5 Wonderful Artist Christmas Cards to Inspire Your Handmade Creations

Robert Motherwell - Christmas Card, 1946

A personalized and hand made Christmas card is a treat to give and a treasure to receive. There is something more loving and heartfelt in giving or getting a labor of love where thought and time and creativity were invested. You just know that the person who made it was really making something unique and special just for you. That said, I find Christmas one of the harder holidays to be creative about.  Perhaps I have been living with “Bah, Humbug!” far too long for my own good.

One needs to keep in mind that the Christmas card need not be too “Christmas-y”. In fact many famous artists who have made Christmas cards for their friends take a decidedly anti-Christmas approach to the subject matter. Still it is really nice to reach out to loved ones at Christmas and share a handmade card.

For inspiration, I have combed the web to find 5 of the most creative card designs by famous artists to inspire my creations, and I hope they will inspire yours as well.

 1. Robert Andrew Parker, Untitled, date unknown

© 2016 Robert Andrew Parker
Robert Andrew Parker - Christmas card
Untitled Christmas Card by Robert Andrew Parker

Topping my list at # 1 is Robert Andrew Parker.This Christmas card exemplifies Parker’s technique of combining areas of pure color with design that has a strong emphasis on silhouette and shape and is very inspirational to me. Find an interesting and iconic shape that expresses the holiday season  – this could be a tree, Saint Nick, a string of lights, a star, or so many other objects. The color should also express the season but use any color you like. Parker shows us that trees don’t need to be green, for example, yet the red he uses seems so very festive. Then, in a few words (rhyming or not) write down what Christmas (or the season, or the month of December) means to you.

2. Robert Motherwell – Holiday card to Joseph Cornell, 1946.

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute
Robert Motherwell - Christmas Card, 1946
Robert Motherwell holiday card to Joseph Cornell, 1946

This card inspires me because it is just so simple. Focusing on color and texture and spontaneous marks is extremely liberating and speaks to the creative principle of automatism which was a huge influence on Motherwell’s work. “Automatism” is a type of abstract “automatic” doodling which allows the artist to tap into their unconscious. For your next Christmas card why not let all conscious thought go, and allow your spirit and subconscious to guide you. There is no right or wrong outcome with this approach so your Christmas card is sure to be a success!

3. Bill Pahlmann wishes you a fine holiday, 1961.

© 2016 William Pahlmann, Courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library
William Pahlmann, Card 1961
Bill Pahlmann wishes you a fine holiday, 1961

An interior designer, William Pahlmann was famous for his wonderful eclectic interiors. I just love this card for the beautiful colors and the way he has the figure in 4 different poses, at first gazing directly at the viewer and then turning and walking away. The technique he employs in his card is the same technique he employs in his interiors, taking elements from different time periods and different ethnic styles and combining them in new and unusual ways, often using bold colors, mixing patterns and textures, and combining the antique with modern. This card should inspire you to find patterns, textures and images from different time periods and countries; and to mix modern elements with antique elements.

4. Animation legend T. Hee

© T. Hee
THee Christmas Card
Seasons Greetings from Leon Schlesinger Cartoon Staff, by T. Hee

Coming in at number 4 on my list is T Hee. T Hee was animator, director and teacher of caricature and character design. He actually created many many Christmas cards. What I like about this one is that it has a fresh and informal feel, like he just grabbed any old paper and started to draw. I like that he drew all his staff as cartoon characters, and I can imagine them all looking at it later, finding themselves in the group and saying, “Hey if I was a cartoon that is what I would look like.” This card inspires me because you could draw your family and/or friends – or even your pets – as cartoons and that would be a lot more creative than just snapping a photo. Why not give it a try?

Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt – Christmas card to Arthur Danto, 1992.

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute
Lanigan-Schmidt, Card 1992
Christmas card to Arthur Danto, 1992, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt

Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt was influential in the kitsch art movement, as his work was all about the gaudy and irreverent. This card is festive and poetic and funny all at the same time and expresses Lanigan-Schmidt’s love of trashy opulence. The technique employed here is simple. Find some especially riveting phrase of poetry or literature and let it inspire you to put yourself or someone else in an unusual setting of glitter and fantasy, using whatever materials are at hand. Christmas is a season for extreme and sometimes gaudy decoration and lends itself well to this method.

So those are my top 5 sources of inspiration for Christmas 2018 and they have really fired up my imagination. If you got inspired I would love to hear from you and see your wonderful handmade Christmas cards!

Sources:

www.washingtonpost.com
www.cartoonbrew.com
www.anothermag.com

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