Letting Go of Winter
By C.J. Lori | March 12, 2021
As some warmer days get sprinkled through March, I can’t help but think of Shakespeare’s opening line in Richard III, Now is the winter of our discontent. Whether it is the minor struggles of cabin fever and too many Zooms, or the major devastation of lost lives and jobs, we are all tired and sad and frustrated. Yet we are also poised to move forward and anxious for spring, the season of hope and renewal.
C.J. Lori, A Clearing in the Woods, oil on canvas, 20″ x 30″ ©2021
A Clearing in the Woods is my attempt to find the beauty and fascination in those days where the wind blows cold and there is no snow to brighten the landscape. In paint, I delight in the intricacies of bare branches and imagine my husband poking at a campfire. Some trees are leaving, as they always do, though maybe not in the way that I portray them. Some may find this painting melancholic, others may find it uplifting. I am on a metaphoric swing that carries me back and forth between the two. I am hopeful that when I become eligible and get the vaccine, my swing will remain in the uplifted position.
Copyright © 2021 C.J. Lori
C.J. Lori is an oil painter living in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her work reflects her interest in literature, anthropology and psychology, as well as an abiding fascination with the natural world. She has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout New England, and in New York and Chicago, including the Danforth Museum in OFF THE WALL, and Figure, Fantasy and Illusion, Selections from the Arthur S. Goldberg Collection. She won first prize in Paint!, a national exhibition at the South Shore Arts Center. Ms. Lori is represented by 13 Forest Gallery in Arlington, Massachusetts and Array Contemporary in Boston.