THE GIFT
When I was a boy, I had a God-given gift to draw. I could see things that others could not see. To me, there was beauty and joy everywhere. This gift has stayed with me for a lifetime.
There has always been a deep connection to Christmas for me and my inner child still to this day feels the magic of family at Christmas time...at least prior to 11 years old. That is when all things changed for me as a child as I lost my mother, who brought joy and magic to Christmas year after year.
MY MOTHER
My mother could make anything from anything. She could play the piano, sing and bring such joy to a room. She was an amazing cook and would light up a room when she entered. She nurtured my artistic talents and encouraged me to keep drawing and creating art and "things".
When it came to my mother, there was no shortage of ideas for kids. She felt that if you provided enough opportunity for kids of all ages, they would begin to think and create on their own. That method certainly worked for me.
My mother was hard working and kind. Raising nine children is no easy task for any mother, however, this did not deter her from sharing the values of love and kindness with each child. For me, as a child, she could do anything...she was my rock.
CHRISTMAS AT OUR HOME WHEN I WAS A CHILD
Winter in our little prairie town of 600 people is as beautiful. Families gathered at the hockey and curling rink and everyone knew each other. It was small-town and rural and as a child, I loved it. At Christmas, the town seemed to come alive and snow seemed to drape itself on the trees of the town.
Our home was a big old beast of a home and had raised a family of nine. There was a big garden, garage, and bushes that we called our orchard. (although there were no fruit trees. I always wondered about that). Our corner lot was right across from the railroad tracks. The old house would shack every time a train went by, but we as kids were totally used to it...not so much for friends visiting. They would wake up each time a train passed.
We always had an amazing Christmas tree and decorating that Christmas tree to me was the ultimate Christmas art. In fact, I sincerely felt it was a certain art that I called Christmas tree art. My mother encouraged us as kids to decorate and provided many Christmas ornaments, Christmas lights, homemade craft items, and much more for us to create our masterpiece.
At our home, Christmas was more than a holiday, it was a time for kids like us to explore and use our imagination. It was a time of Christmas crafts, and art projects and was the most fun holiday of the year.
The Christmas and holiday season was a time that I related closely to my mother as we did so many things together. It could be the making of an ornament or nurturing an idea for fake snow for the Christmas tree. Mother's mindset made for an easy Christmas, full of ideas, fun, and possibility. It was a time to make all kinds of Christmas art.
But is was more than just crafts and art projects, there was an entire ambiance my mother brought to our home. To me as a kid, it was laughter, food, color, love, friends, Christmas trees, candy cane everything, decorations of green, red, and gold, and of course Santa and his reindeer. And although times were tough, there were always gifts under the Christmas tree that we adored, clothes on our backs, and food on our table.
Music was always present in our home with our mother and sisters playing the piano and singing. Dad has his Christmas records and White Christmas on TV was a perennial favorite. The sites and sounds of Christmas seemed everywhere. It was a time for family to come together
I am sure Christmas will forever be something that most kids will love and cherish. I do not remember a favorite Christmas, however, as kids Christmas was certainly our favorite time of the year.
CHRISTMAS DINNER
What would Christmas be without the Christmas dinner project? My mother was an amazing cook and I have so much respect for her doing this each year, for, with that many kids in the family, it was a project for sure.
The smells of mother cooking Christmas dinner would permeate our home. It seemed to slide under your nose and lift you off your feet. I wish I had a photo of one of her Christmas dinners.
The smell of this sumptuous meal was accompanied by the flavor of the turkey, homemade dressing, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and cranberry jelly. Who could ever forget the cranberry jelly?
How about the smell of freshly backed roles. Can there be a better smell to grace home and bring the family together? Now, of course, you need to know there was desert. I remember the homemade apple pie and ice cream and can still taste it today. These things touch and imprint in the heart and soul of a child. I was that child and to me, food played a big part in the magic of Christmas.
Along with this dinner, there came the huge cleanup that went with it. No paper plates in this household. Kids can make a mess and we were those kids for sure. Adults sometimes make a bigger mess than kids. I remember the clean-up being done by my mother, sisters, and perhaps an aunt or two. Today those chauvinistic ways are changing for the better and I am proud to say that is one tradition that does not live on in our household.
I am sure, as, with most memories, these accounts are partially accurate and partially what my inner child still sees and wants to believe. But to me, today, they are as real as real gets. I will leave it up to my sisters and brothers to confirm my collection of memories.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
There was no website or social media to post on in those days as it was the 60s and early 70's that I remember. I still see the Christmas cards and presents with colorful ribbons that relatives brought when they visited at Christmas. Yes, December certainly brought the family together. Aunts and uncles would come over and sit with mom and dad at the big table. There was always so much laughter
It was a time for sharing and playing with other kids in our little town of 600 people on the Canadian prairies. I still remember dad coming home with the Christmas tree, cutting off the twine, and jamming the trunk in the snow so the branches could properly spread out. I just wanted to get it into the house so the Christmas tree art projects could begin in earnest.
SANTA IN OUR HOME
Together with my father, my mother made Christmas magical. They made the house full of color, lights, and music. Adding to the magic of Christmas, each year our old fireplace would show the signs that Santa had made an appearance.
The milk and cookies we set out for Santa Claus each Christmas were always gone on Christmas morning. There were toys from Santa with simple name tags made from paper bags and twine hidden around the house. This Christmas morning treasure hunt for our gift from Santa was very special to the children in my family.
Mom and Dad always did keep Santa magical in our hearts, however, they were quick to share with us the true meaning of Christmas and that Santa was really a descendant of Saint Nicholas. Our family went to a United Methodist Church and the teachings of Christ were part of our upbringing.
TRAGEDY STRIKES AT CHRISTMAS
When I was eleven years old, tragedy struck our family when my mother died unexpectedly by suicide just a couple of weeks prior to Christmas. This shook me and our family to our core. Christmas at our home would never be the same from that moment forward.
I could write so much about how this affected me and the challenges this event lay in front of me as an eleven-year-old boy, but that is for another time. Suffice to say, it was devastating to me. Suddenly my co-creator and inspiration were gone. The music left our home and the magic just seemed gone. That Christmas was very difficult for all.
OUR PASTOR
Our pastor, Reverend Duthie, was new to Milestone, SK. He was young and had new ways of preaching to our reserved congregation. If my memory serves me correctly he was not only accepted by the town but was loved during his stay at the church. He was the first on the scene that day to comfort me.
He told me the story of the Good Road and the Bad Road, which I still follow to this day. However, he shared other thoughts with me as well. These thoughts and his kindness helped set me in an overall positive direction in my life.
He did make me promise to use my art skills that had been nurtured by my mother to provide goodness for others. For years I did portraits for other farmers in the area. It was a great message from my pastor and would prove prophetic decades later.
SHARING THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS
As my career as an artist and designer took hold, it led me in the direction of becoming a set designer. My company designed studio sets for clients in over 50 countries and from age 30 to my mid 40's I designed and created, along with other designs, countless Christmas sets. They were quite a hit worldwide.
It was not until I lost that company to a perfect storm, that I realized my next purpose as an artist. That purpose was to create Christmas art for families and capture the joy that would be enduring memories in their families. This is when I began designing only for my studio and focusing on my own creations.
MAGICAL SANTA ART
Remembering the joy of those early childhood Christmas years, I began to recreate the "magic of Christmas". I wanted to create the Santa I envisioned as a boy. The artist in me set out on a journey to create a magical and majestic Santa who could bring joy to families. This joy could and would resonate within the family for generations....even as people and time passed.
One of my beliefs when creating magical artwork is "the art must look like it is actually happening". This was my goal and after much effort, thought, pain and creativity, magical Santa art was born. This lit a Christmas art fire deep in my soul. It brought so much joy to so many that I keep expanding the art line.
CONNECTING MY ART TO MY CHILDHOOD AND GOD
As my Christmas art line grew, so did the joy in my heart. I once again found myself connecting to the message and words of wisdom shared by Reverend Duthie so many years ago. "Choose to walk the good road and share kindness and joy with others." He had posted this to me as a choice and I could clearly see how I was doing this within my art.
THE INNER CHILD EFFECT
The response from buyers and collectors shared a common thread. They felt my art touched their inner child. They felt a sense of nostalgia, wonder, and joy. My art was leaving a feeling of family and a connection to the viewer's own inner child.
Kids have pure emotions and they are generally unfiltered. Imagine being an adult and suddenly feeling the joy of your own inner child. Kids want to feel love, joy, and happiness and they love a story that is fun. This is what draws out the inner child of every viewer.
THOMAS THE SNOWMAN
My own inner child was pushing me to expand my art creations as "Little Larry" loved to build snowmen when he was a boy. He loves being outside in the wintertime. Thomas the Snowman was soon born in my artwork and it is a dominant and magical figure that is enjoyed by folks worldwide.
STORYTELLING
When I am working with magical characters such as Santa Claus and Thomas the Snowman, there is much storytelling to be done within each piece of art. This storytelling has become a special part of my artwork. Each piece tells a story that will relate to people's inner child. It is part of my style and brand and I love it.
I want the viewer to enter the image and read the story. The goal is to capture your gaze and let you drift away to a simpler time of wonder and joy.
POETRY AND STORYBOOKS
Storytelling has become so important, that I have put my poetic writing skills into play and created numerous privately commissioned children's storybooks and Christmas cards. These beautiful books feature a sequence of artwork and a poetic story of wonder. These children's story books have become an immense success and creations have been commissioned both nationally and internationally.
CHRISTMAS ART IS SHARING HAPPINESS FOR GENERATIONS
Over time, I have become known as one of the most recognized and influential Christmas artists in the world today. This was not my goal however I have accepted that role with happiness. I am truly humbled by the success of my art.
My true goal as an artist who creates nostalgic Christmas art is to share happiness and joy with people worldwide. This, to me, is the true success and why I have chosen to create Christmas art. My Christmas tree art that I created as a kid, has now grown into a beautiful line of Christmas art to share ripples of joy worldwide.
