winter feelings// elliott smith + maurice cullen

Listening to Elliott Smith in the winter can be tricky. If it's a rainy afternoon and you've just put on the 2-disc posthumous album "New Moon" you're bound to be feeling not so happy come song 24. By the end, you could be dissolved in a puddle on the floor singing along to "see you later/ if I see you at all," trying to hold back sobs. BUT as I noticed the other day when the snow kept falling all day, listening to Elliott Smith during snowy weather feels folky and warm. It reminds me of listening to him while cross country skiing up to a wood cabin in the forest. Or driving back from New York State after Christmas. Like the feeling I get when I look at this painting by Maurice Cullen. The late night winter light is so beautiful! I'm pretty sure the painting shows the view of Ottawa from the other side of the river in Quebec.

_{Maurice Cullen "Winter Evening, Quebec" 1934}