My festive pic of the week has to be this lovely alternative to the traditional Christmas scene by the very talented Ray Kamizoe. Many of you have submitted some wonderful Christmas images over the last few weeks, in particular Francesco Todini’s collection of Happy Christmas images, Richard Ramsey’s Shining Light and Santa’s Hot Rod Sleigh by Ken Morris, which made me chuckle. There have also been some wonderful images that caught my eye this week - Pat Brennan’s Warning (I’ve always loved that poem and plan to do exactly the same when I’m old and crotchety!), the dynamically painted Horses by Zafer Kurdakul and Patrick de Vries’ evocative and melancholy Time To Go.

I just wanted to remind you all that the Painter team break for the holidays now and won’t be back in our office until 5 January. Obviously we’ll log in over the holiday period and approve Gallery images as and when we can, but not as frequently as during office hours because we’ll all be busy enjoying the festive season with our families - and we wish you and yours a very happy holidays and a prosperous New Year! We’ll be back properly on 5 January with the first Pic of the Week of the New Year and much more besides. Season’s greetings!

This Pic of the Week was a tough decision - so many of you have posted wonderful paintings over the past seven days (and some of you have posted things which have made the Painter team roar with laughter!) but Larry takes the trophy with this lovely scene. Though simple it’s by no means stark, and the gorgeous hazy colour scheme of the sky and water is a joy to behold. Congratulations on a beautifully serene painting, Larry!

Other paintings that have caught my eye this week include Bow of Artemis by Sanjana Baijnath, although more for the lovely cloud effects and foreground details than the figure herself. George N Balthazar’s Our Father… demonstrates good use of chiaroscuro (the contrast between extremes of dark and light) to illuminate the facial planes and hands of the subject and make them the focal point of the image. Lost, by Drew Lewis, makes good use of golden neutral tones and patterning on a female figure in a way that’s reminiscent of the work of Andrew Jones, while Maggie Barra creates a misty, darkly fairytale air with the same kind of colours in the mysterious Eirwen. Another excellent female study is Girl Portrait by Lydia Jianan Yang, which showcases some excellent detailing on the eyes and a great technique for painting a face that’s wearing make-up. Finally, I can’t resist the charms of Ray Kamizoe’s wonderful cat in the snow in It is Not Cold!

The first volume of our Complete Guide to Digital Painting bookazine was so popular that it rapidly sold out, so now for the many of you who didn’t manage to get your hands on a copy and would like to, we’re proud to present the Complete Guide to Digital Painting - Digital Edition!

This disc-based version packs in all the same content as the original Complete Guide to Digital Painting in a handy searchable format for viewing on your PC or Mac. It’s chock-full of tutorials for expanding and enhancing your Painter pieces and packed with inspirational art. Available exclusively from the Imagine Publishing eShop at http://www.imagineshop.co.uk/item_show.php?itemID=1062 for just £9.99 it’s a great gift for artistically-inclined friends and family or a Christmas treat for yourself.

And keep an eye on the Imagine Publishing eShop at www.imagineshop.co.uk in the new year, as we’ve got some new products coming up that Official Corel Painter Magazine readers will not want to miss!

Like Greek and Roman gods and heroes, Salome is one of those legendary figures that painters are beginning to explore again, whether iconographically or simply as an excuse for painting lavish Middle Eastern and Roman historical costumes and scenes. In fact, one cultural theorist once suggested that this particular figure was so popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras because she gave the artists of the time a great excuse to paint the contrast between a pretty lady and plenty of gore without censure, because they could claim to be painting a moral allegory. But while most of us know the story of Salome’s dancing from these works, the legend of her death is a lot more obscure. Here, Kristina’s used a style favoured in storybook illustrations that’s full of drama and represents an excellent example of painting action and  emotion. Her studies of breaking ice are also particularly good, with a subtle mix of colour and form, and her use of predominantly cool colours with only small flashes of gold (Itself reflecting icy water and purple cloth) add to the palpable chill of the painting. Not the pleasantest subject matter in the world, but this painting shows an excellent grasp of composition, figure drawing and colour theory.

Elsewhere this week another chilly painting, Artic Sun by John Boam, caught my eye. This almost abstract seascape of the midnight sun is an ideal candidate for large format printing. David Dillon’s Kiss Me Kate meanwhile displays some really excellent painterly brushwork - John Singer Sargent would have been proud! And don’t think I haven’t noticed all of those wonderful festive paintings you’ve all been putting up - we’ll have a roundup of those closer to Christmas!

There’s some stunning trompe l’oeil going on in Sandra’s picture. The mixture of classical painting, seen in the battle scene at the top of the image, and modern subject matter is a tough one to carry off, but thanks to Sandra’s use of the illusory trompe l’oeil effect, which makes the background figures literally leap out into the space shared by the dancer in the foreground, it has been achieved perfectly. The combination of a battle scene with Liberty at the centre, exhorting the masses to fight for freedom, is an interesting juxataposition with the frivolity of the dancing figure on the neon-lit stage and produces a fascinating composition that’s beautifully painted.

Elsewhere over the past week I’ve enjoyed the surreal serenity of Gramofon Falls by George Piatygorets, and the sketchy Conceptual stylings of Dolly’s House by David Taylor. Other close runners for the Pic of the Week were the charming Girl With Pigeons by Patrick de Vries, Cuyler Smith’s Metamorphosis with its restrained yet attention-grabbing colour harmony, and Sterling by Jarrod Clark.