Different Faces of January

I can travel this road and feel like I am in January...and it is so not only in its literal impact but in its subjective feel--the press of the January days is not to be denied. Or as one New Englander said,  
               "Damn damp to the bones!" 

And it often colors the terrain in the heart, our inner landscape becomes frozen over and lifeless.  The pathway through it looks and feels weatherbeaten. 

Now the contrast with this other painting called "January." Life radiates so that even lifeless snow reflects jubilant colors.  The interior world of the soul pulsates life and warmth.  The "road" or pathway, in contrast to the above road, reflects a golden gateway.  The picture invites! 

Albert Camus wrote that "in the midst of winter, I found an invincible summer."  That's the contract between these paintings.  The irony is that the same Camus felt and lived in the world depicted in the top painting, and his "invincible summer" then bloomed and transformed his life.  The gift of the second picture is always available for those seeking this doorway.