Hello Sketchbuds,
Happy Winter Solstice and Hanukkah/ Christmas Eve! (Yes they are on the same day this year!) To welcome the upcoming, ever warming days of Winter, I once again have some holiday postcards to send out. This is a time honored tradition I’ve been doing for the 5 years I’ve been working as an illustrator. I see them as a wonderful way to celebrate the art directors, friends, and you lovely sketchbuds, who make my job possible. And who doesn’t like receiving things in the mail? If you want to read about how I created the 2024 postcard, check out it out HERE
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Each year, I try to incorporate different birds/ flying creatures and seasons into the themes of the illustration. I had already done ones for Summer, Fall and Winter so Spring obviously came up as a theme. But this postcard felt a little different, just as this year felt a little different. Spring is a season known for rebirth, renewal and beauty, but it’s hard looking at this year and the anxiety for what 2025 will bring, and think of those qualities.
While pondering these thoughts, I was continuously inspired by this local heron who comes to my apartment’s man-made lake. The heron (it’s too far away to tell the gender but if a bird expert could let me know that would be cool) always stands alone, calmly watching the water. Occasionally it glides across the lake to somewhere beyond our window, solemn but graceful. And on the days where the rain is torrential, it can be seen meditatively sitting near the water, unbothered by nature’s trials. I found the creature’s resilience evocative and decided that it would be the bird subject for this year’s card. If it can withstand the worst rainstorms, then so can we.
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