Season's greetings to you all! I hope you have all been eating and drinking lots over the holiday season. I am writing this before packing some clothes for more trips to family and friends, but just wanted to say a quick hello and wish you all well. I'm back in the office on the 2nd January so don't be mad if I don't reply to emails beyween now and then! I hope you and your loved ones have a lovely New Year and will speak with you all soon.

After a brief hiatus (I was helping Santa do stuff) it’s time for some more Christmas art! Lisa Peruchini sent in this excellent image of a reindeer on its way to some special Christmas activity and we had to include it. The red background is perfect for the season and the swirls add a very festive air to the piece. The reindeer itself is beautifully rendered and I especially love the small lines used for shading and texture.

Cresta Johnson sent us this humorous Christmas image and you can also see it at a larger size in the gallery section. I think the reindeer has a brilliant expression on his face and I really like the shading. I just hope I'm not on the naughty list :-(

Chet Phillips is one artist whose work I never tire of seeing, so I was delighted when he sent an image to use here. This one has his lovely colour palette and also check out the trees! Simple yet very effective. The domed composition also makes me think of a snow globe, which is just another thumbs up for this beautiful image.

The texture in this beautiful piece of art by Anne Hale is absolutely exquisite, and I really like the soft, blended feel of the curly clouds. The stars breaking outside of the frame add a great dynamic feel and the angel is a classic Christmas image. I also really like her facial expression and how she seems to be basking in the starlight.

Marcia Fasy sent in this piece of Christmas art and it immediately appealed to my love of snow! I really like the whole composition and scene and the spindly twigs of the tree help give an extra feeling of snow. The star is a nice touch, too!

Magazine regular, Cat Bounds, sent in this entry to spread some artistic love and peace! I really like the soft effect on the holly and also the subdued background. The paintbrushes look primed and ready for action, with lovely globs of paint on them. Well done!

Hello, it seems that my computer is not in the Christmas spirit. On Friday I trotted off home, safe in the knowledge that I had emailed the Christmas images for over the weekend and then was faced with a machine that wouldn’t let me access anything. Sooo, here are the three entries that were due to make a weekend appearance. Oh, and the one for today!

We received a very nice email from Richard (sorry, no surname) who sent us this image of a Christmas card. But there’s more to this than meets the eye. Go to http://www.rapartz.com/holiday07/index07.htm and roll over the card to find some juicy content!

Kenneth LaPlante sent us a bumper crop of entries, but I particularly liked this snowman painting. His cheery face is how I feel when I think of Christmas and the soft, curvy brush marks give a friendly mood to the image. I was also impressed with how round the snowman looked - just a bit of shadow makes for a very three-dimensional effect. At least this snowman will never melt!