Three decades of Tom Lynch's Christmas paintings in the Daily Herald

For three decades now, artist Tom Lynch's depictions of the holiday season in the suburbs have graced the cover of the Christmas Day edition of the Daily Herald.

It started when Lynch, then living in Arlington Heights, was commissioned by the newspaper's executives to create an image for the front of the yearly company Christmas card. But the bosses became so enamored with Lynch's scenes that the artwork soon began to appear on Page 1 every Dec. 25.

Over the years, that's included moments drawn from settings inside and outside his Oswego home: a community gathered for a tree-lighting ceremony, ice skaters on a pond, light decorations adorning a local park, and a bountiful meal on a dining room table.

"We've created a little tradition here that people look forward to," said Lynch, 72, who has been a professional artist for 50 years.

This year's image, originally painted in watercolor, is of a book with the classic poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," with one of the illustrated pages featuring the house in the poem.

He had the idea to draw something about books, which his 7-year-old granddaughter has started to enjoy. And a recent viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life" at home with his wife only helped the creative process when Lynch sat down to his blank canvas.

"I'm always looking for something a little bit fresh, a little bit creative," Lynch said. "A combination of those things: seeing something old and nostalgic, an old movie; having a granddaughter and how important books and reading was to her."

To view Lynch's other works, or sign up for one of his classes, visit tomlynch.com.