Merry Christmas! Suburban artist Tom Lynch keeps decades-old holiday tradition alive with serene winter setting

A friend’s suggestion to add deer to a painting created a snowball effect that resulted in artist Tom Lynch's latest watercolor painting to grace the front page of the Daily Herald on Christmas Day.

The scene depicts a present-laden boat on a winding stream, tied to a mailbox post with a newspaper hanging from it.

While stars shine above in the vivid twilight setting, deer watch from across the stream. A snowman, decorated trees and cozy cabins round out the wintry landscape.

“I taught a class last year on doing winter scenes. So I grabbed one of the lesson guides I had used and added a couple of deer to see how it would lay out, then I thought, ‘Well, that’s not too bad,’” Lynch said. “So it all just started out as putting deer into an old sketch, and, by the time I put the boat in there, I thought, that’s a fresh, new idea.”

Lynch, who is based in Oswego, has been painting unique watercolors of winter scenes and holiday settings that have graced the Christmas Day front page of the Daily Herald for nearly four decades.

He has written eight books and has hosted several PBS TV art programs. Lynch also teaches throughout the area and is a featured artist at the U.S. Open and PGA golf tournaments.

“Thanks to that close friend who suggested what if I added a couple of deer in a painting, it evolved from there, and it became a fun project for me this year,” Lynch said.