Rejoice

There are the horse-drawn carriages and the 1930 Ford Model A pickup truck marking the transition to the age of the automobile; the snowman’s being built on the street corner; the community Christmas tree in the town square; throngs of people shopping for gifts in festively-decorated and lighted stores.

There’s not a mega-mall in sight. No chain stores. No fighting for parking spaces. No incivility among the shoppers fighting for that last item that Junior simply “must” have.

There are the village homes; the frozen lake; and of course, the centerpiece of the town: the white clapboard church, a wreath over its symbolically open door with warm light flooding from inside, welcoming worshipers.

And then there’s that touch of whimsy: the “right jolly old elf” delivering stockings full of toys for good little girls and boys. But if one looks closely, one will see another whimsical touch so typical of H. Hargrove. Directing your attention to the store in the lower left of the frame, you will note the image of a light-haired lady leaving the store, walking a little white dog. Yes, they would be Hargrove’s wife Debbie and their canine “daughter” Sophie.

You won’t find many Christmas paintings more evocative of the holiday or bring a bigger smile to your face than “Rejoice.”

 The 2011 Christmas Limited Edition, “Rejoice”