You would have to be in a coma to not be aware it's Christmas time. I grew up with Christmas. The tree, family gets together, gifts, food, football and no school for what used to be a good two weeks. Oh! and the music. The television specials ran nonstop, and by the age of ten I knew every song from every special and almost the dialogue from every scene! My family wasn't super religious but the usual war between commerce and Christmas was already going strong even in the 70's. I was pretty "turned off" to religion and the holidays by the time I was 13 or 14. It didn't happen all at once, it was gradual.

In the early 90's I gave religion another go but my heart, as they say, wasn't in it.

In the present, I'm about where I was by the end of college. The holidays are a period of the year you just tolerate. No anger. I support all the folks that are into it. I'm usually careful to not be too indifferent to the holidays because sometimes being indifferent is even more offensive to people than being straight out against it!

I do like the idea of gift giving. I love to treat my friends  and family to dinners, or drinks, or whatever. It's nice to be able to recognize once a year at least that everyone should try and give a gift to people you care about but might not always show it. No harm in that. But I don't expect gifts from people and am genuinely shocked and happy when someone buys me a drink or dinner. It's happened a few times to me this past year and it was really special.

So this is my recognition of the holidays and I look forward to making art in 2016, and communicating with people who write to me and spending my few moments I have alone with my girl being happy.

Not my greatest illustration, but it's one of the few Santa paintings I have made. This was for Muscle and Fitness magazine a few years ago.

Just more fun on breaks from a longer project that has it's moments of draaaag. Trying some different color combinations out on these fairy paintings.