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This is a watercolor ATC I painted for Smellabi. The profile said something about succulents, and, well... I considered the 'Christmas cactus' the most appropriate succulent for Christmas.



I had to take a photo of the finished painting instead of scanning the thing because of the (artistically questionable but certainly very Christmas-y) decision of painting the whole thing on glittery paper (Paul Rubens sparkling watercolor paper, cold pressed). The camera killed the background gradients, but it couldn't be helped. Anyway - I had a lot of fun with this. As you might have noticed, flowers are my comfort zone. :)

I've been quiet over the holidays, but no worries: that was because life has been the good kind of busy! :D

- Christmas. No actual celebration, and indeed, my dad had managed to forget about Christmas. Again. (No, it's not his age; it's that he's a mathematician. He's excused from mundane things like birthdays, holidays, or, for that matter, societally acceptable childcare. LOL) My mom remembered, which is why she handed me two bars of spiced chocolate. (I love that stuff; good of her to remember.)

- Music! I suggest you go and listen to that awesome piece of music immediately: yhlee wrote a musical Scarlatti fanart for me!
https://yhlee.dreamwidth.org/3525130.html
He was nice enough to provide the sheet music as well, which means I got to spend a pleasant evening at the piano. :D No access to a harpsichord at the moment, but I will find out what that sounds like, too! :D
(The background of this: I'm the tiniest bit obsessed with Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas. Nothing weird about that, right? Anyway - I'm SUPER SUPER HAPPY!)

- New chess set! Also from yhlee. I actually mnaged to wait until Christmas with opening the mysterious House of Staunton package... And, I mean, I sort of knew what was inside, what with a perfectly square package from a chess supplier (LOL), so I wasn't actually surprised, but... SO!!! PRETTY!!! I didn't get around to actually using the set, but... Next training session. Oh, and I'll take that opportunity to post photos, too. I wanted a non-foldable travel-sized set without the annoying middle line so badly, and now I have one! YAY!!! :D

- Kolthainn fanart! From serenity025 again - and she not only drew another ATC for me

but also MADE ME A SUNDIAL.
A completely nonfunctional sundial, that is - it's black (best color for something that's supposed to, you know, show shadows) and it has rocks instead of hours. :D As serenity025 pointed out in her Christmas letter to me, malfunctioning sundials are a Kolthainn plot point. She's correct, of course: it's all my own fault. And anyway, while Kolthainn so far didn't have a black sundial yet... now it exists. Totally. It's just weird enough! I'll also take photos tomorrow! :D

- Art! I also drew an ATC, for FireCave.

That's her OC Luna. Lesbian angel mail carrier? I read the character description and knew I absolutely had to draw her.

- Mail! I received holiday mail from sooooo many nice people - I think I wrote you all private messages to thank you... WHEEE. Super happy about all! the! lovely! holiday! cards!

...life's great. :D