Winter, But Not Really

I painted a Four-Seasons series, and "Winter" was the one I gave away. It went to my classmate Bryan as he was leaving for Canada—where his sunny personality and "pay-it-forward" attitude will thrive, a fitting personality in a winter scene. But truth be told, I’ve never really liked winter, as I consider myself a tropical bird.

To get through winter, Ive learned to see it as the season heralding spring. A time for preparing the ground for planting seeds, for coaxing life out of the cold soil. Living in Las Vegas where temperatures only plummet to freezing for a handful of days in the dead of winter, I’ve learned that if I want to enjoy a true spring garden, I have to start planting seeds as soon as those few freezing days have passed, long before spring even arrives.

While most people are still bundling up, I’m out there digging, planting, and hoping for the first signs of green. It’s a delicate balance—giving seedlings just enough time to establish themselves before the relentless heat of summer arrives and scorches everything in its path.

I think about that painting sometimes. I don’t remember all the details of it, but I remember why I painted it. Not as a love letter to winter, but as an acknowledgment of its purpose: the quiet before the bloom. The necessary pause before growth.

I didn’t expect to write about my dad today, but I realize now that this idea of winter—of preparing for what’s next—feels like something he understood well. He never rushed anything, never sought quick results. He was patient, thoughtful, always laying the groundwork for something bigger.

Maybe that’s why I plant in winter. Maybe that’s why I keep moving forward, even when the season feels barren. Because I know, eventually, something will grow. Which brings me to the book "Searching for Faerie, Finding Me" - I'm thrilled that I am getting good headway into the illustration of the second version of this book. It's all under wraps for now but there is limited time for the original version available in Amazon before it gets pulled when the new publication comes out. So grab your old copy here. https://a.co/d/89MrP00