Nothing says Christmas like an Abstract

Say goodbye to Autumn...the Christmas season is upon us! We "cheated" and began decorating a few days before Thanksgiving. Anyone else? I mean, Thanksgiving was SO LATE this year! 

There are so many things to love about the holidays: music, food, decorations, lights, parties, presents...and COLOR. Color is everywhere, all the greens and reds, blues and whites, the silver, the gold, everything sparkling and making us feel....what? What do you feel with the colors of Christmas? This is a serious question; I really want to know! Take a moment and make a quick comment to this post...what colors speak to you, how do they make you feel, what color would you wrap yourself up in if you could?

I have a canvas in front of me waiting for inspiration and paint. I want a Christmas painting for my family room, a big one. It's very difficult for me to come up with a concept for this one. I've scrolled through online examples of holiday themes. I've looked through Christmas cards, magazines, and photographs but everything seems either too precious or too complicated. What I finally arrived on is an abstract with the focus on color. But what color, or colors, and why? 

There are tons of books about color theory and whole disciplines in art for Colorists. Once I thought that's what I wanted to be; now I've seen the light and am much more humble in the face of color and color theory. I mean, just ponder for a day or so what "color" even is! 

Soooo, back to my canvas...abstract with a suggestion of a tree, or trees, colors that complement but don't compete, that speak of warmth and joy, that don't overstate the obvious, something fun and freeing to paint and that hopefully looks awesome on our wall. If it's not terrible, I will post my progress and share the journey. Abstract is unfamiliar territory for me. Which, of course, gives me yet another opportunity to learn stuff. 

Ok, now it is YOUR turn...I would love to see comments as I blog, so I've given you a basic question about color and how it makes you feel. It's pretty easy to submit a response, which by the way, is not the same as replying to the email (many of you do so and I appreciate all your sweet words!). At the bottom of the email is a little phrase that says "read in browser". Click that and it will take you to my website blog page where you will be able to post a comment. I know, I know...it's unfamiliar, intimidating, feels risky, maybe even tiresome, but you, too, can rise to the challenge and join me in cyberspace!