Holiday Tartans and Flashbacks of "Little Women"

December 2021

Window to The Bay #19

Happy Friday! If you have school age kids like I do, happy holiday break! This month my family started a “warm and fuzzy” jar to capture little notes of positivity each day which has been a sweet addition to our nightly advent candle lighting. My featured Window to The Bay watercolor house portrait this month, a stately Greenwich, Connecticut home, is full of warm and fuzzy memories.

A Greenwich, Connecticut watercolor house portrait holiday gift

This watercolor portrait was commissioned as a custom holiday gift last year by 4 daughters as a Christmas gift for their parents who had recently sold their longtime home. Can we stop there for a minute at 4 sisters - does anyone else’s mind immediately jump to Little Women? Little Women happens to be one of my favorite childhood books and the first book I re-read for joy at the start of the pandemic prior to watching the newest movie version. So it was fresh on my mind when painting a cherished home for a family who was starting another chapter at a new home, and taking many memories of raising 4 girls along with them with this painting at their new home. As a custom detail we included the family’s three dogs from through the years, pictured together wearing matching neckerchiefs in the same tartan plaid of the girls’ preparatory school uniforms.

Wishing you a Nutty holiday!

The best kind of holiday, filled with sweet Nutcracker music and ballet, of course! After my commission last holiday season for commemorative art by San Francisco Ballet for Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker Online, I was so delighted to be back at SFBallet in person this year! Last month it was a pleasure to have that painting included in a members art show at Calvary Presbyterian Church featuring a wonderful breadth of artistic mediums and expression created by members throughout the pandemic. Visit Laura Ann Studio on Instagram to see more Nutcracker recaps and fun. Happy holidays!

With love for the every day and special days,
Laura Ann Elbogen
P.S. Do you know someone who is feeling the holiday shopping crunch and in need of a meaningful last minute gift? Gift cards are available for 2022 watercolor portrait commissions! Forward this post!