Watercolors by Liana Yarckin

I found these cards from a Christmas past. Years ago, before I had children, I would paint individual Christmas cards. That was when I had all of the time in the world to meticulously tape off 50 plus cards and paint one for everyone on my list. It was a relaxing and rewarding time preparing the cards. Sometimes I would paint snow scenes, Christmas trees, holly branches, every year a different theme. The above are cards from the Christmas that I had just found out I was pregnant with my first child. I don't remember exactly how I got the image for the above cards. I always loved Michelanglo's Pieta. My mom even had a small replica in her room. I remember that was my inspiration. As always, I wanted to use lots of vibrant colors. Also, another favorite technique, wet into wet. With the above 3, you can see how the results are different as the paper was freshly wet compared to starting to dry. I would line my cards up and do several at a time. I tried different colors in different areas, as well as different techniques. It was always fun to see the results. For the first few years after children I would send a watercolor card along with a photo card. When I stopped doing that, a friend called and asked if she was off of the "A" list because she didn't get a watercolor card. I told her that I didn't do them that year. She told me that she always looked forward to getting her original little painting every year.