Holiday Greetings

This image is the small watercolor greeting that was sent out to an artist in my class.  Each holiday season we put our names in a hat and draw one....making a handmade card for that person becomes, not only a painting challenge (in that we have to paint on a much smaller scale), but an opportunity to come up with a concept that  allays the joys of the season.  My inspiration comes from photos shot earlier this fall of the towering and majestic homes that grace Victorian Village in Columbus, Ohio.  "Majesty" was my motive.  While I doubt that many of the artists in the class live in homes of such immense grandeur, I feel that we tap into this same feeling of majesty that illuminates the simpler things that occur in our daily lives...a dove on a snow-covered limb, a smiling glance from a loved one across a holiday table, sharing a few laughs from a simple board game, and the sheer beauty of a simple string of colored lights.

I hope that your holiday season was majestic in some way.  I also hope that we can discover the majestic in like simple subjects throughout the coming year.

This small 5 x 7 card (Strathmore cards designed for watercolor) was taped around the edges while I painted.  I then removed the tape and painted the peak decorations to break the boundary for more interest. 

Ruvati sinks, Mungo Park, Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts

  

While traveling, I have pretty much given up hauling any paint set along, even the smaller travel sets.  Instead, I try to use the small bits of otherwise-unscheduled time to sketch.  These sketches can be aborted at any time.  Some of the unfinished ones are among my favorites!  Over the years, these sketches have become like small journals, little bites of time, where notes remind me of activities and conversations.  Just before Thanksgiving of this year, we were fortunate to rent a "little house" (a charming A-frame) on the Outer Banks, for a few days of quiet and oneness with nature. 

The top sketch is my loving partner engaged in reading, one of his favorite pastimes.  His book is Travels in the Interior of Africa by Mungo Park, a treasure on loan from one of his friends.

The second sketch is our son while we are watching the movie "While We're Young", starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts, a light-hearted movie with some bits of wisdom tucked in.....aren't they all?It was a fun way to spend an evening.

The third sketch is of my husband again, keeping warm with his sweatshirt hood surrounding, laying back in the limited amount of lighting available while we discussed the unusually modern and lovely appliances that made this small rental such a pleasure.  We (maybe just I ) have been considering a kitchen update sometime in the future, so we gather ideas when we can.  Although the sketch is a bit unflattering, the spotty play of light made this sketch exciting to do....It conveys a great mood, I think.

When I look back at these some time in the future, I am sure I will be smiling as I recall these sweet and rare hours spent with my dear ones.