Christmas

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2018 Ornaments

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The problem with Christmas commissions is that I can not share them at the time of creation – and then I sometimes forget! So here is a catch-up on last year.

This was a gift to my first born niece (of 27 nieces and nephews). I hope to do one for each of them as they start their own home. This is the home she grew up in and one of my most favorite bulbs.

And pets! Always pets. I think of painting in oils in miniature as similar to sculpting – a little nudge of the paint here and a little one there to create that expression around the eyes. I remember a lot of nudging on this little girl.

This beauty went together in one sitting – a rare and wonderful experience.

I painted 9 last year (I will write up another post for the 9th). I keep my counts low so I can spend quality energy on them. When I was younger, I would paint many, but the images were quick and not personal (traditional New England horse and sleigh or barns and snow scenes.)  This type takes far more time and the quality is crucial to preserve those memories.

So, no, I do not advertise on Etsy and other spaces.

The others created in 2018 can be found here:

 

 

 

A Hummingbird Bulb
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A Hummingbird Bulb

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I have broken out into a whole new phase of my ornament painting. Realistic nature!

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Remember the Inktober drawing I did of a hummingbird? The photographer of the “model” for that image contacted me to commission an ornament. Something I had not contemplated before.

I had never painted a hummer in oils, and certainly not on a curved surface. I started it then panicked, “I can’t do this!”

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However, I know my process pretty well by now and panic is part of it. So I broke state, went shopping, then came back and was in a much more steadied state to finish the first layer. I began to breathe again.

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After a couple of days to let that dry to a tacky surface, I began shaping the next layers, pushing paint around and making tiny little touches. Finally, today I finished it and feel like I have had a tremendous breakthrough in my art. This will always have a special place in my heart. I plan to use this little Rufous Hummingbird to help me push through some watercolor practices in the next month. He is very inspiring.

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That Time of Year

Painting the love in peoples life – preserving memories for their tree.

I was looking at the magnified detail that can not be seen with the naked eye and it hit me that it is impressionistic.

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I push paint around and create the impression of their pet. Often with a 000 sized brush and a cat’s whisker (the cats participate via donations throughout the year.)

 

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2017 Ornaments

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This football helmeted tiger was for a high schooler whose team is the Tigers.

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A first Christmas for a new little cousin and another for some cousins who just got married.

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I first started painting these ornaments in the early 1980s. At that time my sister was very young and I copied a favorite artist (Karl Odenweller) for a gift for her. This past year, one of her own kids dropped it, so I recreated it for her, only with a slightly larger image. Second sister had the same thing happen. Hers was a Hallmark bunny that I placed in her little burrow. And no, I do not copy and sell these.

I do not know how I did those original images the size of a dime when I was younger and with no magnifier!

And speaking of magnification, I finally found a magnifying system that works for me now that I am wearing glasses. Getting older presents new challenges.

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