#advent_challenge2020

I'm so happy that I was able to join the advent challenge again this year! This challenge is very dear to me as my watercolor journey kind of started for me with this challenge last year. 

Prompt list

Dec 1 Family
Dec 5 Mrs Claus (third painting)
Dec 9 Candy cane (second painting)
Dec 13 Magic dreams under warm blanket
Dec 17 Cozy sweater
Dec 21 Angel
Dec 25 Christmas cookies

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*Black Elo

A little illustrations series of an elephant and his adventures.

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*smoking chimney

One of my favorite places to make a walk in our area. I love that old isolated yellow building between the woods and a river. I have made pictures of it already at all seasons. It gives me a good feeling, same as looking at a smoking chimney! Hard to believe that it is Christmas tomorrow already! I really hope you can have a cozy time despite the circumstances we are facing right now!

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*silver lining

Many dark days in a row again and constant temperatures around 1 degree, no snow or frost. So I look back to those pictures with an aching winter heart. Meanwhile I decorated our Christmas tree and tried to catch up rest. Everything in me longs for a deep hibernation and I know I am not alone. Many of us feel this way right now. It's just natural, but little accepted in a world that has become so unnatural over time. Let's embrace those darkest days of the year that make us realize once again how life-giving sunlight is!

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*Dust of snow

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

{Robert Frost}

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*with the starlings

Can you imagine how it must be to be part of a flock of birds, where every movement fits and is in harmony with all others and creates this beautiful spectacle for the eyes?

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side note: Just the moment I was writing this and looked outside my window, a huge flock of crows was crossing the gloomy sky!

*autumn garden elephant

In November I painted so many elephants!

Including this illustration series of an elephant

doing his gardening work in autumn.

I really like the moody weather in them

and how the colors turned out.

Have a nice third Advent weekend!

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*Within the storm

My heart feels so heavy right now. 

Sometimes it's hard to trust the flow of life

and take decisions.

I often take actions and doubt about them afterwards

and those doubts are driving me crazy.

While doubting about a hard decision again,

I coincidentally read the quote:

"Next time, decide to act before you think."

That somehow came in the right moment.

We are having heavy storms for five days in a row now,

the howling sound of the wind makes it hard to rest.

I'm longing for silence.

The silence inside of an ice crystal

or under a blanket of snow.

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*Christmassy watercolor update

It was about time to create some

Christmas themed illustrations and patterns!

Besides I redesigned my old paper star tutorial and made

a printable elephant paper doll

that you can download for free

to have a nice time crafting before Christmas!

{you can find the pdf downloads in the link list

on the right side of my blog} 

Have a cozy second Advent weekend!

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*wild flowers in the mist

More mistiness and lots of wild flowers.

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*lost in the mist

This is what November looked like most of the time,

but today on the last day of the month,

the sun came out to celebrate with us my mother's Birthday.

I have read this quote lately that I liked a lot:

"Life doesn't come with a manual,

it comes with a mother."

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*autumn red

I think this little picture series shows very well how autumn squeezes the strongest red tones out of nature before all colors are gone again. Like nature is celebrating a big farewell feast, because it knows it takes some months before the brighter colors pop out again. 

The first two pictures are showing parts of the castle Ottenstein, that we visited last month. We were lucky enough to be totally alone in the castle area to take a closer look. The atmosphere was amazing!

We had another very wet and gloomy day. It is the time of the year where I finally start to feel the lack of sunlight in my body. How are you doing these days? I hope you are well! Isn't it crazy that November is almost coming to an end already?!

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