The Christmas Cards

My high school art teacher introduced me to stippling with pen and ink.

After graduation I used this technique for a picture of the New York skyline. However, using colors limited to those available in ink was not satisfying. About a year later I found that I could use watercolors as well. With an unlimited number of colors available, my interest in stippling returned.

Not long after my discovery, I noticed an old church in downtown Lawrence (the First Presbyterian Church at 9th and Vermont) that would make a nice Christmas card. I made a quick sketch, took it home and transformed the stained glass window into a picture of the Nativity. I made about 20 of these by hand and mailed them out. A few originals remain which I used to make cards in 2005.

Two years later, I was stationed in Korea. One day, during a walk off base, I passed a snow covered home that I thought would make another good picture. I made a sketch and copied another set of cards by hand. Only one of these remains.

In the spring of 2000, I made a sketch of Midland Junction (the intersection of US 24 Highway and Wellman road) near Lawrence. This was a common sight for our family when we traveled to Lawrence from our home near McLouth. The scene held a lot of nostalgia for me since I had attended Burnett school and, many years later, my family had operated the farm store there.

As Christmas approached, I thought the scene could be used for a card. Having a printer made the task easier than ever. And so the practice of producing original Christmas cards began.

With the exception of 2003 or 2004, I have produced a Christmas card every year since 2000. Some are quite simple, especially the early ones. The sketch I used in 2008 replaced a painting that didn’t turn out. Small pictures and those in black and white were used to reduce costs. Most were reprinted in color in later years.

The first picture of the Old Fashioned Christmas Parade (2006) was almost complete when a drop of water fell on it. It was painted twice.

We had a very difficult time getting a good copy of the barn (2010). The third printing came out well, but a mistake had been made in positioning the picture and the words. We couldn’t afford another printing so we used it as it was.

Over the years, these Christmas cards have been a cause of much frustration and anxiety for me and my family. But they have also been a source of satisfaction and enjoyment for many. All things considered, they have been exceptionally rewarding.

January 2017

Revised December 2021

Michael Riley