A woman in a green jacket and white headscarf carries a bucket from the well to the open door which casts a warm glow. Laundry is hanging to dry in the bitterly cold farmyard. The yard is fenced but the gate is open, perhaps awaiting the homecoming of the master; the horses and sleigh.
The daily work is hard. The farm is isolated. The mid-afternoon sun rakes the log house and the outbuildings with warm reds, oranges and pinks as the sun works its way to the horizon. In the foreground are the white tree trunks of northern birches and at the distant horizon, a stand of orange hued trees. Despite the brilliant blue skies, there are snow crystals suspended in the sunlight.
Felix Kalle works with a palette knife to arrive at a tactile surface, then refines the contours with brushwork. He accents objects with pinks and oranges to keep his winter subjects warm and inviting, and his blues are all in the warm range – cerulean and magnesium.
Is this a Canadian or an Estonian farm? Perhaps the log house gives us a clue.
Artist
Artist Name
Felix Kalle
Biography
Felix Kalle was an Estonian immigrant who settled in Toronto, Ontario and was closely connected to the Society of Estonian-Canadian Artist. Born in 1922 and died in 2000.
