Holiday greetings

I just realized that this year I made no holiday cards. For the past several years I've painted small pictures (usually 3 1/2 X 5 1/2 inches, my standard size) to give to people. I must be getting really lazy or selfish. I did, however, mail quite a few of the postcards I had printed, and I remembered to write "happy holidays" on them... I'm trying to feel less like a cheap, self-absorbed bastard, you see...

Something else I just realized is that I've rarely told any of my friends that this blog exists. It's been a long time since I mentioned it to anyone. An odd thing is that if anyone asks me, "So, do you have a web site?" I tell them I don't. It's like I can preserve some sort of privacy by denying this thing exists. I honestly have no idea how the few people who visit this blog find it.
 
So, for anyone who happens to see this blog, happy holidays and best wishes in the new year. I hope 2015 is your best year ever.

Here are a couple pictures I painted in previous years. I'm suddenly motivated to think about maybe painting at least one new card before the end of the year, if only to be able to say that I didn't skip a year.

(By the way, if you click on the images and view them in the window that pops up, they're likely to display much larger than they actually are if you're using a computer with a monitor bigger than 14 inches, so please excuse the lack of focus. )

(Got a little sloppy on masking the edges on this one. I usually try for a crisp white border when I paint cards, but even hot press paper is hard to mask perfectly.)

I can't remember whether I gave this picture to someone. I do know that the photo isn't doing it justice. Some of the blues in this one have lovely transitions. Wow, now I really am thinking of painting a small picture real quick. These are the sort of pictures that are fun, take little time, and give me a wonderful feeling. I wonder if that would be the case if they were bigger? I doubt it.

This is kind of funny: After posting this entry I was looking at these two photos and it struck me that neither one of them looks like the kind of picture that says "happy holidays." Maybe I should think about incorporating rosy-cheeked toddlers and a jolly Santa Claus in these things..