Christmas is starting to happen … oh that was quick!

I started putting up my Christmas decorations a few weeks ago. I am a big fan of putting up decorations that look good during the daytime, not just at night.

This arrangement hangs at the front of our house.

Decorations shining in the sun, just before the rain pelted down.

These were, sadly, surpassed by neighbours of ours that had REALLY BIG balls on their verandah.

Big balls of Christmas!
Did I mention they also had an epic inflatable Santa too.

Then there are the annual Kambah Sheep photos. These were a bit premature as more tinsel has since been added. I’m not sure if I can get updated photos before the tinsel gets packed away for another year.

Then decorating the ‘tree’, or in this case branches from our gum tree. I had made the decorations from fabric that I had stencilled, part of one of a video I was making for YouTube. The original video was a washout for a number of reasons, but my decision to try and process the video, the week prior to Christmas, using unfamiliar editing software, was perhaps not my best one. (If you would like to check out what turned out to be a ‘bloopers’ video then follow this link).

Home made Christmas decorations on the tree.
Finally I did sit down with a nice cuppa and sketched my tree and decorations on Boxing Day. Please notice that I have also included ‘Mr Blobby’ our lava lamp in the sketch, along with our most recent Christmas decorations – a balloon dog and a box of sushi (and no, I have no idea what relationship these have to the Christmas story either).

So it has been another tempestuous year, I haven’t posted as much as I imagined I would, but I will continue, nonetheless. I hope your holidays go well and that 2022 is a generally better year than this one – fingers crossed. Roll on the New Year.

Christmas flowers

I thought I had better sketch my Christmas flowers before they were past their best. They are Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) and Red Flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia). The flowering gum is allready dropping it’s stamens at an alarming, though beautiful, rate.

Relaxing and sketching on Boxing Day.

Before the lunchtime devastation!

A Christmas full of art

Santa was very generous with art-related presents this year. There were color markers and visual diaries and drawing books and some art even got made.

Christmas, the aftermath, pencil, 25 December 2014

Christmas, the aftermath, pencil, 25 December 2014

For some post-Christmas entertainment there is also the film about JMW Turner, Mr Turner, in which Timothy Spall gives a strong and characterful performance as the artist. Beautiful photography of the landscapes that inspired Turner’s art add to the fascination of the story. Full of dry wit and complex emotions, this film is definitely worth seeing.