Ekphrasis has generally been considered to be a rhetorical device in which one medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and interpreting it to the audience, through its illuminative liveliness. Through its rhetorical vividness it highlights what is happening, or what is shown and, enhances the original art, through synergy, with its description. Virtually any type of artistic medium may be the object or subject of ekphrasis. Given the right circumstances, any art may describe any other art. In this offering of "painted words" I have taken "poetic licence" firstly with the title "Ekphrasticism". Although not a word to be found in the dictionary, it seemed the perfect word for this book of ekphrastic poetry and paintings. I have taken further poetic licence with my interpretation of the visuals presented in the paintings. The artist extraordinaire of these paintings was generous enough to also allow me to rename some of the paintings to coincide with the emotions and words that came to me while viewing them. I thank Don Portelance for having such great and imaginative artistic talent and for allowing me the honour of writing to his paintings. ~ Candice James