Linda Denis

Mother Nature is in charge here with 25 cm of snow in our first winter storm. Of course, she precedes with rain, ice and mild weather.

Oil on canvas, 10×10, 2024

I titled the above “when a day makes a difference “ because November was mild and the sheep were turned out in a pasture enjoying new growth after late and final hay cut. Shortly after the snow started.

Oil on canvas, 12×25, 2024

These sheep are resilient to this changing weather pattern. Here they huddle together and make a decision to head back to the barn.

Now it’s official winter is here with solstice marking the shortest day of the year  yesterday Saturday 21 At 4:20 am. Best wishes to all for the end of 2024 and forward and onward to 2025.

Halloween and All Saints’ Day are over and the hills have lost their fall foliage – time to move on to another season. It’s a striped down landscape where the hills, sky and Gatineau River dominating with dark foreboding colours.

The silver lining is the local farmland where recently mowed hay fields enjoy the recent rain and warmth giving us a beautiful green carpet.

Gatineau Farmland, oil on canvas, 2024

Summer arrived with hot June days reaching 30C with all seeming well here in the hills. The turtles are off laying their eggs in the loose gravel along the chemin de la Rivière. The Baltimore orioles are nesting in the tall spruce trees along the bicycle& walking trail and my other favourite the red winged-black bird is happily sing « conk-a-réel » at the local turtle pond

A new generation of turtles taking a sun bath on the shared log.  The canvas is 20 by 28 inches, oil paint, 2024. Turtle are now crossing the road so please slow down and avoid them.

Farm Point turtle pond 2024

Traversée des tortues, Farm Point, Chelsea, Qc

One of my favourite spots to sketch here in the Gatineau Hills is the local turtle pond. Warm sunny days will be here soon and then the turtles will be surfacing to take sunbaths.

I like to take my watercolour paints and paper to sketch here. There is always red-wing black birds, frogs, dragonflies but no mosquitoes.

There is an abundance of scenery to sketch in the Hills- the  local Déry quarry, the Gatineau River, Wakefield village and in the background the “Hills” part of the Laurentian Canadian Shield. This winter I stayed in my studio and painted from my studio windows and sketchbook. I am always one to exaggerate when it comes to colour. Enjoying the sunset and early vegetation in March inspired me to create this landscape of the local swamp.

Déry Quarry, oil on birch board, 12×36, 2023

Winter is officially here in Quebec with a snowfall of 20 cm this past week. I took advantage of the milder weather today to paint my impression from the top of the quarry towards the Gatineau River and hills. It is amazing how digging and removing gravel can give a beautiful landscape. Perhaps I am embracing my professor philosophy «  there is a painting everywhere you look so stop and paint »

Bramble Bushes along the ´Fleuve Saint-Laurent’ , oil on canvas , 24×24, 2006

The above painting was completed at Les Éboulement along the shoreline of St. Lawerence with the tide receding towards L’lsle-aux-Coudres. Now looking forward to plein air painting this April 2024 in Charlevoix