If that statement sounds a bit top-heavy with gratuitous praise, sceptics need only drop by the brightly lit venue next to the Westmount Public Library to see for themselves.

Colby’s carefully composed and delicately coloured images of idyllic Eastern Townships winters might be considered a visual counterpart to some of Robert Frost’s most famous lines — but though most of her contemporaries have chosen that well-trodden path toward heightened expression, often to the point of abstraction, Colby has resisted that temptation and remained on the less-travelled road that keeps her firmly grounded in realism.

Working in acrylics, Colby has captured the essence of cold, sunny afternoons around North Hatley, in some cases so vividly that it would take little imagination for viewers to smell the smoke from cottage fireplaces and hear the wind rushing through old pine trees. From subtly different shades of snow to the greys and umbers of leafless maples, Colby has carefully created the truest possible colours from nature on her palette and rendered on canvas a series of realistic images of the snow-covered fields, roads and rolling hills surrounding Lake Massawippi.

This of course is no small feat, and she has succeeded admirably; her sense of place — and obvious love for her subject matter — come through with each delicate brushstroke.

• 'Soundings' by Sara Peck Colby is on display at the Gallery at Victoria Hall, 4626 Sherbrooke St. W., through March 14. For more information, call 514-989-1403.