This is one of my favorite little paintings. I had fun painting it. It’s on a little 6″ x 4″ postcard size watercolor paper. I painted a lot more this weekend and last weekend than I usually do. They were all fun and easy Christmas paintings. This is another one that I saw on Pinterest, so not an original design.
I can be a bit of a Grinch at Christmas. I know y’all didn’t think that about me, but it’s absolutely true. I’m more of a routine sort of girl, and holidays throw my routines out of whack. People have expectations at Christmas, and I don’t like it when people expect anything of me. It gives me an oppressive feeling…a feeling of being oppressed. Crazy, right?
Maybe a lot of people are closet Grinches. I posted this painting on Facebook, and everybody said it was their favorite. Why do people say Christmas is magical? Where is the magic? What is the magic? I must be lacking something. I remember the excitement of being a child and going to the Christmas parade. It felt like my heart was in my throat when the bands went by. I no longer get that feeling. I only get the feeling of stress caused by the expectations of others.
So…the Grinch. I like this painting.
I call this fella Rudolph Snowman because he has a big red nose like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He’s now sitting on the fireplace mantel among the reindeer paintings we did at Painting With a Twist.
I read today that it’s better to paint small paintings every day than to work on a large painting for a long time. Sounds good to me. The completion of something quickly might keep me motivated. For this painting, I used 4″ x 6″ Strathmore Watercolor Postcards, 3 Pads. These cards can be used as painted postcards or Christmas cards.
I saw a painting posted in a Facebook group, and the lady who did it said she had only been painting for a year. Her painting was way less amateurish than mine. Although I’ve been painting for a year, it has been just sporadic and mainly a few minutes here and there on the weekends. I know I shouldn’t be comparing myself to others, but I do. It doesn’t make me feel bad. It makes me want to work harder and improve. Whether my paintings or good or bad, they bring me joy. I feel joy while I’m painting them and again when I see them hanging on the wall or sitting on a shelf.
I want to do seasonal paintings for all the different seasons and holidays. I love this little snowman and will be sad to put him away when Christmas is over. I’m sure I’ll do other paintings that I love as much.
I must say this is not an original design by me. It’s something from Pinterest. I’m not really at the place yet where I have much luck painting my own creations. I know the more I practice that it will come. I’ll just keep doing it.
I realized after taking this picture that I need art classes, particularly on blending. This little kitty is cute, but it’s not the best I am capable of doing. I Googled acrylic painting classes and found Skillshare. It was a pleasant surprise to see how many art classes they have. There are a lot of acrylic painting classes, including some on billing. I signed up for the free seven days and began watching. After seeing two classes, I’m going to get the subscription for a year. It definitely looks worth it.
When my son saw the little kitten above, he said it needs to be repainted because his kitten is black. I have a second one since I bought two by accident, so I’m going to paint the other one black. It does look a little like his kitten. This little guy lights up. I bought it at Michaels. I kind of went overboard that day and bought one of most of their Christmas wood cutouts.
Someday when I retire – not any time soon – I may set up a real art studio and paint. Sure, I need to get a lot better at it, but that will come with practice. There’s still time. I won’t retire until I have a plan in place for how I’ll stay busy. Otherwise, I might just sit on the couch and watch tv all the time, and I don’t want to do that. I am an avid tv watcher, but I need something more. Practice makes perfect.
I’ve been doing a little painting for Christmas. I bought the barn/truck wooden cutout at Hobby Lobby. I’m really pleased with the way it turned out.
For the truck and the bow, I used ARTEZA Acrylic Paint, Crimson Red Color, (120 ml Pouch, Tube), Rich Pigment, Non Fading, Non Toxic, Single Color Paint for Artists & Hobby Painters. It’s a great shade of red.
The holidays aren’t usually my thing, but I’ve really gotten into it this year. I think painting the Christmas scenes is helping to get me into the holiday spirit.
I loved holidays when I was a kid. We would go to my grandma’s house and spend the whole day with my cousins, aunts and uncles. There were so many of us, and an insane number of presents under the tree. My grandma made something homemade for each of us, usually a doll with handmade clothes that she spent all year making. There was so much wonderful food and desserts, and I loved my cousins.
Something happened along the way, and I even grew to hate the holidays. All the buying gifts that people didn’t like, cooking food that was criticized, and spending hours on the road just to cook, wash dishes, and be criticized all weekend. Even after things changed, it took 20 years for me to lose the negative feelings. I’m just now starting to appreciate the holidays again. Painting is a big part of helping me to move past it.