Landscape into art

I sometimes play a game with myself when I'm scrolling through Pinterest. I look only at the images - not where they came from or who posted them - and wait for something to jump out at me. I try not to "repin" or even "like" anything unless it almost startles me - its beauty, its familiarity, something. So much of what's pinned starts to look the same, and I love the feeling of seeing something different that moves me.

I felt that way when I came across a series of paintings (not on Pinterest!) by Katherine Downey Miller, an artist who grew up in the town next to mine and still lives and works nearby. Our local magazine profiled Miller and talked about her connection to nature and the land.

Her paintings are so beautiful and remind me why I live here, despite another snowstorm yesterday and gray and white everywhere. Miller turns this landscape into art, into something to celebrate. And I couldn't resist adding the painting at the bottom, which for me makes a different kind of connection.

All images by Katherine Downey Miller