Christmas Birds

Beautiful birds, common and rare, familiar and exotic, inhabit this little book.  This is an award-winning collection of original paintings paired with the artist’s personal reflections on the meaning of Christmas, produced as her own Christmas cards over a period of 40 years.  Each of twenty-five exquisite, full-color paintings is accompanied by a relevant scripture and a short text, with an unexpected and sometimes humorous perspective, which invites the reader to consider the spiritual gifts of the season.

   At the intersection of art, nature and Christmas, this is a book of broad appeal, and suitable for personal or corporate gift-giving, or as a fund-raising vehicle.  The short texts could serve as Advent readings, and the original poem “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” would be a great welcome or blessing for a holiday gathering.  A keepsake.

   Kathleen R. Bates is a physician and a self-taught artist who has been drawing and painting since childhood.  Her paintings and prints are in private collections across the US and abroad.