Ho Ho...Uh Oh!

1990
Pen and Ink
4.25" x 7"

In 1989 I decided to make my own Christmas card. Because color reproduction was expensive, I created a black-and-white line drawing. The card proved to be a hit and it started a tradition—I've drawn the artwork for my (now our) Christmas card ever since. Initially my cards featured anonymous, fictional people—mostly children.

In 1990 I was very interested in children’s books: collecting them and attempting to create my own. For my card that year, I wanted to use a little girl in a frilly dress, somewhat in the style of Maurice Sendak or Mercer Mayer. I also wanted it to be humorous and atypical, perhaps a little irreverent, a card people would notice and remember.