I've kept my promise - to myself and to my public - and
there's great satisfaction in that.
When,
in 1990, I launched my decade-long celebration of the season with Christmas Cottage, I had no clear idea of the challenges
such a monumental print portfolio would present. Now, as I
conclude the series with Evening Glow, I can tell you that
I also had no idea of the pleasures it would provide.
In
this series I've delighted in the festive hustle-bustle of the
holidays; I've also savored the delicious tranquility of a winter
evening. I wanted to convey both moods of the season in this
concluding piece. I've tried to create a sense of joyous activity
in the warmly lit cottage; the carefully painted footsteps
announce the arrival of loved ones who've gathered within -
perhaps to celebrate Christmas Eve.
The
stream, not yet frozen for skating, murmurs its echo of the
holiday cheer within. For the passerby - for us - all is hushed;
the holiday suffused in a golden glow of memory.
And
though the series ends, a new millennium is just around the
corner. Who knows what expression of hope and peace next year's
Christmas will bring?
-Thomas Kinkade
