Winter Sky
Oil on Canvas, 30" X 24", February 2026, Pencil Sketch, and Pastel Study
Out under the winter sky
Out under the winter sky
Stars come trembling on my eye
Stars to tremble my eye.
And I feel like something’s gonna die
I feel like somethin’s gonna die
I feel like somethin’s gonna die
Hand me wings for to fly.
High is heaven in early morn
High is heaven in early morn
Men lie sleeping in beds that are warm
Sleep in beds that are warm.
And I feel like somethin’s being born
I feel like somethin’s being born
I feel like somethin’s being born
Tells my soul not to mourn.
—-Billy Edd Wheeler (words and music)
Winter Sky, Recorded by Judy Collins – Recollections (Album)
In preparation for several hard-frozen winter days, I prepped paper for drawing with a gouache ground and collected some sketching materials from the studio to take to the house. I wasn’t interested in trekking through the rare, Central Texas snowfall to quell the inevitable cabin fever. I also went through all my past photos looking for a suitable subject and realized that nothing attracted me. So, I wandered around outside the studio taking shots in the dim winter light - the arctic blast was only hours away and all the other chores were done.
I descended into the dry creek out back of the studio with my cellphone, thinking, “it’s for my pictures, but it would come in handy if I inadvertently took a nosedive or encountered a mean critter.” I took several photos, noting how much had changed since I painted the Diptych – “Medusa” and “The Bones,” “Fractured Forest,” and “Dry Creek Streaming.”
(My anecdotes about my art and the other posts in the sections Saving Democracy and Whimsy are free to friends. Simply subscribe to become a friend. The image below this message is for interested agents, paid subscribers, and my closest friends….)