Christmas

Christmas is not so much a painting about sadness or loneliness as it is about the idea that beauty and the outward appearance of celebration are not enough, by themselves, to make us happy.

Festive lights, decorated shop windows, snow and elegant streets create an almost perfect image of Christmas. Yet without an inner emotional response, closeness, or someone with whom to share the joy, all this beauty may remain nothing more than a beautiful setting.

The painting is built around the contrast between the visual promise of celebration and the absence of the feeling of celebration itself.