Wednesday, October 12, 2016

2016 Halloween Window Painting with artist Maria Burgess

The season has begun for Halloween decorations. I took time out this weekend to paint two store fronts and I had a great time creating these paintings. The video is a few moments captured at Groomer Has It in Las Vegas. I'm demonstrating the techniques I talk about in my book The Essential Holiday Window Painting Guide. All of my paintings start off just like this. The theme below took about 7 and a half hours to complete. 

The video shows the pre-clean process, drawing in boundary areas, the sketch of design images, and the fill in for the base colors. 






The Characters and creatures from this painting and more can be found here on my website blog:

Do you remember the good old days when scary movies were in black and white or poor color or even more interesting, they were in colorized form? They featured vampires and werewolves. They depicted the monster that Dr. Frankenstein created. They were the creatures of ...
http://www.holidaywindowpaint.com/blog/halloween-paintings-and-hollywood-monsters

Related posts: 

http://hubpages.com/holidays/how-to-do-halloween-art-for-window-painting

www.holidaywindowpaint.com

Monday, August 29, 2016

The Traditional Christmas Story and Tales of Santa

Traditional Christmas Eve Stories

Christmas is the central reason I paint windows. The images and the spirit of the celebrations portray hope and joy in a bitter and cold season. The scenery depicted in the birth of the Christ child and the story of Santa Claus are seeded with delight and wonder. Both are accompanied by a magical quality found in no other tale. One is religious scripture, while the other is a whimsical story.


(The images below are from my Zazzle product line. The site does use cookies to track visits and customers.)

The Christmas and winter holiday season are held dear to all those that celebrate and await its arrival. We look forward to traditions and activity and goodies that are only found during this time period. We cook feasts, seek out and wrap unique gifts, and decorate our homes with warm, festive items. The season is ripe with fun and festive traditions. We spend a small fortune on these holidays in order to bring the spirit of the season to our homes and the hearts in our lives. 


The Reason for the Season - Nativity Scene


The Story of the Christ Child


There are several accounts of the Nativity event in the bible. What believers know for certain is that the Christ child was born in Bethlehem in a manger. He was born King of Kings in a barn of sorts because of the conditions the city his earthly parents traveled to were overcrowded. The original Christmas story is populated with this trio, angels, shepherds, and Wise Men. The image of the Guiding Star is the reason we place stars on our trees for decoration. These figures play prominently in holiday songs and Christmas Carols.

Carols featuring Thomas Kinkade's Art



The scriptures may be found in the King James version Bible for reference. The Christ child's birth may be found in the book of Luke 2:1-20. The story of the Wise Men is found in the book of Matthew 2:1-12. These are given here so that you may save the scriptures for reading on Christmas eve. The readings may be begun by one family member and passed along to the next or read by one in its entirety.


The Three Wise Men - Christmas Card


~*~

The Christmas Nativity Story from Luke and Matthew 

~*~


The Christmas Nativity Story - Poster

Nativity Video



These are the moments I remember when I pull out my art supplies and brushes and begin a themed window painting. The moment in our history when the birth of a tiny child changed the world. His arrival marks the ray of hope looked for since ancient history. His mission was one of ultimate love and that is what I feel when I am creating the images that celebrate this occasion. I mean no religious views here, I am simply stating why I paint with such passion. This moment gives me such a calm feeling and it is a joy to reflect this statement in my art and the music I may be caught singing as I complete the work. I am so overcome at times in my work and the spirit that I may shed tears during the work. I feel so blessed to be able to share art in this way with all that pass by the paintings.



The Story of Santa and St. Nick

Santa is known by many names. Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, are among the titles this jolly character is called. He is the excitement of the night before Christmas. Children lie in wait all twilight for his arrival. Some youngsters try to sneak a sound or a sight of the large elf. Others obediently jump under their blankets and drift away during the reading of a beloved story poem.

The Night Before Christmas was originally titled A Visit from St. Nicholas and it has been a holiday tradition for almost 200 years. originally posted in 1832 anonymously, it was claimed by Clement Clarke Moore in 1837.

The story is a picturesque view of a wholesome family Christmas. It describes the atmosphere of the home and the enlightened mood of the holiday spirit. It tells of the suit Santa wears and details the reindeer team's names and activity. The prose is a wonderful way to welcome the close of the evening holiday preparations.



A Visit from St. Nicholas - Poster

Rankin-Bass' Twas The Night Before Christmas



In Closing

I implore you to read each of these accounts in reverence to your children during the holidays. Encourage them to read the stories to you. The delight of these seasonal messages will place good memories on their hearts. The tales will stay with them through life and create a moment they will always look back on fondly. 




Monday, June 13, 2016

12 Original Christmas Art Paintings For 2015

Original Artwork on Windows

Christmas is my favorite theme to paint for and with it comes whimsical characters and the bright, cheery images related to the season. Creating themes for a specific business type is this artist's specialty. Window painting for me is more than images and design.
 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Excerpts from this artist's book series - The Complete Window Painting GuideVolume 2 - The Traditional Window Painter's Guide
(coming soon!)


I enjoy expressing my talent and my love for the season in a variety of ways. People tell me I don't charge enough for my art, but for me, it is the mission of a strong holiday spirit that motivates me. My fees are just right for what I do. I love to share these images with people through my brushes. It is the greeting a stranger I may never meet needed that day. It is the joy of the holidays and the hope of the season. It is magic in color. It is a smile in design. It is a warm, welcome moment in the dead of winter. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A Gallery of Holiday Paintings 2015


The following designs represent images that were created specifically for a business' motif. There are a pizza parlor or two on my client list, a wireless store, a pet grooming shop and more. For these locations, I've altered holiday themes to tie into the work being performed inside. The window paintings developed to the delight of the artist, customers, and the store owner's alike. These images represent some of my best work for the Christmas 2015 holiday season.

Image one is the artist painting the interior doors of a pizza parlor / coffee cafe in the season for 2104. Wreaths decorate doors between the two restaurants. The foliage is feathery and light and details are added to the surface once the base coat is dried. This scene was repeated in similar fashion for Christmas 2015.

window painter filling in a holiday wreath - Image: M Burgess
    Artist Maria Burgess filling in a holiday wreath     

Wreath with candy canes and bow - Image: M Burgess
1 - Wreath with Candy Canes and Bow
This next image is from a nail shop. I have really worked on forming an acceptable Santa image this season. I've always found the Jolly Elf to be a serious challenge. Painting humans is a difficult task for most artists. The detail and proportions need to be correct for them to be anywhere near attractive. I have worked on St. Nick for years and years and years. This season I finally got him close to right. I have to confess I always cringe when people request this wonderful being. He needs to be done in a wonderful manner and up until now my talent lacked the skills needed to do him justice. I think I have remedied that issue, at least for this painting. I am rather proud of this scene. 

Santa and the manicurist - Image and art M Burgess
2 - Santa and the Manicurist

Speaking of elves, I found two decorating a Christmas tree in the north end of our city. These two really worked hard making at making this tree fun and beautiful The spots of color are my first attempt at using glitter glue. The glitzy medium stays on for a bit but has a tendency to lift after a few weeks. Use this accent sparingly... If it is applied too thick it will drip and run ruining the painting beneath the glue.  


Two elves decorating Christmas Tree - Image and art M Burgess
3 - Elves Decorating Christmas Tree

The opposite windows at this shop feature Groomer Girl, a character I have developed for Groomer Has It in Las Vegas. The grooming shop found my work on the internet and put me to work soon after. Groomer Girl is helping Santa's reindeer get the bells on for his Christmas eve run with Santa.

Groomer Girl and the reindeer - image and art M Burgess
4 - Groomer Girl and the Reindeer 

The frilly wreath is a favorite design for me. I love decorating them and creating them on different surfaces. They are always a sweet accent to a set of doors and the nice thing about having them painted is they do not shed pine needles as they age. This image is on the doors of Desert Reality in Las Vegas, my childhood friend's Dad's real estate office. Ms. Charlee hung out with me as I completed the work for their office front and it was a delight to see her again. Note the poinsettias added to this scene. I love those unique flowers. The added touch of neon green and red in the holly make this design really pop!


Frilly Wreath at Desert Realty - image and art M Burgess
5 - Frilly Wreath 

Although this snowman character is not tailor-made to suit the interior business service he is tipping his hat in greeting for all that enter or walk by. The squiggled line of his crooked smile lets you know that you are welcome.

hat tipping snowman - image and art M Burgess
6 - Hat Tipping Snowman


These paintings represent my best paintings of Christmas 2015. Images 7 through 12 may be found on my website blog www.holidaywindowpaint.com

If you would like to learn more about window painting or are interested in this artist's story visit the site for details on the book The Essential Window Painting Guide. It is the beginner's guide to the art of window painting. In it, you will find the steps you need to get started painting right away. It is available in print and Kindle on Amazon and as a PDF file for download on the site. Thank you for viewing!

 The Essential Window Painting Guide on Amazon