Nandan Nair

Even though Christmas is over, I can still hear the “Ho, Ho, Ho” of the joly old St. Nick (otherwise known as Santa Claus). But I’m not talking about the Santa that lives in the North Pole. I’m talking about the Santa Claus that lives in my latest painting, “Santa in his sleigh”! I wanted to make this painting colorful, as Santa alone is what a typical painting would include. So, I made Santa with a little kid, while Rudolph and Prancer pulled the sleigh. I used this picture as a reference.

I chose a dark blue background for the sky to give a mythical look. The locomotive to hold Santa and the gifts (aka the sleigh) was red with golden railings on the sleigh. This had to be very precise and increased the time needed to finish the sleigh and hence the painting. The reindeer also had some details that I had to tend to, such as the legs being proportional, the borderlines being exact, etc. The most challenging part was Santa and the little boy, specifically, their faces. They were quite small, causing difficulty in preciseness, and accuracy. Once that mountain was climbed, I went back to finish the tiny details that still needed to be addressed like the moon, strings, bells, etc. But in the end, it was a great result.

I wanted to finish this painting by the 31st December as it would have been right during the season and I was extremely determined to accomplish this. However, with the finishing touches on each separate detail, it was ready early in the New Year. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Until the next, I say “Ho, Ho Ho”, have a great day! (Wait a minute, that rhymes!)

You can view the photos on Flickr and see how the picture evolved.