Dec 23, 2020
Santa In The Age Of COVID. (Oil on Canvas)
Oh By Golly, Have a Holly Jolly COVID?
Over the past few years I've been trying to make a point to create a few custom Christmas cards every year. Usually I'll just do one or two for my parents and grandparents. This year I decided to plan ahead and make something a little nicer (or at least not so last minute!) I also wanted to do a test run for some of my future art-making plans.
I sketched out this santa on some canvas back in October, giving myself plenty of time to paint it up in oils. I knew the expression would change once I started laying down paint, and it's a good thing... this Santa is Way too serious!
When I first started painting him it didn't even occur to me to put a mask on his face. I wanted to add something to the painting that would make it unique for the year, then I laughed out loud when I realized that Santa had better be wearing a mask.
And it all came together as such. It amazes me how streamlined processes can be, even in the midst of a pandemic. Old technology, applying pigment saturated oils to what is essentially glue soaked cloth, gets converted to Ones and Zeros by a high definition digital camera sensor, then gets transmitted via email to a printing business in another city who prints and ships a final product to me in 2 days!
And so that was that. I printed off 20 of these to send out to family and friends. There are a few more people I would have liked to send them to, but I either don't have addresses, or didn't have enough cards. It didn't occur to me until a couple days ago, that I should have made them available for others to purchase, and the illustration could have been made available as well. It's a good thing there are plenty more holidays and occasions to come!
Have a safe and happy Holiday Season! And check out The Painted Banana (below).
The Painted Banana Gallery >>> http://www.thepaintedbanana.com
~Cory