Winter Wonderland

I love sledding! This image brings back fond childhood memories.
Rick Winward

Sneak Peek

I've been working on a painting that will hopefully make it into greeting card format before the holiday. If not, I'll just have a nice little wintry painting. The sketch above is a little teaser from my Moleskine. I'm completing the finished piece in watercolor, 20" x 16".

The birds, the snow, the icicles, my dogs, the trees, the mountains--these have been my personal solace in what has turned out to be a very challenging time for me. Sometimes life throws unexpected kinks into what you thought was a very well ironed-out plan. There is no way to prepare yourself for these shifts and changes. You may even have believed that you were prepared for them, should they ever happen. But no, you were not. The point of these challenges is not preparation; their purpose is to take you by surprise, shake you around, throw all your pieces up into the air and give you a chance to rearrange, realign. Find your meaning as you evaluate each little torn up piece. You pick yourself, tape it all together again. The result is not a new you but rather a fortified you. One that knows it can be shaken, deconstructed, and still come back together in one piece, stronger than before.

Cryptic, I know. It is to me too.

In my own piecing together I have noticed a few things. I have been feeling very poetic. My senses have awakened to the little details; the swishy sound of snow beneath my skis. The taste of dry powder versus heavy wet snow. The movement of an individual flake as it floats down and lands on my glove, where at just the right angle I can see all of its crystalline facets in the light of a street lamp. The smell of wet pine smoke rising from chimneys. The feel of cold below zero as it freezes the tiny hairs in my nostrils. I become overwhelmed by it all and scratch lopsided verses in my journal until I drift off to sleep and dream of my winter wonderland.

SFG: Winter Wonderland

Anette Heiberg
www.anetteheiberg.com

SFG: winter wonderland

I hate snow.
No wait, let me reconsider.
I REALLY hate snow.
As far as I can see, snow serves no purpose. It isn't good for crops. It kills crops. It is dangerous for driving. Earlier this year, a snowstorm closed a large section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and left hundreds of drivers stranded. Several years ago, my normal 50-minute commute home from work was increased to a tedious ten hours due to snow.
Snow causes inconvenience for workers and businesses. Shoppers, about to venture to the mall, are disouraged by TV weathermen. Instead, those same shoppers flock to the supermarket to stock up on milk, bread and eggs - fearing a lengthy snowstorm will trap them indoors for months without French toast.
I have no pleasant memories of snow. None. When I was a kid, I remember my father standing at the open front door, with a cigarette in one hand and a scowl on his face, watching the snow fall and muttering "Sh**! Sh**! Sh**!" under his breath. Then, he would watch the evening weather forecast and curse even more as the weatherman predicted (as my father would put it) "plenty inches".
I remember my one and only attempt at sledding. I banged the front of my sled against a large ice chunk buried in the snow, which in turn, banged into my mouth, which in turn, blew up like an innertube.
Years later, I remember having several co-workers who had grown up in Florida. During the night, six inches of snow had fallen. It made my drive to work slow and horrendous. When I finally arrived, my southern co-workers were out in the parking lot taking pictures and giggling. Adults! Giggling like four-year-olds!
I have also spent many a weekend day shovelling snow from my sidewalk. I don't like to shovel anything. Ever.
In addition, I have less than fond memories of sitting in the passenger seat, as my wife navigated the car through a blinding snowstorm on an eight-hour, white-knuckle trek across Pennsylvania on a return trip from Cleveland.
I hear a lot of people say, as the snow is falling, "Oh, look at the snow. It's so pretty. It looks so nice up in the trees." And then they are silent several days later, when the snowplows and car exhaust and dirty boots have turned the "crisp blanket of white" into a gray-black-brown, drippy, chunky sludge, piled into eight-foot high mountains in shopping center parking lots.
If Irving Berlin hadn't have picked up a pen in 1940, no one would be dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card they write.

SFG - WinterWonderland

may I keep it?

our dog just got a cat from santa... happy holidays, everyone!
-nadja-

Flaming Xmas Pudding

It's a yummy flaming Xmas pudding, with real cool blue flames.
Heat up your mobile this Christmas! Click here to get it for your mobile.

SFG: Winter Wonderland

This is a 2007 holiday card that I designed and sent out to my clients. I illustrated the reindeer in Freehand using various sized dots. The snow flakes were also created in Freehand. I then added the type (Chopin Script) to make up the antlers then tweaked the whole thing in photoshop to give it some flavor.



The inside reads:
Great Teams Make Great Things Happen.
Thanks for Allowing Me to be a Part of Yours.
Happy Holidays!

Enjoy!

SFG: Winter Wonderland

I love the holidays but I hate the stress... This was my holiday card idea.
Tim

SFG: Winter Wonderland

This week's theme: Winter Wonderland

It's upon us, or nearly. What comes to your mind as Winter approaches? Have fun with it!!

The SFG Challenge runs Thursday to Thursday, and was created to offer every member an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles, venture outside of their artistic boundaries and post their interpretations each week on a specific theme. This is a completely voluntary challenge!

Be sure to label your illustrations with the appropriate labels as well. Label your entries with your name and the challenge label, in this case SFG: Winter Wonderland

By the way SFG'ers, we've had a number of new members join recently, with quite a few more on their way in. Please make them feel welcome!


The next challenge begins Thursday, December 13th, 2007.

Have a great week SFG'ers!

-Jeff