It’s been a while since I sent out a newsletter and this painting is to blame. Would you look at all the people? Nine. And because I’m not well practiced or particularly good at painting faces they took hours. However, finish I did and here you have another scene featuring Emily, my grandmother, and Christmas Eve at her house.

It all started innocently enough when I found a bit of the wallpaper that had been on Emily’s living room walls. Then things got out of hand. I redrew the wallpaper pattern. It’s bold, don’t you agree? I remembered the olive green sofa and paired it with a club chair that in real life was deep red, one of a pair, but here it’s become green too. Our point of view: we’re in the dining room looking past the built in bookcases into the living room where Santa stands next to the tree handing out one gift each to the Christmas-crazy kids.

So many details. An uncle straightens a painting of the Polish mountains that Emily and Felix love to remember. An aunt drinks her coffee beneath a painting of a pretty house set in an equally pretty garden. Each of the boy cousins has an agenda. We’ll keep tabs on the one with the key who has been eyeing the gifts in the locked bookcases. The two girls might be me and my sister Cheryl. Emily, who together with Felix, has been laboring over the Christmas Eve traditions and meal for days and days, is still in her fabulous apron. She’s watching Felix, the man beside her in the Santa suit she made, making sure the right gift goes to the right grandchild.

Until I was working on this painting I hadn’t given much thought to my grandfather in the Santa suit but the fact that he dressed up like this says some lovely things about him. Felix spoke very little English and, along with all the other grandchildren, I never learned Polish. This made for a narrow relationship. I never doubted that he loved us all but he was a quiet, reserved man. Now, here I am, painting him in this outrageous outfit and it’s a revelation. This was a man who had a sense of humor, who loved children, and who definitely loved his wife. Sometimes it takes a very long time to see what was right before your eyes.

“Emily’s Dream #3 - Christmas Eve”
24 x 18 inches
Acrylic on claybord
$2200

My Etsy shop is open and I’m running a sale starting today and running through Sunday, March 12.

You can find this painting here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1434143983/christmas-eve-family-memories-original?click_key=66be8873377802b174829d66edeb003d76a8b1f0%3A1434143983&click_sum=7eeded9f&ref=shop_home_active_1

You can find prints of this image here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1419951996/art-print-original-acrylic-painting?click_key=47a0166967f15d3426f4e09d1857438998751e90%3A1419951996&click_sum=00e231a7&ref=shop_home_active_1

Thanks for taking the time to read this story. Thanks too for your interest in my work.
Merry Christmas!