About The North Wind Doth Blow

The North Wind Doth Blow is a design for a secular Christmas card. I try to paint one new Christmas card design every year. I was inspired to paint the robin and the North Wind by the 16th century rhyme, the first verse of which we learned off by heart when we were very young. It goes like this:

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then, Poor thing?
He’ll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, Poor thing!

My painting had to feature a robin this year. I keep hearing them sing! On the day my stepdad died in December 2021 I heard the most wonderful song coming from on top of our chimney pot – a glorious robin, singing his/her heart out. At my stepdad’s funeral – guess who was singing in the hedgerow as we parked the car? And guess whose sweet voice has accompanied me every day as I go for my morning walks?

Did you notice the string of blue bunting flapping about in the gusts? A line with blue triangles is use in meteorology to symbolise an advancing cold front on a weather map.