Hey Everyone

Over the Holiday Season I was very inspired to paint a few Christmas scenes and although the season is over I thought I would share with you the painting that I just finished that was on my easel during Christmas and New Years.

I imagine that this scene takes place somewhere in the North Pole and depicts perhaps Santa's on Christmas Eve.

11 * 14 - Oil on Canvas - A North Pole Christmas (This is the Final)

Materials used:
Oil Paints
Grumbacher Red, Phthalo Blue, Permanent Green, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Titanium White

Mediums
Linseed Oil
Liquin

Several random brushes but most was done with a flat brush and # 1 round

The Process

First I scribbled out a very basic sketch on a piece of paper.

Once I had the basic idea down on a piece of paper, I then sketched out the scene onto the canvas

I begin to fill in the blues of the sky and add white to where light will later be added such as the moon and the street light

Next I begin to add yellows where there will be artificial light sources later on. For this I mix Cadmium Yellow with a little white and the smallest touch of red

Here I paint the undercoat of the cottage and start the under painting of the pine trees

At this point in the painting I start to develop just how the land will be layed out and block in a bit more trees

More land (snow) and more trees

Here I level out the land with texture, hills, valleys, and frame the scene by beginning to define the Christmas tree on the left and add the large pine on the right. Additionally I removed the light for the light post temporarily

Now I begin to block in a path and define the final shape of the house. There is also a stairway added.

Now we are starting to really see what we have here in this Christmas Scene. I'm working to bring the house into focus, I spend some time defining the Christmas tree on the left and define the bark and branches on the tree on the right. At this point I reintroduce the street lamp.

The icy reflection is added to the path and color is added to the Christmas cottage.

Here I begin the process of painting the christmas lights on the Christmas tree and add the snow that's fallen on the branches of the big pine tree

Here you'll notice that I've really thickened the number of trees in the forest, added lots of snow on the foliage, define the flow of the icy path and increased the glow of all the lights as well as added more smoke from the chimney

Now the final glow is added to the Christmas tree lights as well as cabin and I've added highlights and sparkles everywhere! This is the Complete painting

11 * 14 - Oil on Canvas - A North Pole Christmas (This is the Final)

Thanks for taking the time to look and let me wish you just one last Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!