A Palette of Light My Creative Wishes for this Christmas 2025.
As the days grow shorter and frost begins to silver the edges of the studio windows, a particular atmosphere takes hold. The scent of oil paint and turpentine seems to blend, by some strange enchantment, with the aromas of cinnamon and pine. In this holiday season, I felt the need to set down my brushes for a moment to send you a few words—not with pigments, but from the heart.
The Painter’s Christmas: A Matter of Perspective
For an artist, Christmas is not just a date on a calendar; it is an explosion of contrasts and nuances. It is the transition from the raw light of summer to the hushed softness of a winter chiaroscuro.
In the Appelgam studio, I see the holidays through a specific palette:
Cadmium Red, vibrant and warm like a crackling hearth.
Sap Green, deep and mysterious like spruce needles under the moonlight.
And of course, that delicate Gold, whether in leaf or small touches, reminding us that even in the darkness of winter, light always finds a way to break through.
Christmas invites us to slow down, to observe the beauty of a dancing snowflake or the reflection of a candle in the eyes of those we love. It is this same gaze—attentive and filled with wonder—that I strive to capture every day on my canvases.
Art as a Gift from the Heart
Giving or receiving art at Christmas is choosing a gift with a soul. Unlike mass-produced objects, a painting is an open window to an emotion, a memory, or a dream. It is a fragment of suspended time that one brings into their home.
This year again, I have had the joy of seeing some of my creations set off for new horizons, joining your interiors and, I hope, bringing a touch of daily poetry. Every collector, every visitor to this site, plays a part in keeping this artistic journey alive. For this, I want to express my deepest gratitude.
My Wishes for You
For this Christmas, I wish you more than just material gifts. I wish you texture in your moments of joy, depth in your conversations, and a harmonious composition of life.
May your table be surrounded by laughter, may your home be a sanctuary of peace, and may you find, in a passing walk or a simple talk, that spark of inspiration that makes life so rich.
“Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible.” – Paul Klee.
May this holiday season make visible all the love and beauty that surround you, sometimes hidden in the small details of everyday life.
Heading into 2026: New Pigments to Explore
The year coming to a close has been rich in chromatic explorations here at Appelgam. But art is a perpetual motion. I am already preparing new series for next year, featuring unique textures and themes that I hope will continue to surprise and move you.
But before diving into these future projects, let us take the time to savor the present moment. A period of rest is as necessary to the artist as the time of creation; it is in the silence of winter nights that ideas truly ripen.
Merry Christmas to one and all! May this end of the year be, for you, a masterpiece in its own right.
With all my artistic friendship,
Jean Claude Appelgam