WINTER SCENES

Winter scenes paintings by Quebec artist Clemence St. Laurent

The Canadian winter no longer needs to be emphasized for its reputation for being long and cold – and snowy, with all potential scenarios for sleet, freezing rain and blizzards included.  

The area in Québec where artist Clémence St. Laurent spent a good part of her life, Abitibi (or Québec North-West), is located south of James Bay. That region has a continental climate and, given the latitude, bitter colds in the winter.

Over the last several decades, snowmobiles and winter sports technology drastically changed life in the winter. Before use of the snowmobile became more common in the 1970s, transportation conditions in the winter were difficult and at times risky.

It is no surprise that many of Mrs. St. Laurent's paintings reflects scenes from winter. Some of them are presented here into three categories

THE WATERMARK ON THE PHOTOS DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE ACTUAL PAINTINGS.

Measurements are in inches, and the first number is the height. For centimeters please visit the 'Dimensions' page.

Prices are in Canadian dollars. To place an order please go to this page: ORDERING.
 


WINTER SCENES

Winter in large cities like Toronto or New York looks starkly different than the same season in the countryside.

There is not much to be fond off in the middle of drab, icy concrete and asphalt with brown salty slush being splashed over pedestrians by passing traffic.

One has to go outside the big centers to be able to enjoy the white, soft, peaceful blanket covering Nature. Life is not completely still – many animals, including birds, are active year round.

On a May 3rd in front of our cottage in Montbeillard, 20 x 24 1974 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - showing floating ice on the lake
On a May 3rd, 20 x 24
 
Winter white blanket, 12 x 16 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - landscape covered with snow except unfrozen pond
Winter White Blanket, 12 x 16


On a May 3rd, in Front of Our Cottage in Montbeillard - oil, 20 x 24, 1974 - $5,545
Winter White Blanket - oil 12 x 16 - $3,505

WINTER ACTIVITIES

Aside from shoveling snow, many activities can only be performed in the winter. One is the tradition, in many families, of cutting down their own Christmas tree in a nearby forest (preferably on someone else's property).
Horse-drawn sleigh rides are making a comeback in some areas, especially during the winter holidays. Then in March, for the regions where sugar maples are plentiful, there’s the sap season.

And April, in Abitibi and many other areas in Canada, is usually the season for opening up the cottages for the summer.

Before the Holidays, 14 x 18 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent showing people bringing a cut fir tree from the forest
Before the Holidays, 14 x 18
New Year sleigh ride, 8 x 10 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - horse-drawn sleigh in snow-covered countryside
New Year Sleigh Ride, 8 x 10
Christmas Vacation, 16 x 20 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - children skating and playing hockey on a frozen pond in the countryside
Christmas Vacation, 16 x 20
Before the Holidays - oil, 14 x 18 - $3,805
New Year Sleigh Ride in Gaspésie - oil, 8 x 10 - $1,305
Christmas Vacation - oil, 16 x 20 - $4,355 

Re-opening the cottages, 12 x 16 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - those cottages were closed for the winter, get re-opened for the summer season
Re-opening the Cottages, 12 x 16
Sap collecting season, 11 x 14 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - hand-collecting maple sap in a sugarbush
Sap Collecting Season, 11 x 14
The Family At the Cottage, 11 x 14 oil on canvas by Clemence St. Laurent - children with their dog and sled in the winter countryside
The Family At the Cottage, 11 x 14

Re-opening the Cottages in Abitibi - oil, 12 x 12 - $3,505
Sap Collecting Season - oil, 11 x 14 - $2,670
The Family At the Cottage, oil on canvas, 11 x 14 - $2,625

WINTER SPORTS 

The winter sports industry has drastically changed the way sports are practiced in the winter.

Equipment for skiing and skating-related sports is more sophisticated and safer - and more expensive.

The paintings featured here evoke times of some fifty years ago, when kids would skate on a frozen pond after school and chairlifts were rarely found on smaller ski centers.

Downhill, 12 x 16 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - skiers going downhill in a curve
Downhill, 12 x 16
Lone skier, 8 x 10 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - cross-country skier on a snow-covered lake
Lone Skier, 8 x 10
Winter sports, 11 x 14 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - children sliding down a hill in toboggans
Winter Sports, 11 x 14

A great slide, 8 x 10 oil painting by Clemence St. Laurent - child sliding on snowy hill in a sleigh
A Great Slide - 8 x 10

Downhill - oil, 12 x 16 - $3,305
Lone Skier - oil, 8 x 10, 1984 - $1,295
Winter Sports - oil, 11 x 14 - $2,655
A Great Slide - oil, 8 x 10 - $1,305


Below are some more paintings of winter-related scenes.
The ‘Cat from the Sky’ painting was a gift to one of the artist’s nieces.
Clémence St. Laurent even wrote a little story about this cat, which can be read here.

Abitibi winter, painting by Clemence St. Laurent - thick snow covering with white birch in foreground
Abitibi Winter
The cat from the sky, painting by Clemence St. Laurent - children hold a kitten found in the snow
The Cat From the Sky
Kent Gate, Quebec City, 1962, ink by Clemence St. Laurent - old fortifications
Kent Gate, Quebec City, 1962 - ink
To enjoy Nature - flowers, landscapes - in different seasons, please visit these garden websites:

https://www.gardensofjapan.info/
https://www.gardensofnewzealand.info/
https://www.connecticutgardens.info/
https://www.gardensofhawaii.info/