Wikipedia: “A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day by many people (including some non-Christians) in Western society and in Asia. The traditional greeting reads “Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year“.
The first commercially available card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and designed by John Callcott Horsley in London 1843.
Heard that after 180 years of history, this year (2023) might be the last year people send Christmas cards by “snail mail”, since the postage is going to be very expensive in 2024, due to the decrease in letter correspondence and increase in costs.
Back in the 1980’s I designed and printed Christmas post cards and sent to family, friends and customers. Made by airbrush on paper (except one that is with ink)
In 2011 I started designing digital season greeting cards, playing with Adobe Photoshop:
Inspired by the website The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies, I went down memory lane and found some of my own books and magazines from the early days…
When I used to paint I used acrylic paint and brush or water color and pencils. I use photos as reference and like to be as realistic as possible and sometimes exaggerate details.
On Moderskeppets blogg I just red about Bert Monroy who take it to the extreme using Photoshop and Illustrator to make Hyper Realistic Art. Bert also share his knowledge on Revision 3.com.
Most of the paintings are made from photos from our round the world trip 1989-1990. A few are made as orders. For instance a friend or customer showed me an image and asked if I could paint that on canvas or hardboard.
The genre could be called realism. I thought it was called magic realism but I learned that that genre refers to realistic paintings with one or more magic details in the picture.
After a few years in the basement collecting dust, some of them has been moved up to a wall in the living room.
Back in the 80’s, I had a little studio in a basement in the small Swedish town Falkenberg. The studio that was called Noggin*, had a silk printing set where I printed T-shirts and sweatshirts. There was also a large drafts table where I draw print designs and did some airbrush paintings.
For a couple of years I created a christmas card that I sent to customers and friends. In -87 I made some postcards that Vibe and I brought with us (togehter with a ski box full of sweatshirts) to the Three Vallées in France, where we spent a skiseason. We sold the sweatshirts and postcards at the After Ski pubs – good times. 🙂
On the original size painting of this post card, the tools are in scale 1:1…
See my airbrush paintings ::>
*Noggin means head and Noggin the Nog was the name of a British childrens character – a viking. I got Noggin as nickname from some english friends I had back in the 80’s. The pacifier was a kind of “logo” I used…
These paintings was made by watercolor and pencil with inspiration from photos taken during our round the world trip between 1989-19991.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Chiang Mai, ThailandHill tribes are ethnic minorities in northern and western Thailand. Each hilltribe has it’s own language, habits and spiritual believes.The Tribal Research Institute in Chiang Mai estimate of the total hill tribe population to be around 550,000. Meo are Thailand’s second largest hill tribe and live on mountain peaks or plateaus and are especially numerous in Chiang Mai Province.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Chiang Mai, Thailandis home to seven principal hill tribe minorities, people of separate ethnic origin who follow independent lifestyles, to a large degree unaffected by the 20th century.This Meo girl still wears the colourful finery of her tribal costume, as do most hill tribe women, but advances of mainstream society are no longer totally absent. Various government welfare programs are operated, including education for for hill tribe children.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Chiang Mai, ThailandHill tribe women in their traditional dresses, continue to present a picture of enduring customs and lifestyles. The men, however, have today mostly abandoned the attire traditional to their tribe, and dress like any other Thai farmer. Nevertheless, a visit to a hill tribe village still affords a glimpse into a unique world.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Chiang Mai, ThailandThailand is often called “The land of smiles”, but really means “The land of the free”.
The country offers a distinct culture with a rich and various inheritance, and have an amazing amount of beautiful scenery. In spite of this it’s the Thai people, that with great ability manage to mix a respect for the past with a joy in the present, that makes the country so exciting.”You can give them your Love, but not your thoughts; For they have their own thoughts.”
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
In Singapore’s Chinatown the air is vibrating of activity and scents, like a kaleidoscope for the eyes and a staccato symphony for the ears.This is the place to open up all your senses, because hidden back in the side streets there are a lot to see and easy to miss.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Singapore, that means Lion City, was once a small quiet fishing village until Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 decided that here was the harbour he needed.Under British government it became an important harbour and military base. In 1959 they got self ruling.Around 2,5 million people are living on 616 km2. It is a green “garden city” where it’s not allowed to through litter on the streets – not even a cigarette. Smoking is prohibited in all public buildings. Big cars pay more tax than small ones. As a tourist you get two weeks visa for shopping…
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Arrowtown, New ZeelandOn New Zealand’s south island, 20 km. from Queenstown, one of the most popular vacation areas in the country, is the historic and picturesque settlement of Arrowtown.Many original gold rush buildings remain and it’s still possible to find gold in the river.The golden autumn tones Arrowtown’s trees is favourite material with photographers. However, this painting is painted with winter colours.
Watercolour on paper
40 x 28 cm.
Bali, often called “Land of the Many Temples”, one of Indonesia’s 13.700 islands, was a Dutch colony between 1640 to 1949.To the Balinese, the island is the whole world. It satisfies all physical and spiritual needs. The whole life revolve around their religion – Hinduism.Every village must have at least three temples, Pura Desa – for official meetings, Pura Puseh – to honor the village founder and Pura Dalem – the temple for the dead, the spirits in the after-life. There are temples for farm-spirits, lakes and mountains. Every rice field has a small Subak temple and every house has a family-temple.The painting shows Candi Kuning a temple by the Lake Budugul.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Penang road, Penang, MalaysiaWe had the most delicious Roti. It’s a kind of pancakes, filled with egg, vegetables or meat, served with a dahl dip. Murtabak is a thin bread with the same kind of fillings.Have a nice meal…
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Bondi Beach, Sydney, AustraliaOn Australia’s most famous beach, Bondi Beach, only 10 min. from downtown Sydney, you can find a copy of the Little Mermaid, made of fiberglass.Pack your esky, wax the surfboard, remember the skateboard, cover yourself with sunlotion factor 50 and take a seat in the fine, squeeky and very white sand and enjoy the crowd.Fairdinkum!
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Ubud, Bali, IndonesiaThe life of a Balinese, from birth to death, revolves around religion. In the morning they sacrifice to the spirits of Bali – on high shelves for the good and on the ground for the bad.
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
Leluvia, FijiAround 100 of the 300 sunny islands that create the Fiji islands, are inhabited.One of many social traditions and an important part of Fijian entertainment is Cava drinking. Cava is a root that is crushed and soaked in a special way.When you drink you clap once when The Cava King offers you the mbilo – a coconut bowl. Take it in both hands, say mbula just before the bowl reach your lips. Clap three times after your drink.
Watercolour on paper.
28 x 40 cm.
Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA
The “Golden Arches Restaurant” claims they served billions. The first restaurant opened in 1940. These days there are about 31 000 in 121 countries.The McDonald’s Golden Arches logo was created by a Jim Schindler in 1962.
Watercolour on paper.
Manhattan, New York City, USA
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
TreckingThis painting was an order. Customer brings a photo…
Watercolour on paper.
40 x 28 cm.
MotorbikeThis painting was also an order. Customer brings a photo…
