Soft pastel

2025

In winter the village feels distant, yet deeply present. The snow covers everything—a soft, endless blanket that quiets the world, turning it into something tender, untouched. On the right, a birch stands, its branches reaching upward and outward, each one heavy with a dusting of blue snow, like delicate whispers frozen in time. The branches seem to frame the scene, guiding the eye inward, gently creating a "window" through which we see more than just the landscape.

Through this window, the village house stands—simple, humble, yet alive with warmth. Its wooden walls, bathed in a soft, radiant light, are a beacon in the midst of the cold. The light is what draws us in, what catches our attention first—shining brightly, contrasting against the pure, quiet snow. It is the warmth in a world that feels frozen, the soft glow that holds the promise of comfort, of being known and cared for.

The snow around it is vast, covering everything in its path, yet there is life in this stillness. The expressive strokes of pastel capture a rawness, an energy that feels like the pulse of the village, the beating heart of this simple home. The brushstrokes themselves echo the quiet movement of the world, soft yet deliberate, like the rhythm of time itself moving quietly through the seasons.

This scene, framed by the birch, holds a kind of romance—subtle, tender, and enduring. The house, though simple in its construction, feels rich with meaning, bathed in light as it is, offering refuge from the cold, inviting us into its warmth. It speaks of solitude and connection, of being sheltered in a world that is often vast and unknowable. The light that shines from it is not just a physical glow; it is the light of something real, something that invites us to pause and remember that even in the coldest, most silent moments, there is a place for warmth, for love, for belonging.

And as the snow falls softly around it, the village home remains, glowing gently against the stillness, framed by the birch, as if reminding us that even in the harshest of winters, there is always a light that calls us home.

32cm x 24.7cm