"The Vigil" 2010 watercolor C. Asheley Kapelewski

This painting of a Barred Owl has a sad story behind it. In folklore, owls are said to foretell of a death in the family. This is a portrait of the owl who came and sat by a window of our house the day I received a call from an out of state doctor that my father had not long to live. This owl was there during every heartrending phone call I had with the hospital, and with my dad during his last two weeks on Earth. As I returned from saying my final goodbyes, my dad passed away. The owl was there the next morning, looked at me, and flew away, never to return to that perch by the window.

 

"Shelter #1" 2013 watercolor C. Asheley Kapelewski

On the way back from xc skiing on the west side of Mt Mansfield, I stopped to photograph a pine forest that was freshly coated with snow. The rhythm of the old CCC planted forest was like music for my eyes. Fresh tracks of deer hinted at the residents of this forest. I put some of the creatures that shelter there in my painting.