Christmas Creativity

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve struggled with several parts of my creative life. As 2023 ends, I’m finding my creative energy on the rise. When this year’s school secret Santa rolled around, I thought it was a great chance to do a little watercolor painting. Very low expectations, so I could just play. Which is something I struggle to do. Just relax and play.

Tags for the Santa presents don’t have to be fancy or perfect. They’re just fun. So, I fiddled with sketching the Santa head. It came out OK. Not fancy or perfect by more than good enough. I was happy with it. Faces are something I’ve shied away from, so this was a big step for me.

I love landscape type projects. I started the wreath first; another first time try. I’d looked at a couple of videos, and the process seemed straightforward. Turns out it was. I’m thrilled with the result. There are places where I can improve next time. I jumped into the painting with no plan, so I got this nice big circle with a big empty center. Hmmm, don’t like that. Pine trees are really simple. I’ve been playing with them for a while. I can’t tell you what was different, but the result is the best pine tree I’ve ever done. The result left me feeling happier than I’ve been in a long time with my painting.

What a great Christmas present for myself!