Silent Night SOLD, and why I paint in oils sometimes

'Silent Night' SOLD

5" x 7" watercolor on paper

Reference photo by Elizabeth Ward Sescilla, thank you! 

I wanted to do a Madonna and child type of painting this Christmas, using horses running through the snow, and this is it. I realize this would have to be a very late (or early) foal to be this age and running through the snow, but. . . I thought it was such a lovely, peaceful image that I decided to exercise my artistic license. ;) 

 Here's a pic of the painting in progress. :)

We're knee deep in Christmas preparations around here and I'm so excited!! I love Christmas. I love seeing the magic of this season through my kid's eyes. It's one of the best things ever. 

The boys and I have been making some Christmas crafts including these Santas above. This is what happens when you have all boys. You get one normal, jolly Santa, and then. . . his evil twin brother. Don't ask me, because I don't know how they came up with that idea. 

And Katherine asked if I'd post a pic of our decorated Christmas tree so here it is. :) Most of our ornaments are homemade and all of them are very sentimental and I love it that way. It's not a fancy tree, but our kids think it's magical, and they are in charge of decorating it themselves. Brodie and I just hand out the ornaments.

I also wanted to give a quick shout out to my dear friend Carol Blackburn, who sent me the most lovely little ACEO that I adore. Thank you so much my friend, I treasure it so much! I'll post a pic of it in my next post so you guys can see it. :)

And now, to of why I wanted to paint with oils. I've gotten a little bit of feedback that people are sort of disappointed that I haven't been painting in watercolors so I wanted to let you all know that I will never give up on watercolors. They are a part of my soul and I LOVE painting with them. I suspect that is where I will always feel most at home, but sometimes I just need to try something new. 

I was starting to dread every time I sat down to paint with my watercolors. I don't know why, I think I was just feeling a little bit burned out. I wasn't excited to paint anymore. And I HATE feeling like that. Art is what heals my soul, you know that quote that says art washes away the dust of every day life? That is exactly how I feel. I'd be lost if I couldn't paint every day. Any time I go a few days without painting I start to feel like I'm not myself, I feel restless and anxious. But as soon as I pick up a brush or a pencil I feel whole again. 

So whenever I start to feel burned out I get a little scared. Because painting is something I HAVE to do, and I have to enjoy it. That sounds a little selfish doesn't it? But it's the truth. Also I have just felt drawn to oil paintings lately, they're what I look for in art magazines, what I search out when browsing online. I try to dissect them in my head, mix the colors and visualize how the artist laid down the brushstrokes.

And that's when I started to feel excited about painting again. I LOVE the rich, buttery colors of oils, the visible expressive brushstrokes, and the simplification of details, and I really, really love how quick they are. I want to be an expressive painter, and while I don't think it's always important to paint quickly, right now when painting time is so scarce that's really important to me. 

So that's it in a nutshell of why I like painting in oils. I will still mostly be painting with watercolors, but sometimes I may go on an oil painting binge again, because it's what I have to do to feed my creativity. Does anyone else ever feel like that? I'd love to hear your story too. 

Thanks for reading this epic post. Huzzah my fellow rock stars!! :)