The All Year Christmas Tree

The All Year Christmas tree is I great little story by Monica Gunning, about two brothers trying to make the best of the holidays when their parents don't have enough money to afford a Christmas tree. It's a great story and I was really excited to illustrate it. You can read it and see the other two illustrations in the current issue of Highlights Magazine.



This is one of the three illustrations that I created for the story. I'm fairly pleased with the results however, I was trying to get a stronger sense of mood through the use of atmosphere and lighting. This image fails in that regard but there is another illustration where the mother is sitting on the side of the older boys bed in which I thought the lighting in the room was complementary to the scene. Oh well, perfection can be an endless pursuit.... perhaps I’ll get all three right on the next assignment.