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Mid November --- Hmmm. Time to start thinking about what to paint for the annual Christmas card. I have been doing this on 6 or 8 inch canvases. Though I don't usually work small, it is good exercise. There are options: fun or serious, day or night, close up or far away. Oh- just had a thought --- a winterberry bush to go with the buttonbush--- I will have to think about that some more.

My thinking is done in a little moleskine sketchbook ( I keep it with me all the time- very handy for jotting down ideas.) I make a thumbnail (read "small") drawing and when I have the lines right, I put in the lights and darks. This is a pretty standard process.

At this point, I like to group areas of similar value(or level of dark/light) to minimize the busy-ness of the composition. This gives me the opportunity of creating a powerful composition.

If I don't already have a good picture in my mind of the colours, I will go "shopping" on the colour wheel and colour charts. Even though there are a myriad of choices, this is much more fun than choosing from the endless selection of yogurts at the grocerystore - and no calories involved😉