A Kris Kringle Merry Christmas

I was tempted to present you with a toy inspired Santa painting for this festive season, but decided instead to give you a rather more specific Santa.

So here you have my digitally painted tribute to the late Richard Attenborough in his starring role as Kris Kringle in the film 'Miracle on 34th Street' (released in 1994).

For me he conjures the appearance and spirit of Christmas like no other so it is with this that I bid you all a very Merry Christmas!

In addition to this I have put together a Christmassy time-lapse below of how I painted him using the same methods I apply to my oil on canvas painting, only exchanging real brushes and canvas for their digital equivalent.

Lasso the Moon

Today I am celebrating one of my favourite Christmas films It’s A Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra, with James Stewart starring as George Bailey and Donna Reed as Mary.

All credit to my bro who treated me to my first viewing of this many Christmases ago at the London BFI. Since then, it has become a bit of a family tradition to watch every year.

It is the movie that planted the delightful notion of 'lassoing the moon' in my head and all the associations it carries for reaching for one’s dreams.

I have been itching to make a painting about this for a long time and this year, as of literally this week, I have just finished my first attempt at it. The film triggered the idea, but I should also mention the little diecast cowboy toy, from my father’s collection, which was my reference point.

I welcome you to take a little tour of my digital painting, accompanied by the dialogue between George Bailey and Mary, without which it might not have come about. I hope you enjoy!

I have also put together a special in depth video below which walks you through how I painted this piece. It will hopefully give you a clearer understanding of my digital painting process.

I am however also interested to know your thoughts and hear your questions about this, so do let me know, in the comments below, if you have any.

A Virtual Open Studios

Every Autumn it has been a tradition of mine to open my studio to the public, to show them what I have been working on, talk a little more about my art practice and answer any questions.

This year, for obvious reason, I had to rethink my approach. This little virtual hello from my studio was the result. Hopefully it offers you an insight into my world and the things I do. If you have any questions feel free to type them in the comments below and I shall get back to you.

Best of British Miniseries

Over the course of the last two weeks I have been introducing, one by one, the 9 very special characters that make up my Best of British collection, through a series of mini films.

Here I have gathered them all together for you to look through and enjoy at your leisure. Each film is only 1-3 minutes long and is a fun little summary of the story and history behind each character.

Researching and putting this miniseries together emphasized, for me, so many positive things about our culture. Most resounding of which where how these symbols, each in their way, commemorated the inventive, creative, stoically determined and ever adaptable qualities of our British identity. Something we definitely need to bear in mind with all these new changes afoot!

I very much hope you enjoy them and if you feel inspired to share with me your thoughts, especially as to which is your favourite, I always welcome your feedback in the comments below.

In celebration of this collection I am also running a very special promotion of 25% off all the paintings, art prints and greetings cards in this series. This offer ends on the 15th December so do take advantage whilst you can!