Santa (sold)

Hello Friends:

Believe it or not, Santa stopped by the studio and sat down for a breather. In this rare moment of repose, I decided to dash off a quick portrait. He seemed to be having a difficult time with his "naughty or nice" list, saying that the lines were pretty blurred this year. This may explain his thoughtful demeanor as I painted.

I do hope that you squeaked into the "nice" category again! I certainly believe that everyone that follows my blog gets a "nice pass" for the entire year. Happy Holidays!

Home for the Holidays

 

Hello Friends:

This is a portrait of Steven, son of my friend and coworker Fontaine. He's wearing a Harvard sweatshirt to commemorate his Dad's earning his MBA there recently.

Even though Steven wasn't melancholy during the sitting, his portrait sort of turned out that way anyway. It made me start to think about all the kids coming home from school for the holidays, and how this can be a time of see-saw emotions. Happiness to be home/sadness to have to follow the rules at home. Happiness to see siblings/sadness to put up with siblings' idiocyncracies. I remember those times. And now that I'm the mom, there's no conflicting emotions at all-- just elation to have them home. 'Til I see the laundry, that is.