the ensuing chaos is to perch oneself in a comfy chair in front of a large window with one of these:

Nor'easter Cocktail
2 oz. Bourbon
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. maple syrup
Pour the above into a tall glass, fill with ice, and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, top with ginger beer and a wedge of fresh lime.
Now you're ready to relax and enjoy the show.

Digital oils; the beleaguered apple tree is adapted from an original photograph shot in Fairfield, Connecticut, April 2007.

Icicles in Moonlight

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet moon.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Frost at Midnight

Digital oil painting; from a photograph by friend
and talented Canadian artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated
to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.
~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden ~ _______________________________________
Digital oil painting; based on a photograph by artist Constance Widen. Thank you always, my friend.

Life in Death

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Almost hidden in shadow, a sprig of poison ivy grows greenly in the recesses
of an ancient, decaying tree stump in a field in a quiet 19th-century Connecticut burial ground.

Digital oils from an original photograph shot in Durham, Connecticut, June 5, 2011.

On a Snowy Evening

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
~ Robert Frost ~ 1923
____________________________________________
Digital oil painting from a photograph
by wonderful artist and friend Constance Widen.
____________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Quiet Night on the Pond

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The Pond
Cold, wet leaves
Floating on moss-coloured water
And the croaking of frogs -
Cracked bell-notes in the twilight.
~ Amy Lowell (1864-1925)
© 1983 Houghton Mifflin Company

Thanks to artist Constance Widen, from
whose photograph this is painted in digital oils.

The Red Gate

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I believe the future is only the past again, entered through another gate.
~ Arthur Wing Pinero (British actor and playwright, 1855-1934)

Digital oils based on a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Hearts of Darkness

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
What other dungeon is so dark as one's own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one's self!
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables ________________________________________
Digital oil dry brush from an original photograph
shot September 15, 2010.

River's Edge

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The wind riffles the reflections in the Connecticut River on a
sunny Easter afternoon in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Digital oils taken from an original photograph shot April 24, 2011.

And the Green Grass Blowing

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Marshmallow clouds and emerald-green alfalfa are buffeted by a strong spring wind at this ranch in northern Colorado.

Digital oils with a fine fresco surface; taken from an original photograph shot in May, 2004 near Eaton, Colorado.

November Ghosts

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
Fallen leaves slowly fade away in the November twilight.
________________________________________
Digital oils adapted from an original photograph
shot November 2, 2010.
________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Quiet Rest

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The weight of cool, of imperceptible dust
That came from nothing and to nothing came
Is light within the earth and on the air.
The change that so renews itself is just.
The enormous, sundry platitude of death
Is for these bones, bees, trees, and leaves the same.
~ from The Mountain Cemetery, Edgar Bowers.

Study of a cemetery corner bordering deep woods; digital oils from an original photograph shot October 2, 2010 in the old Burr District Cemetery, Higganum, Connecticut.

Moonlit Hillside in Africa

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The full moon silvers a beautiful garden and its retaining wall on a hillside in South Africa.

Digital oil painting; based on a photograph by friend and gifted artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Gray Dawn

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Snowflakes buffeted by a fierce wind lend a misty atmosphere to these woods.

Shot early on January 12, 2011, from my balcony in Middletown, Connecticut.

View of the Night Sky from the Old Bridge

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.
~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

Digital oils from a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Gliding Along

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Three generations - grandfather, father and son - enjoy a peaceful paddle on calm summer waters.

Digital oil landscape from a photo by artist and friend Constance Widen.

Toward Heaven

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
~ Robert Frost, from Birches

Digital oils based on a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Faerie Falls

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Up the airy mountain
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting,
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather.
~ from The Fairies, William Allingham

Vintage sepia photograph of
just such a place in Middletown,
Connecticut; shot March 26, 2011.

Oak Cluster in Spring

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

An oak tree gives birth to new life in the spring sun.

Digital oils; taken from an original photograph shot
in Weld County, Colorado, May 2004.

Goodnight on the Prairie

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
Dusk brings a quiet peace to the spring prairie. ____________________________________________
Digital oil landscape. Thanks to good friend and artist Constance Widen for the photograph from which this was painted.

Blue Night in the Field

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A full moon, a flowering tree and peace in the land - what could be better?

Fauvist-inspired digital oils based on a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen.

Best viewed large to maximize texture and color detail.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
The glacial Gunnison River rushes down between the rugged cliffs of the Black Canyon on a frosty April Colorado day. ________________________________________
Digital oils with a watercolor wash from an original photograph shot in 2005.

Benedict Blows By

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The Snow-Storm

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hill and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs; and at the gate
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Our visitor, Blizzard Benedict, presented me with an Impressionist landscape
this morning as I watched the furious snow swirling by my balcony.

Digital oils based on an original photograph shot January 12, 2011.

Sunday Sunrise

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The rising sun slowly spreads golden light over a peaceful rural farming valley.

Digital oil painting from a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be
donated to the Susan G. Komen for
the Cure Foundation.

Ivy League

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A venerable English ivy plant clings to the
rough, painted cement of a WWII-era foundation.

Digital oils taken from an original photograph
shot Christmas morning, 2010, in Fairfield, Connecticut.

This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

High Desert Sundown

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Clouds of the west! sun half an hour high! I see you also face to face.
~ from Sun Down Poem, Walt Whitman

The sun sinks slowly into the rugged beauty of the Pawnee Butte National Grassland in northern Colorado.

Digital oils; taken from an original photograph shot in May 2004.

Autumn Allegretto

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

An abstract celebration of the symphony of Nature's autumn palette.

Digital oils on a fine fresco background; taken from an original
photograph shot in Connecticut November 2010.

The Pond on Lamplight Lane

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Stately willows and other landscape elements ripple in their reflections in the pond. _______________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph;
shot on Lamplight Lane in Westport, Connecticut,
March 2001.

Stars over Salt Water

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The sea meets the shore between a rock and a hard place under a cloudy sky full of stars. ________________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen. ________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Cascade Glorious

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Golden autumn sunlight limns the rocks and leaves in this forested waterfall glade. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in New York state, November 2004.

For It Being on Christmas Morning

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

The pale, silvery sun rises behind a lattice of bare
maple tree branches on Christmas morning, 2010.

The title is taken from an old Irish ballad, 'Arthur McBride',
versions of which date back to the late 18th century.

Digital oils with a handmade paper texture; from an
original photograph shot in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The Passion of Summer

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Bloodred roses hug the walls of this old shed as the rest of the flowers in this quaint garden explode in a riot of color, wrapped in the warm caress of the summer sun. ________________________________________
Digital Impressionist oils from a photograph by artist Constance Widen. ________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Bright Leaves over Balcony

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
A cascade of autumn color flows over the side of a wooden balcony, a snippet of which is visible in the upper right of the painting. ________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot in Middletown, Connecticut, October 19, 2010.

Rough-Cut Wall

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
Late afternoon sunlight slants against this rustic retaining wall
and its autumn adornments.
________________________________________
Digital oil painting; taken from an original photograph
shot November 2, 2010.

The Manor Gate

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
An detail of the interior drive and idyllic park of a 19th-century estate. ________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in early October 2009.

Old-Time Garden

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
Step back in time into an old-fashioned garden
in full summer bloom. ________________________________________
Digital oils; based on a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Wavy Willows

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Ripples of color radiate from a rainy, early spring landscape mirrored in a pond. _______________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot in Westport, Connecticut, March 2000.

Hammonasset Sunset

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The autumn daylight over a salt marsh inlet is slowly engulfed by twilight. ____________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot at Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut, October 2002.

Sweet Spot

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Let's meet here tomorrow with our trowels for some tea and gardening, shall we? ________________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by artist
Constance Widen.

Early Autumn Along the Naugatuck

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A upriver view of a narrow section of the Naugatuck River that runs by the historic train station in Thomaston, Connecticut. ____________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph
shot in September 2004.

Retaining Wall in Autumn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Autumn foliage spills over the top of a pegged wooden retaining wall. ____________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph
shot October 6, 2010.

Duckweed on the Rocks

____________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this painting will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Maiden's Hair Falls

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Water rushes majestically over the cliff of a waterfall, so named because legend tells that here, a newly-married Native American maiden jumped to her death after her young husband was killed in battle with another tribe. ________________________________________
Digital oil painting after an original photograph;
shot May 2006. ________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Microcosm of Fall

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
Impressionist panel of a snippet of autumn in Connecticut.
________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot November 2, 2010.

The Green Man Holds Court

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
The pagan spirit of the forest, the Green Man, was first named as such in 1939 by one Lady Raglan in a paper on ancient church architecture. Traditionally, the Green Man is a representation of a man's face composed of leaves, vines, wood and other forest flora. ____________________________________________
Here, a majestic, intact green oak leaf sits surrounded by leaves that have already embraced the changes of autumn. ____________________________________________
Shot in Middletown, Connecticut, October 19, 2010.

Prairie Rock Garden

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A pair of Curly-Cup Gumweed flowers blooms among the subtly-colored but beautiful rocks and grasses of the northeastern Colorado prairie. ___________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in May 2004, in the Pawnee Butte National Grassland near Grover, Colorado.

Uphill Curve

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
An old country lane makes an S-curve and disappears somewhere into this early autumn meadow. _______________________________________
Digital oils with a watercolor wash on a handmade-paper surface; from an original photograph shot in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada, September 2003.

Tangled Flame

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A brilliant Virginia creeper vine is spangled with tiny wild asters in this autumn tableau. _______________________________________
Digital oils with a fine fiber-paper finish; from an original photograph shot in Middletown, Connecticut in November 2004.

Floradawn on Silk

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A quiet visit to the lake at dawn, where spring wildflowers bloom among the reeds and other flora. _______________________________________
Digital pen and ink with a light oil paint fill over a silk fabric texture; from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Late Day Light in Autumn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
There's nothing like autumn in New England!
Here in Connecticut, in a good year, trees just beginning to blaze with color in early October is a reliable indicator of a long, spectacular color season. ________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph
shot October 6, 2010.

Winterscape

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow...

A snowstorm blows in across the western prairie
under the hazy glow of a snow moon. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting; based on a photograph by artist Constance Widen.

A Misty Rain in Autumn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Meadow grasses and other flora bend under the weight of a cold misty rain. ________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot it November 2008.

A Tangled Web

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
webwork
there is no struggle –
these bits of nature, caught and held
in strands that rival tensile strength
of steel,
do not know that they have met
their certain resting place.

and even if they knew,
were sentient and felt the strings
of that black-and-orange artisan
of the garden,
they would think it fitting
that their beauty should be
captured, held,
defying gravity,
on display for all the world
to admire.
© 2010 RC deWinter – All Rights Reserved ________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot September 15, 2010. ________________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

The Last of the Old Corral

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A derelict bit of an old corral still stands in the middle of an overgrown autumn field. _______________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen.

Fall into Fall

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
These wet autumn leaves were lying in a beautiful heap along the walking path behind my apartment building. Shot October 6, 2010.

Another Garden, Another Midnight

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A dark path, a dark bench underneath weeping birch trees and a brooding sky - magick and mystery in a Colorado highlands garden. ____________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph
shot in May 2003.

Sundown, Wildflower Meadow

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The sun bids the world goodnight as it slowly sinks on the horizon of a wildflower meadow in full bloom. _______________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by artist
Constance Widen.

After the Rains of Autumn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
This natural arrangement of wet leaves was lying along the walking path behind my apartment building,
begging to be photographed.

Shot October 6, 2010.

Thicket of Thorns

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ____________________________________________
Sharp thorns await those foolish enough to touch these webbed and tangled branches of an autumn barberry bush. ____________________________________________
Digital oils with a loose-weave canvas texture;
from an original photograph shot November 13, 2010.

Long Black Veil

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
She walks these hills, in a long black veil,
She visits my grave when the night winds wail,
Nobody knows, nobody sees,
nobody knows, but me.
~ © 1959 Danny Dill/Marijohn Wilkin ~ _______________________________________
Digital oil painting. Thank you, Constance Widen, for another wonderful nature photograph that inspired me to paint this image.

Memories of Summers Past

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The moon and stars shine down on a weathered picnic table in an autumn meadow on the shore of a swiftly-flowing river. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting from a photograph by artist Constance Widen.

Harvest Moon (Another Starry Night)

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The Harvest Moon shines down on a rural road surrounded by a forest of trees wearing their autumn colors. _______________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by friend and artist Constance Widen. _______________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Castle in the Lake

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
The castle, sky and nearby trees at the Magic Kingdom, Disney World in Orlando, Florida are reflected in the lake surrounding. The Canada geese wandering along the adjoining peninsula of land seem unimpressed with the view. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph
shot in June 2001. _______________________________________
This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Ready for Winter

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Some industrious person has cut an impressive amount of wood, left to season in a forest field. _______________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Fairytale Lane

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ______________________________________________________ Cobblestones, blue sky, flowering trees and beautiful blossoms all add up to a fairytale landscape. ___________________________________________________ Canvas-textured digital oil painting from a photograph by talented Canadian painter Constance Widen.

Lyric Seaside, September

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ This abandoned shed next to a spit of land sits, facing the sea, among meadow grasses and wildflowers on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Digital oil painting based on an original photograph shot in September 2003.

Moonlight Mile

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved __________________________________________
A shining lake awaits those who explore this woodland path bordered with spring wildflowers. _________________________________________ Digital oil painting from a photograph shared with me by talented Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Moonstruck (My Starry Night)

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
My pilgrimage to greet the Autumn Equinox
led me here. __________________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by
talented Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Down on the Farm

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
I ain't gonna work on Gavin's farm no more...
but it sure is nice to look at. _________________________________________
Digital oils from a photograph by artist Constance Widen. I'm sorry, Constance, the mountains had to go!

After the Frost

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
This natural arrangement of colorful autumn leaves was at my feet as I got out of the car in my mother's Connecticut driveway one late autumn afternoon after our first heavy frost. _________________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph;
shot November 7, 2009.

Winter Cedar

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ Windtwisted and half-dead, a stunted red cedar stands among beach grass on the winter shore. ___________________________________________ Digital pen, ink & watercolor from an original photograph shot in Madison, Connecticut in 2002.

Canadian Sunday (Out by the Lake)

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
View of an idyllic spot to spend a lazy spring Sunday. _________________________________________ Digital oils; the colors are deliberately understated in the style of vintage postcards. Thanks to artist Constance Widen for the wonderful photograph from which I adapted and painted this.

Haze on Moonlit Meadow

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
A fine mist has washed over this sunset meadow, and the rising full moon, illuminating the minuscule droplets, creates a soft haze over the landscape. _________________________________________ Digital oil painting; the colors of the sky and the snippet of flora were inspired from a photograph by artist Constance Widen.

Snow on Scarlet Magick

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A sacred symbol of magick and mystery across many cultures throughout history, a flame-colored rowan tree, with its clusters of ripe berries waiting for hungry birds, glows dramatically against an unexpected late autumn snowfall. _______________________________________
Digital oil painting with a watercolor wash; from a photograph by my friend, the Canadian artist Constance Widen.

Monet after Midnight

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _____________________________________________ Willows and water lilies are washed in silver moonbeams, giving this tranquil garden pond a magickal aura. _____________________________________________ Digital oil painting adapted from one of talented artist and friend Constance Widen's photographs.

Early Casualty

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Although it was only late August, this Eastern Cottonwood leaf was already sere and detached from its tree. It was caught in a swirling vortex in a rushing stream. _______________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph shot in Fairfield, Connecticut, August 2001.

Apple Tree in April

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ The beautifully-varied hues of the blossoms on an old apple tree are highlighted by the shining silver moon. ___________________________________________ Digital oil painting with a barely-there fine fabric surface. Thanks to friend and artist Trixi Jahn who shared her photograph with me.

The Allée at Dawn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________ The sun begins to struggle through the overcast sky at the far end of a stately walkway bordered by white birches and other trees. _________________________________________ Digitally oil-painted panel from an original photograph shot in Higganum, Connecticut in 1986. ___________________________________________
This painting has been licensed to Disney/ABC for use in one of their TV shows.

South African Sky

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
A Minimalist depiction of a fiery sunset over a sparsely-treed hillside in South Africa. _________________________________________ Digital oil painting with heavy brush and canvas texture, from a photograph kindly shared with me by artist Constance Widen.

The Delicacy of a Summer Night

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Darkness envelops a rocky path to the water on the Connecticut coastline. ___________________________________________
Shot in July 2006.

Rocky Ground

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Detail of an old neglected garden, featuring the heavy, rocky soil we New Englanders know so well. Note the persistent lily-of-the-valley plants still growing between the edging stones. _______________________________________
Digital oils from an original photograph
shot July 31, 2010.

Autumn in July

Moonlight on the Mississippi

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Moonlight reflects a bright spectrum of colors in the waters of the Big Muddy in the wake of a ship.

Digital oil impasto; original photograph shot somewhere on the Mississippi in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in June 2001.

Autumn Rainbow

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ An elm sapling surrounded by flame-colored, withered maple leaves droops against a concrete wall as winter's chill approaches. Digital pen, ink and watercolor from an original photograph shot in November 2009.

There's still time to order one of my themed original artwork calendars for 2010, available exclusively on redbubble. You can view them here: Calendars for 2010 by RC deWinter.

Great gifts for the holidays or any time - or treat yourself! Visit The Contemporary Crone's Magical Marketplace at Zazzle for a variety of attractive and affordable items imprinted with my original artwork.

25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Deeper into the Greenwood

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________________ This rustic path with its lush canopy of leaves and shafts of sunlight undoubtedly leads to the perfect place to enjoy a summer's idyll. ________________________________________________ Digital oil painting from one of the talented Constance Widen's photographs.

The Farm Back Home

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved __________________________________________________ Hills, trees, blue sky with dandelion-fluff clouds, lake, wildflowers, fertile fields - a beautifully rustic arrangement of natural beauty. ________________________________________________ Thanks again to wonderful and talented Constance Widen for sharing this snap of a farm in South Africa with me. Digital oil painting with a very light linen finish, from her photograph.

Gone to Seed

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________________ A spidery, dry umbel of Queen Anne's Lace is ready to shed and scatter its seed for next year's growth. In the background lies a rural farmstead and behind it, the sea. _________________________________________________ Digital oil painting on a light canvas texture after an original photograph shot in Prince Edward Island, Canada, in September 2003.

Bridal Arch in Summer Sunshine

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _________________________________________
The summer sun shines brightly on a storybook, living-rose row of arches; a perfect processional for a June bride. ___________________________________________ Digital oils from an original photograph shot during the Rose Garden Festival, June 19, 2010 at historic Elizabeth Park in Hartford, Connecticut. Best viewed as large as possible.

Motif Japonica No. 14

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _______________________________________________ A bare tree just beginning to realize spring is here stands starkly against a lightly-grunged silk background. ________________________________________________ Digital oil painting with a natural canvas texture from an original photograph shot April 2, 2010.

Wired Moon

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The moon was very close to the earth on January 29th, 2010. I happened to catch a photograph of it while in the car, and thought the angularity of the electrical equipment was an interesting contrast to the perfect circle of the moon. Digitally painted and textured and best viewed large for color and detail.

High as an Elephant's Eye

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
There's a bright silver haze on the garden,
There's a bright silver haze on the garden,
The squash is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky.
~ with apologies to Oscar Hammerstein II ~ ___________________________________________ Digital oil painting of squash plants in blossom overwhelming a rickety garden fence; from an original photograph shot June 19, 2010.

Quick Take on Autumn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Vivid maple leaves display a riot of color against their tree trunk and the October sky. Digital Impressionist watercolor of a slice of autumn beauty in Connecticut. Based on an original photograph shot in 2009.

Fat Sparrow, Fat Fence

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ This nonchalant sparrow never blinked or fluttered when I moved in fairly close to shoot a photo of his smug self sitting pretty on a log fence in rural Colorado. ___________________________________________ Long, narrow (length 2x width) panel digital oil painting with a watercolor wash from that original photo shot in April 2004. The strong, sharp detail embellishments on the smooth wood finish - that give the image an Asian influence - are unfortunately not very visible on imagekind.

Meadow Grass in Sepia

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _____________________________________________
I love the spring meadow grasses that grow in our Connecticut open spaces. I found these in a field in Guilford. _____________________________________________ Sepia vintage-style photograph shot May 22, 2010. _________________________________________ This is an ART for Cancer Group image.
25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

English Pastorale

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

A rustic fence, blue sky and trees; bushes, grasses and wildflowers in a hilly meadow - a quintessential English landscape.

Digital oil painting based on talented artist Constance Widen's photograph from her most recent visit to Merrie Olde.

This image has been licensed by ABC for use as set decor for the TV show 'Desperate Housewives'.

Shroom Solitaire

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

One mushroom sits in a thicket deep in a Canadian forest.

Digital oil painting superimposed on a textured art-paper background. From an original photograph shot in September 2003.

Night in the Druid Cathedral

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A semi-circle of ponderosa pines and other conifers stands as though waiting for Druids to come to worship. Shot in April, 2005 in the wilds of Colorado.

South African Primitive

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ A nostalgic look at rural South Africa 100 years ago. ___________________________________________ Digital oil painting with a folk-art feel, with a gently-cracked wood surface. Based on a photograph shared with me by talented artist Constance Widen.

The Brilliance of the Corn Moon

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A clouded full moon, heavy in the sky, illuminates a well-worn, leaf-strewn footpath. __________________________________________ The Corn Moon is the traditional name for the September full moon, although if it occurs after the Autumn Equinox, it is called the Harvest Moon. __________________________________________ Digital oils from a photograph by Canadian artist Constance Widen. __________________________________________

Meadowstars in Manx

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved _______________________________________________ Spring enchantment in full bloom transforms this meadow on the Isle of Man into a starry delight. _______________________________________________ Digital oil painting adapted from a photograph shared with me by the talented Constance Widen.

Moonlight on Canadian Lake

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
A pair of Canada geese hover near the marshy shore of a rural lake illuminated by an autumn full moon. ___________________________________________
Digital textured oil painting with a watercolor wash; from a photograph shared with me by my dear friend and gifted artist Constance Widen.

Rippled Water, Rippled Reeds

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

Greengold reeds and bluegray water ripple in the breeze along the
shore where a salt marsh meets the sea in Fairfield, Connecticut.

I have always loved salt marshes. Having grown up very near to a vast expanse of salt marsh, many of my most wonderful memories from childhood are of the beauty of nature to be found there.

My Salt Marsh
Carefully exploring,
following squishy pathways,
hearing the call of the redwing,
catching a glimpse of a quail scurrying away to hide in the tall grass,
being startled by a grasshopper whirring out of the reeds,
the pungent fragrance of the salt air
mingling with the ever-present scent of marsh itself -
these are some of my timeless treasured memories
from those days that are no more.
© 2010 RC deWinter

Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in summertime,
so long ago I can't remember when.

Tramping Out at Dawn

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ In the more fertile, flora-friendly parts of South Africa, warm spring and summer days bring a blanket of bloom to the meadows. Imagine waking up at dawn and walking out to this. ___________________________________________ My deepest thanks to artist Constance Widen, from whose photograph of wildflowers in Bonnievale, South Africa this flecked-paper-textured digital oil painting is taken.

The Woods Are Lovely, Dark and Deep

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
from Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening ~ Robert Frost ~

Shot in the forest at Florissant National Monument in Colorado, April 2005. Best viewed closely for toning and detail.

Twilight Grasslands

Flood Tide in the Salt Marsh

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________
Early autumn rains have swollen the stream running through a rural salt marsh. __________________________________________
Digital oil painting from an original photograph; shot in September 2003, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Over the Hill

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ________________________________________________ An aged, abandoned barn sits alone in a meadow underneath the autumn stars as the moon rises on the horizon. The title is a sly reference to the condition of the barn and the placement of the moon. ____________________________________________ Digital oil painting after an original photograph shared with me by the talented Constance Widen, artist extraordinaire.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A meadow full of flowers bordering a forest and a beautifully constructed stone wall - these are a few of my favorites things - especially when they're all wrapped up in New England summer sunshine. Digital pen, ink and oil painting from an original photograph shot in Fairfield, Connecticut in early September 2003.

Break of Day

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ View from the roadside across a meadow and farm fields on a crisp, sunny fall morning on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in September 2003.

Great gifts for the holidays or any time - or treat yourself! Visit The Contemporary Crone's Magical Marketplace at Zazzle for a variety of attractive and affordable items imprinted with my original artwork.

Golden Meadow, September

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A bug's eye view of the beautiful meadow grass and other plants that flourish in this field on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Shot in September 2003.

25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Looking for that perfect holiday gift? Browse my original artwork themed calendars for 2010 exclusively on redbubble.

Fence with a View

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Beyond the rustic fence, a meadow starred with wildflowers gives way to gently rising dunes, while on the upper right a well-worn path leads to the sea. Digital pen, ink and watercolor based on an original photograph shot on Prince Edward Island, Canada in September 2003.

Waiting for Winter

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~

Waiting for Winter

The other afternoon I stepped out to stand in the sun.
Rays flowed over my shoulders like a mantle of atomic gold
but carried on the wind I caught the scent of Jack Frost,
sent ahead as scout by Old Man Winter.
Today I waited in the bookstore for a cafe au lait
to jumpstart the weekend.
My gaze strayed to the high windows across and out there,
waiting for her lover Death, stood Madame Maple,
already wearing new accessories:
her tresses streaked with auburn,
her arms slightly denuded of the lush raiment she sports
in highest summer.
The year and I grow old.
Time to lay in supplies, I guess.
But where is that one to wrap me close and keep me safe
when Dark comes early and the wolves grow quiet,
circling patiently round my dimming fire?

© 1999, 2009 Regina Coeli deWinter

Day's End

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Autumn twilight descends as farmhands straggle in from the fields, knowing they have only weeks of work remaining before the snowy New England winter. Notice Venus, the 'evening star', rising on the left. Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in late September 2002.

Riverrun

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Another view of the glacial Gunnison River in early spring as it rushes icily through the Black Canyon in Colorado. Digital watercolor from an original photograph shot in 2005.

The Light in the Forest

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Digital pen, ink and watercolor of the woods out back, the remaining leaves shimmering in the pale autumn sunlight. Based on an original photograph shot in November 2009.

Coat of Many Colors

Wind Motif, Old Dam Road

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The salt summer wind off the water blows robustly across the salt marsh and through the leaves of a lone tree on Old Dam Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Digitally painted and finished with a fine linen weave from an original photograph shot in the 1970's.

Snippet of Fall

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Rain-kissed leaves of burning bush (aka winged spindle in the UK and Pfaffenhütchen in Germany) show off their brightening fall colors. Its botanical name, Euonymus alatus, is a hodgepodge of Greek and Latin, which loosely translates to 'winged, with a good reputation.' Digitally enhanced from an original photograph shot October 9, 2009.

Winter Hideout

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The hollow base of this dead tree, surrounded by the detritus of the forest, will provide a snug haven for some small creature during the ravages of winter weather. Digital pen, ink and watercolor sketch from an original photograph shot in November 2009.

Diana Shines

© 2009 RC deWinter ~~ The shining silver moon sheds her soft light across the Colorado sky and through the bare winter trees.

25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, which sponsors research into a cure for breast cancer.

Wintermelt

Misty Morn in the Mountains

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A light mist swirls gently around the cliffs and flora of the Rocky Mountains early on a spring morning. Digital watercolor from an original photograph shot in Colorado in 2005.

Autumn Seined

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ These sugar maple leaves have fallen from their mother tree into the silken strands of an enterprising spider's web. Photo shot in September 2009.

25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Pale Sunlight

Perfect Fair Weather

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The afternoon begins to give way to evening as New England country fairgoers head for the food tents. Digital folk-art oil painting from an original photograph shot at the Durham Fair in Connecticut in September 2002.

Storm Shelter

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A tiny sparrow nestles in the interior branches of a large Ponderosa pine to wait out a snowstorm. Digital oil painting based on an original photograph shot in southwestern Colorado in 2005.

The Grasslands in Spring

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The just-emerging, subtle colors of the Rocky Mountain grasslands near Crested Butte, Colorado shimmer under the bright spring sky. Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in May 2004.

25% of all sales of this picture will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

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Long Way Down

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A bird's eye view of the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon from atop a huge chasm. Digital watercolor from an original photograph shot in Colorado in April 2005.

The Cliffs of Insanity

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ A sweeping view of cliffs and sands seen while driving south through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The title is, of course, a play on the cliffs so named in the movie The Princess Bride - although I do think climbers are insane...:-)

Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot in April 2005.

Fountain of Gold

The Last of the Old Yew

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ An ancient yew bush that had stood in front of my childhood home for more than 60 years finally had to go. The rot evident in what's left had spread and caused a slow but inevitable decay. Photograph shot in September 2009.

La Mort des Feuilles

Creeping into Winter

Study in Light and Color

Goodnight in the Valley

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ The golden sun slowly sinks behind the last of the day's clouds as the first stars twinkle over this rural valley in Oregon. In the foreground sits one of Jerry Carlin's magnificent gates. Digitally painted from his photograph.

Ribbon of Road through the Grasslands

Natura Simplex

Goodnight, Autumn

Just a Bit Seedy

Over the Falls

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ An antique colonial home and its surroundings are reflected in the clear water flowing over this small dam. Digital oil painting from an original photograph shot during the winter in Connecticut in 2000.

A Winter Walk through Washington

© 2009 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ~~ Softly-falling snow begins to gather along the path on the perimeter of the White House fence in Washington, DC. Digitally penned and water-colored from an original photograph shot in 1999.

Falling Water Stairsteps

Splashing Down the Stones

In the Greenwood

Jack Kell's Woods

© 2010 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved ___________________________________________ Even during daylight hours, Jack Kell's Woods is shrouded in mist, the light pale, flickering; the treetops disappear into the veil of gray and the water in the stream is black as molasses. ___________________________________________ You can't get the villagers to enter Jack Kell's Woods at night, and few are those who visit in the day. Ask anyone in rural West Sussex and they'll tell you how Jack Kell was drowned in that very stream after making an oath that he would marry sweet Abby or die trying. ___________________________________________ Digital grunge oil painting with a fiber paper finish; based on a photograph shared with me by friend and artist Constance Widen.