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Vintage Holiday – Painting of the Week
Lighting
I have always been fascinated with the colors displayed by a Christmas tree. Vintage Holiday challenged me to capture the inner essence of this symbolic tradition. There is no color without light and of course the lights you choose totally change your tree’s appearance. I remember watching both of my girls staring deep into the tree, and without fail, catch myself doing the same. Sparkling balls reflect the light magnifying it as they nest in the gorgeously scented evergreen boughs filled with memorable holiday ornaments. Each tree becomes a unique creation and changes through the years.
It was interesting to paint this as there are multiple light sources. The ornaments on my tree weren’t necessarily shiny, several were vintage foam carved ornaments with sparkly paint. First, glowing lights were painted around the ornaments which were then painted to show volume. What really surprised me in this light filled setting was by darks connecting to the ornaments, it gave them the feeling of light. Adding watercolor-pencil seemed to bring out a reflective quality.
Sincerely,
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Feeling Festive? Vintage Holiday and Snow Day are at the Underbrush Gallery in Fargo. Snow Day – you need to see in person to see its magic. It is of a Fargo scene on 10th Avenue North. The watercolor tells the story of the peace you experience when you go out in the morning and see when fresh snow has quietly fallen in the night.
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Scrawled inside the cover of a favorite children’s book my mother had picked up somewhere read “To Corky, From Gran and Gramps, Christmas, 1965”. The book’s beautiful art and many tales always brings back fond memories of my childhood when I look at it. I guess you are never too old for a picture book and a good story. Did you know “Samson’s Gift”, a Christmas story I wrote and illustrated, won a gold Illumination award for the “Keepsake/Gift/Specialty Bible Category “. It has many great reviews too. Here is one:
“I personally loved the story and look forward to sharing it with my grandchildren someday.”
– Mary Jo Prado -https://childrenbookzone.blogspot.com