Holiday Piece of the Week: ‘The Christmas House’ by MikeOB
As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over and the dishes are washed and put away, the first thing I want to do is climb into the rafters and get down the Christmas decorations. If I could, I would live inside of Christmas, and MikeOB’s design captures the wonderful tone and mood of what I love about the holiday.
The house is small and cozy, a winter fire is burning, and you can smell the trees and chimney smoke. The lights are on, meaning the family is home. It’s that touch of light in the windows that gives me the holiday shivers, I can imagine what’s going on inside and wish I was in there too.
"The Christmas House" by MikeOB
“The Christmas House” is also about what the artist didn’t include – there’s no car in the driveway. No suburban garbage and recycling bins along the non-existent fence. This is a house but not a real house, there are no visual cues trying to relate this to the modern world. There is nothing to take you out of the magic of the holiday season.
That’s how the Christmas-themed design of MikeOB’s “The Christmas House” is so simple and effective. The artist made smart choices about what to include and what to leave out. The color palette helps to depict that sense of wonder you felt as a child on Christmas Eve night, when you couldn’t sleep because of the excitement and joy of what you’ll find in the morning.
