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November 18, 2025 by

A hush falls on the snowy pine forest as night falls.

The pine branches, heavy with fresh, powdery snow, glimmer in the faint moonlight. The forest is holding its breath.

This is the type of evening I love best: the air is crisp, clean, invigorating. With each gentle gust of wind, a flurry of powdery snow escapes the branches sending glittering diamonds drifting like scattered stars from the sky. Now and then, I hear the crack of branches somewhere in the distant forest, the only jarring sound in this mysterious setting.

I won’t venture far into the indigo woods. The serene quiet will be appreciated from the path I have chosen this evening.

Snowy hushed forest on wood plaque by Louise Primeau.
Snowy hushed forest.

Snowy Pine Forest Plaque.

I bought this oval plaque at our local Walmart to paint and place on the door of a room in a seniors’ residence.

Whenever I paint on wood (which is often), I wonder what its hidden story might be.

Was it once a tree in a forest such as the one I painted? Have children played around its trunk? How far did it travel?

When a painted forest is more than just a scene on a plaque…

Our family has a history with Canadian boreal forests. Each winter, my paternal grandfather worked in such a forest to support his family. He would be away from home for weeks and months at a time, chopping down trees that would eventually be sent to a nearby paper mill.

Mom and Dad worked all their lives at that paper mill, and I did as well one summer, to pay for tuition at university.

While this painted forest might be static, the memories associated with this forest are very much alive. (see one of my first posts about Dad's lunch box story 1957-1995). This post was seen by the manufacturer in Sudbury Ontario. The L. May Mfg. company contacted me to paint one of their lunch boxes as a Mother's Day giveaway in 2023, and this post is Starry Night Painted Lunch Box. (2023).

Holding my breath, I gently paint the background suggesting the depth of the forest, deepening the shadows that meet the night sky. Then I add the trees in the foreground singling one tree to be the star of the assembly. The finished plaque captures not just the look of the snowy pine forest at night, but its silence, its breath, and its timeless calm.

Once the snow has been added, I use my palette knife to spread twinkling paint – my favourite at the moment is FolkArt Glitterific.

Finally, I add a deep sap green on the oval border. A couple of coats of varnish and this plaque is ready to be delivered to its new owner.

This forest holds a hidden story – one of many evoked by spending time with paint and brush.

6 Responses

  • Very nice story about your family’s connection to the forest. A nice idea to paint the winter scene on a plaque.

  • Dear Louise, your pictures with the pines I love. It’s a perfect image of a snowy wintersnight. Simple great

  • Hi Louise, it really must be getting close to Christmas with you painting your pine trees or do you call them Fir trees, probably the latter. They certainly exude a feeling of Christmas and it getting colder.

    • We have had early snowfall on two occasions and I felt this forest scene was appropriate for my father’s door in his new residence. So far, the temps are hovering around 0 so not very cold yet. You must be close to sweltering weather soon…the opposite of us. Thanks for stopping by.

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