Happy holidays, everyone — and a merry Christmas if you celebrate!
Painting holiday cards has become one of my most favourite holiday traditions. They’re amazing for getting in the spirit of the season, and they’re a beautiful way to celebrate connection.
Admittedly, they’re also a helpful way for me to keep up with painting as a hobby!
My watercolour hobby is easily overshadowed by everything else going on creatively, so dipping back in is a bit like coming home again — and for that I’m quite grateful.
This season, they also reminded me that creativity doesn’t come from pressure so much as presence and allowing… and I’ll be taking that to heart as we close out the rest of the year.
Now that the paint has dried, I thought I’d share some reflections from the creative process.
Seeking inspiration, and fear of the blank… card?
Admittedly, the fear of the blank page (card?) struck me this year, and I think it’s because I really haven’t been doing a lot of painting.
I am so close to filling up the rest of my sketchbook/art journal though! Well, my largest one, anyways, which I started in March 2022. Such is the plight of the serial hobbyist…
I absolutely had the itch to paint this year, but writing was my primary focus. Additionally, I had trouble breaking free from the performative undercurrent of visual art (yes, the very stuff I write about here on the blog), so I’ve turned to puzzling as a bit of a pause. It’s calming, low-stakes, and gives you a sense of progress and accomplishment.
This pause bottled just enough pressure to create a little artist’s block.
Speaking of sketchbooks, they can be hard to start, let alone fill. One tip for tackling the blank sketchbook page — which I’m pretty sure I picked up from Scott Sava several years ago — is to work in themes.
I like to choose a loose holiday theme for my cards each year. I’ve done Christmas trees, snow people, and wintry scenes. Last year’s theme was cozy holiday beverages, and those cards were so much fun to make.
This year, I was tempted to do holiday-themed critters — but decided to save those for when I’m feeling less rusty. My husband suggested Christmas confectionary, which I loved, except it reminded me very much of my recent Halloween art challenge, so I put that one on the bookshelf as well.
But I did take a little inspiration from my Inktober process, and started filling a sketchbook page with some Christmas-themed ink drawings.
I suppose that’s another trick: when hunting for inspiration, gather ideas, note/sketch them, and if nothing hits like lightening, wait on it.
Inspiration is kind of like luck: where preparation meets opportunity.
Bottling lightening, but less dramatic
Well, opportunity presented itself toward the end of November, while we were decorating our little Christmas tree.
The kids were delighted to sort through our box of ornaments and find the perfect spots for them on (the lower half of) our tree. We have some classic sets: little strawberries, big round baubles, and candy canes… But we also have a collection of seemingly random but meaningful ones.
To my daughters, each discovery was like finding a little treasure. To me, it was more like happening upon a treasured memory.
Little photos in frames, crafts our kids made, a mini wine bottle, a tiny box of Timbits, a collection of fancy high-heeled shoes that my mom had picked out for me several years in a row…
And there it was — we’re doing Christmas tree ornament cards this year!
These, too, were so fun to make. One of the best parts was I got to dip into many of the other themes that I liked: a little throwback to last year’s holiday beverage cards, a single confection, Christmas critters, a snowman…
I also tried switching up the style. Last year I inked everything first, then added washes of colour. This year’s cards were made purely with watercolour (and a little white and gold ink for pizazz). I think the feel is a bit more classic this way.
Honestly, I love how these turned out, and I wish I had time to make more — but we must work with what we’ve got, time included.
Happy holidays!
As we enjoy a quiet holiday season with our friends and family, I’m reminded:
There’s no need to force. Allow, and trust that everything will come together, even if perfectly imperfect.
Take time to breathe in the little moments. Take in the wonder.
Let go of the grand gestures. Notice the little, irreplaceable quirks of the loved ones around you.
Echoing last week’s post, because it’s still relevant: giving (and creating) from the heart is always priceless.
Warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season!
