Merry Christmas!

 Much like Thanksgiving, Christmas was we three only. And also like Thanksgiving, we missed our usual family and friends, but appreciated our good fortune.

Merry Christmas!

December Doodles

 "Doodles" has never really been a fair term for Syl's output--except as it relates to how fast she churns out this stuff! Here are a few of her works from the past month.

The first two are good encapsulations of just what a bummer of a month December 2020 has been. First, Grampy in the hospital for heart issues, followed just over a week later by Grammy, after a nasty spill! Luckily, both are on the mend. 

Here are a couple of process photos. Often, Syl finds something someone else has drawn online, usually on Pinterest, and draws it "in her own style."

I'm kind of fascinated by how she has self-taught herself, using mostly YouTube videos, to draw the human form. She frequently starts with a photo of herself in the pose she wants, and then creates something like a wireframe to get the proportions and positioning right. Pretty cool.

OK, now to Christmas. This was easily my favorite gift. Syl procured a pair of white Vans sneakers for me and customized them with a special paint job, using fabric paints. She knows I love birch trees and a good sunset. I don't know if I'll dare wear these anywhere!

For Melissa, Syl painted this beautiful beach scene as part of a joint present for our wife/mom: the promise of some relaxation on a faraway beach in the near future.

Melissa commissioned some small Holiday themed art to put around the house next year. How cute are these?

Syl asked for "tan paper" for Christmas because, as she said, "it really makes the pencils pop." Her first outputs certainly bear that out! What else?: eyes.

This last one kind of blew me away. When I asked how she picked this face to draw, Syl said it is "just a face that interested me." 

The obligatory Frosty Photo

 Two versions this year. Guess which Syl prefers?

And then a few reminders of  how far they have come together...

Melissa's Decoration Game was AMAZING this year

 One side effect of C-19 was that Melissa's amped up our Christmas decorations to a whole new level. Syl and I have had the pleasure of living in a Christmas wonderland for most of the past month, as day after day the UPS truck brought new additions - right up to Christmas Eve, when the "Merry Christmas" wall sign that caps this slideshow finally turned up!

Here are a few of the photos from the slideshow.

And of course all of them can be seen in the December 2020 gallery.

Lights

 Nothing like Christmas lights in the snow. Bru found his way into a number of these too.