Happy Holidays! In this newsletter, I share the paintings I finished in the Land of Stones when the weather turned cold and my thoughts turned to winter. Then you'll see what one of our special wintry guests inspired me to paint. I'll tell you how Christmas is celebrated in Croatia (hint, think mulled wine and sausages), and finally I will give you an update on Ebby's Magnificent Holiday Sale where my books and art are 25% off. Let's get to it before the snow starts falling.
Wintry Visions.
If you are anything like me, certain images mesmerize you when you see them painted. How, for example, do artists paint glass? What tricks do they employ to make your eyes think they are looking through a clear piece of glass? I spent a lot of time staring at paintings of glass before I attempted it myself. You can see the result on the back cover of my book, Ebby the Magnificent where I painted Ebby inside Sofia's diamond dragon egg during one of their many adventures.
Another image I have practiced painting a few times with mixed success is snow. To look at it, it looks white, right? But is it? How do you paint snow so it looks believable? You can't just paint white. During my last visit to Rovinj to see Zoto, my artist mentor, he showed me paintings by an artist who seemed to use every color EXCEPT white to paint a "white" dress. This artist used yellows, pinks, purples, and blues to illustrate "white." Zoto emphatically explained that white is not white to the artist.
Zoto's comments rolled around in my head for weeks. I took a photograph several years earlier in Colorado of an aspen grove in winter that I had dreamed of painting. But it looked impossible to me. I could never figure out how to do it using only white paint, which is what my untrained artist brain told me I should do. This is the photograph. The snow looks white, right?
Newly inspired by Zoto, I decided to take a stab (with a palette knife) at painting this scene. I used blues and purples to show the shadows and yellows and white to show where the sun hit the snow. I loved how it turned out, so I decided to paint it again, this time using a brush. Purple is one of my favorite colors and I had so much fun using it to indicate the shadows. I'd love to hear what you think. Which do you like more? I superimposed some of our Critters on the second painting for my Christmas card, but the original is up above. I hope it makes you smile.
Our Special Winter Guest in the Land of Stones.
Last December, while inspecting the new windows in our barn, we found a dazed bird lying on the floor of the barn. We believe he had flown into a window. My husband carefully picked him up, dusted him off a bit, and set him outside on the window ledge to give him a chance to recover his senses. Knowing I might never get another chance to get so close to a wild bird, I photographed him. A few minutes later, he recovered and flew away.
We see these birds in our yard every spring and winter. They are beautiful, with bright blue heads and yellow bodies. I don't know if he has returned to our yard, but this year, I commemorated this little guy by painting him. I am posting a series of videos and pictures on my Facebook and Instagram accounts if you would like to see the process.
Celebrating the Holidays in the Land of Stones.
If you have never been to Europe during the winter holidays, it is really something you should put on your must-do list. Why? Because many cities throughout Europe celebrate the holidays for an entire month long, and not just by having Christmas sales starting the day after Halloween. I won't get into the "technical" aspects of the celebrations, but suffice it to say that Croatia takes Advent and the Christmas markets to a whole new level. Just about every village, town, and city in Croatia lights up the main square with lights and holds festivals on the weekends. Our little town of Crikvenica brings in a portable ice skating rink and fills the city park and main square with decorations, lights, music, and booths selling food and drinks. But the capital city of Zagreb is where the REAL fun is. Voted the Number One Advent Market in Europe several times in the past years, the people of Zagreb pull out the stops to make the city shine.
Regardless of whether you are a youngster who likes to see Santa or an adult who loves to celebrate the holiday season with friends, Zagreb has you covered. From hot chocolate to mulled wine, from the delicious fried treats called fritule (like donut holes but yummier) to the mouth-watering sausages and kraut, you won't soon stop thinking about your experiences in the Land of Stones.
Ebby is having a Magnificent Holiday Sale.
From now until December 31, 2024, get all of your holiday gift ideas in one place for 25% off the regular price:
all hard and soft cover First Editions of Ebby the Magnificent
art greeting cards (including preset 4-card sets or individual cards)
Giclee prints, 11 x 14" prints and all custom orders
Additionally, all hand embellished canvas prints in stock are on sale for 50% off while they last!
These special holiday prices are only available through contacting me directly at jessica@jwjulian.com or ordering through my website, www.jwjulian.com.
Ebby the Magnificent is the perfect gift for everyone on your list who loves reading, beautiful art, adventure, and tails of joy, regardless of their age. All books will be autographed and all purchases can be wrapped for free upon request. The greeting cards and prints are ideal for art lover in your life.
Don't see your favorite paintings (including my most recent ones) in a card or print on the website or you would like to create your own card set? No problem! Just contact me and tell me what you want and I will make it especially for you at no extra cost, and for 25% off the regular price.
Further, if you want to purchase multiple items to send to different addresses, you can either order each item separately, or contact me to discuss the details. But don't delay in ordering if you want to beat the holiday deadlines.
You don't need a special coupon or secret code to get these prices. Now is the perfect time to stock up in Elusive Baby Bunny merch for every Bunny on your list!
Ebby the Magnificent is available in a First Edition heirloom quality hardcover edition or a deluxe softcover version. Both versions include a sewn and glued seam, heavy, high-quality paper, gorgeous, full-color images, and a map of the Land of Stones on the front and back covers so you always know where you are. Because it is a one hundred percent positive, bright, hopeful and cheery book, full of adventure, beautiful illustrations, and valuable life lessons for all ages, it is the perfect gift for weddings, baby showers, graduations from 1st grade to PhDs, birthdays, the holdiays and any other reason you might have to give a beautiful and thoughtful gift. Available only at www.jwjulian.com and select independent bookstores now listed on the Stores page of my website. I am happy to custom autograph your book.
We LOVE our readers and LOVE getting reviews!!
Reviews are a great way for you to tell other people about the book and are extremely important for independent self-published authors. If you enjoyed Ebby, please consider sharing your thoughts with your friends, your book club, your colleagues, on Amazon, Goodreads, with me, or wherever you write reviews. As an independent, self-published author, word of mouth is my BEST advertisement. This is a review I received last year. It still makes me smile.
Happy reading and hoppy adventures!
J. W. Julian
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