I'm progressing smoothly with the "Christmas Commission" as all of the white canvas is now covered. I'm now able to see how all the elements of the painting are shaping up. What I have in front of me now is doing all the revisions based on what I'm seeing and then bring it home to a finished painting. As you know because this collector is giving this away as a Christmas present, I can't talk to much about what it is. Having said that, I can say that the sky came out good with a nice glow at the top that I have never have been able to get before. I used a combination of both Pthalo and Ultramarine Blues, plus some Ultramarine Violet here and there along with White.

  The other thing that I'm blocking some time out for is the plan for my window display this January. As I mentioned in the recent newsletter, I'm making sure to plan my holidays out well so that I'm not running around all over the place. One thing I decided is that I'm going to get my tree at the local Y.M.C.A which is just blocks away from me. I have a rule, if you touch more than four trees and stay there choosing longer than ten minutes, you're too picky! That's just my opinion but one of my pet peeves.

  Now that I've been painting with it for a few months, I'm happy to say the tea cart is kicking butt for me. The large mixing area is there as well as plenty of space for paints that I'm working with. I really love the used brush holder as well because it matches my desire to use one brush for each color to save time. The only thing I noticed so far is a small scratch on the glass so I may have to go to a thicker piece of glass in the future. That's all for now, leave me a comment if you have any holiday pet peeves that you go through and I'll see you again in a few days, take care!