Merry Christmas

  

16" x 24" - Oil on Stretched Canvas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you Dear Friends!  A most sincere thank you to each of you on this blog and on FaceBook who continues to follow my work even when I'm so slow to paint and post.  Your support has been encouraging and I promise to do better in the future.  

Well, 2022 while a bit of a roller coaster ride was mostly positive until Hurricane Ian blew through Port Charlotte in late October.  We were blessed that damage to our property was slight compared to so many of those around us.  Part of the garage ceiling fell, and we lost soffits, gutters, a privacy fence, and a mailbox.  Our huge oak tree was mangled, triple pigmy date palm gone, and gigantic holes washed out behind the seawall.  Thankfully the steel shutters covering all windows and doors totally protected the inside.  There was minimal damage to the cars in the garage and by some miracle, our roof stayed intact as did our lanai screens.  We were in North Carolina and didn't return to face the cleanup until mid-November since our neighbors had graciously picked up all debris.  We had wifi when we arrived but it took almost two weeks to get Direct TV going again.   

The painting for this year's card is loosely based on Marcel Rieder's (1885-1941) DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE.  I have always been fond of this composition even though there doesn't seem to be a good photo of the original painting online.