Paintings of our Montréal condo and our coastal house in Nova Scotia that seem to unintentionally mirror each other (painted years apart)

**Boots by the Door** (Broad Cove, NS). Made in early March of 2024. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 5x7”

Where have you lived over the years?

Have you found yourself taking pictures of the same corners of your home, neighbourhood sights, or times of day in these different places?

It can be quite a reflective process to go through and pull some of these similar scenes captured years apart. What was happening in your life at those times? What’s happening now? Where were you headed then? Where might you go from here?

I love creating small paintings around the house. These studies form a visual diary of the spaces I have lived. They capture the light of each place, the flow of the house and rooms, and the objects that filled my life at that time.

Each one takes me back to that specific time and place.

Here are a few paintings, created five years apart, that seem to mirror each other. The similarities were entirely unintentional!

It all began with boots by the door…

I painted this little study of the boots by the front door on one late winter morning. I loved the soft overcast light, the dark shadows, the presence of the antique bench and the slight jumble of boots suggested lightly through just a few brushmarks.

When I completed the study, I ran through my usual review of what worked, what was most interesting about the brushmarks, colours, composition… and decided that it made me happy.

It can be quite a reflective process to go through and pull some of these similar scenes captured years apart. What was happening in your life at those times? What’s happening now? Where were you headed then? Where might you go from here?

An hour or two later, while having my afternoon coffee, it dawned on me that I’d made another painting remarkably like it, years before that I loved in a similar way. So, I hurried upstairs and rummaged around my portfolio cases until I found it. I pulled it out, and held them next to each other. What a strange experience!

As I was sorting through my work, a few weeks later, in order to put together a few mini-collections, I noticed that there were a number of these older and newer paintings that mirrored each other. This lead me to pull together a few more pairings, and to reflect upon the unexpected course life can sometimes take.

So much and so little changes... Sometimes, it seems as though so much has changed, and yet, then you’re struck by a similar idea, or dream, or creation repeating itself almost exactly, years apart. (So many of my ideas for Painted Stories seem to have been waiting quietly on the sidelines for me to return to them – and I’m so glad!)

These repetitions form the through-lines a life… the unique and deeply individual patterns of a person moving through their time here on this planet. I hope you begin to notice and enjoy some of your through-lines, this week.

A few paintings of HERE & THERE

Below, are a few paintings of our Montréal condo and our coastal home in Nova Scotia. I was struck by how similar some of the subjects, themes, and times of year were between the works. The paintings were made approximately five years apart. (I took a pause from painting for the years in between.)

**Boots by the Door**, Montréal (QC), late-winter 2019. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 3x4”. **Boots by the Door**, Broad Cove (NS), late-winter 2024. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 5x7”

**Laundry Room Window**, Montréal (QC), early-winter 2018. Gouache on watercolour paper, approx. 7x9”. **Laundry Room Pastels**, Broad Cove (NS), late-winter 2024. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 4x7”. Interestingly, I intended to paint the tree out the window in this one, too, but changed my mind to keep the composition simple and quiet.

**Afternoon Stove**, Montréal (QC), late-winter 2019. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 4x7”. **Stovetop Reflections**, Broad Cove (NS), October 2023. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 5x7”.

**Plants on the Windowsill**, living room window light, Montréal (QC), early-winter 2018. Gouache on watercolour paper, approx. 7x9”. **Living Room Window Light**, Broad Cove (NS), late-fall 2023. Gouache on tan-coloured paper, approx. 5x5”.

Artist’s Note: I put together a post sharing my simple DIY tools and process for creating these paintings from life. See behind-the-scenes of how I paint from life on the blog, along with some more paintings!

Some of these paintings are now available as originals in the shop (+ Studies coming next week!)

Join the Studio List for tools to help you live your most engaged creative life, view paintings as they are created, and learn the stories behind the works. I share reflections on seasonal/coastal living and art making – as well as sources of inspiration – in a beautiful weekly letter. Those on this list are the FIRST to see and get access to new art.

Here & There: Paintings of home

Paintings of our Montréal condo and our coastal house in Nova Scotia that seem to unintentionally mirror each other (painted years apart)

A few paintings of HERE & THERE

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