(click for bigger DA version)

This is my Christmas card for 2019!

In old Swedish folk lore, the Vittra were the invisible people that lived where you were not. They looked pretty much like humans and their lives were lived parallel but unseen to ours. Their animals grazed in the meadows in the winter or late at night when you were not there. If you found a strange animal on your land you didn't recognize, it might be one of the Vittra's animals they left behind.

The Vittra had close connections to the other mythical entities of the land, such as the small Vaette (roughly 'Gnomes').

I like to think they exchanged gifts during midvinter solstice like any good neighbours ...

Made in MyPaint with further refinement in Krita over a bunch of hours. I have more than ten years of Christmas Cards now, from my DA gallery you can find them all.

Cheers and Happy Holidays,
Griatch

Griatch, What wonderful of Christmas card. It is worth seeing it in detail. I like seeing how good you manage to transmit that magic atmosphere. Thanks for sharing it with us. Merry Christmas.

Love it! Getting ready to hang my Vaette picture in the new home.

Beautiful Christmas card neighbor, happy holidays for you.

Splendid, beautiful! Also, I love the story that explains and enhances the card.

I always love seeing your work Griatch and this one is really beautiful. Every now and then, something inspires me to look deeper into Scandinavian folklore and you have done that with this painting.

Your Christmas cards are one of the highlights of every Christmas for me. Keep them coming. If you ever stop, I won't know when Christmas comes.

Ah, the sacred Oversize Acorn of the Vaette. Can it be used to fix the droop of the horizon? **ducks for cover**

Otherwise nice and funny as usual. Love the sun{rise|set|whatever}, the skies and the reflections on the ice.

Griatch,wonderful!
I like this image that illustrates the story and revives our child's soul.

Thanks for the comments, everybody!


Thanks, there are a lot of details in this one, I tried to catch the twilight just at the edge of day/night since this is when the Vittra were supposed to be around the most. Glad you think the atmosphere is there.


Awesome! Hope it looks good.


Thanks, the same you to you.


Thanks!


Yeah, I don't think most people are familiar with these various Scandinavian myths I like to try to depict in my Christmas card, so some explanation is usually needed. Glad you like it!


Glad you think so, Erisian - there is a special sort of melancholic tone to much of the Scandinavian mythology and stories, it's a special feeling to them even though my paintings often try to bring out the lighter aspects (Christmas spirit and all). You should look up "Bland Tomtar och Troll" of you are interested.


Those are very kind words, glad you think so. It's been a long-running tradition; unfortunately actually posting these to friends and family gets more expensive every year as people post fewer and fewer cards and letters overall in the age of internet.


Haha, yes, it does droop a bit. I suppose there should really be more of a hint of a more distant flat horizon beyond the bend.
Thanks for the feedback, as usual!


A child's soul is always good to have, especially this time of year. Glad you like it!

.
Griatch

Great lighting, I can feel the cold!

Griatch: I'm late to comment, but that doesn't mean the comment is any less heartfelt: I love the lgihting in that picture! That's winter to me, and you've captured it so beautifully. I also love the sight of the vaette hats looking out between the trees and whether it was intentional or not, I really like the repetition of curves in the composition - the stream in the background, the vittra man's beard and shepherd's hook, and the curved shapes picked out by light and shadow in the snow. Someone else commented that your Christmas cards has become a highlight of their Christmas and it's the same for me.

Good!


Thanks for the kind words! I worked a lot with the light here. Interesting take on the repetition of curves; while not strictly intentional in a design sense, I see what you mean. There are a series of lines there to help aid the eye overall, and those are intentional.
I'm glad to hear my Christmas cards are appreciated; I've been doing them for more than a decade now, so it's a fun tradition. Sending them out to the family is getting more and more expensive, unfortunately (fewer and fewer posts regular paper cards these days after all).

Cheers,
Griatch