How to Discover Joy in Subtle Colors: Lessons from the Winter Garden

The sun is shining, warm and bright. The garden is humming with bees and I catch the scent of roses, mint and spicy tulsi. I step among the blooms with scissors at the ready, choosing which flowers to bring to my studio to paint. Soft pinks, lemon yellow, creamy peach, glowing cobalt… color after color catches my eye.

It’s one of the things I miss most during the winter. Flowers. Color. Endless inspiration just out my back steps.

In the garden in summer I fill my basket with stems and bring it up to my studio to paint. In the winter I can’t do that.

In December I asked myself, why not? I took my basket and a pair of scissors into my sleeping garden and gathered whatever caught my eye.

a painted arrangement of colorful winter-hued rose leaves by Anne Butera

Once I started looking, what I thought was a dull monochrome ended up being much more colorful.

Subtle variations of cream and gold and bronze and chocolate. Looking more closely I noticed copper and moss and flame and colors I couldn’t even name.

I mixed color after color, filling my palette with paint. I didn’t want to stop.

stems of winter garden plants painted in watercolor by Anne Butera

And just like during the summer I lined up the stems in bottles on my painting table.

Rose leaves and other winter garden stems in bottles on a table in Anne Butera's studio

I sketched out arrangements of coneflowers and black eyed Susans. I mingled zinnias and clematis and rose stems.

Colors. Shapes. Textures. The more I looked, the more I saw.

An illustration by Anne Butera of her winter garden

My garden was waiting for me to notice all the subtle beauty of its winter face.

a winter clematis stem in watercolor with fluffy seed heads painted by Anne Butera

Why had I never noticed it before?

I often say color is my favorite part of being an artist. It’s true. Mixing paint never fails to lift my spirits. Making swatches of colors never fails to bring me joy. It’s something I love sharing with my students, too.

Back in September I shared a fun, year-long online event called A Year in Color. I’m one of the presenters.

Registration for the free sampler is once more open (free access to my first lesson begins on the 22nd and goes through the 24th) and includes some sessions not shared the first time around. Also, if you sign up for the full year’s paid program by January 25 you’ll receive a 15% discount.

I’m creating a second session that will go live later this year. This lesson is inspired by my garden’s subtle winter beauty.

I’m glad I opened my mind to possibilities I hadn’t considered before. I’m glad I opened my eyes and took the time to look carefully, to notice beauties I’d missed.

I’m reminded, again, of one of my favorite quotes from Mary Oliver:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

What has astonished you lately?

 
 

Next month I’m planning a shop update that will include these new paintings, both originals and prints, so stay tuned.

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