Rustic Santa Painting, Close Up and Quiet

A head and shoulders portrait of Santa in a shearling hat and a worn hunting coat, painted in the old oil tradition and printed on gallery canvas in a black or white float frame. Five square sizes from 10 by 10 inches up to 36 by 36 inches, ready to hang.

This is Santa close enough to see the lines around his eyes. No sleigh, no sack, no snow. Just a man in a fur hat who has been outdoors a long time and is pleased about something.

The Painting

He is wearing a thick cream shearling hat, and a brown leather glove is raised to the brim, as though he is settling it or lifting it in greeting. Wire rimmed oval spectacles sit low on his nose, and he is looking slightly past you rather than at you.

The coat is where the detail is. Worn brown leather over a muted camouflage, with a deep red lining showing at the collar and turning out at the cuff against white fur. One heavy cast button catches the light at his chest. That small flash of red is the only true Christmas color in the piece, and it does a lot of work.

It is painted wet and loose in the beard, tight in the eyes, with the background dropped almost to black so the face carries all the light. The canvas texture reads through the paint, which is what keeps it feeling like a painting rather than a photograph.

How It Differs From Our Camo Santa

We make two Santas in hunting dress and they are not interchangeable.

The Camo Santa is the wider one, with the straw and grass camouflage filling most of the frame. It is cooler, and it reads as camouflage first.

This one is the portrait. Closer in, warmer in tone, with fur and leather and that red lining. It reads as a man first and the hunting coat second. If you want the piece to feel like an heirloom portrait rather than a hunting print, this is the one.

Where It Belongs

A close portrait wants a wall where it can be looked at rather than glanced past. A stair landing, a study, an entryway, beside a reading chair, or above a mantel in a room people actually sit in.

It suits a cabin and a deer camp, but unlike a full camouflage piece it is just as comfortable in an ordinary house. The palette is brown, cream and bone with a thread of red, so it sits beside normal furniture without demanding a themed room around it.

Because there is so little Christmas color in it, plenty of people hang this one in October and never quite get round to taking it down.

Black Frame or White

The canvas sits inside a float frame with a shadow gap around it, so the piece lifts off the wall rather than sitting flat.

Black suits dark timber, log walls, stone and deep paint colors. It picks up the near black background of the painting so the frame reads as part of the work.

White suits a painted or plaster wall and anywhere light. On a pale wall a black frame can land heavy, where white keeps it quiet and lets the warm browns carry it.

Choosing a Size

This is a close crop, so it reads well smaller than a wide landscape piece would. The face is already large in the frame.

Over a mantel or a sofa, 24 by 24 or 36 by 36. On a stair landing or beside a chair, 16 by 16. In a hallway, a study or a small den, 10 by 10 and 14 by 14 are plenty, because at this crop the detail still reads from across the room.

What Arrives

✔ The rustic Santa portrait on gallery quality canvas in a float frame

✔ Five square sizes, 10 by 10 inches up to 36 by 36 inches

✔ Black or white frame

✔ Ready to hang, with mounting hardware already attached

✔ Leveling bumpers included to protect the wall

✔ Semi gloss finish on a beveled wood stretcher, stapled tight

✔ Printed with fade resistant, water based, solvent free inks

✔ Made to order in North America

✔ Free shipping to the USA and Canada

Questions About This Rustic Santa

Is this an original painting?

No. It is a print of a digitally painted original, produced on gallery quality canvas. The brushwork you can see is in the artwork itself rather than raised on the surface.

How is it different from your Camo Santa?

Camo Santa is the wider piece, with straw and grass camouflage filling the frame, and it reads as camouflage first. This one is a close portrait in fur and leather with a red lining, and it reads as a man first. Same world, different picture.

Does it come ready to hang?

Yes. The mounting hardware is already attached and leveling bumpers are included. There is nothing to assemble.

Should I pick the black frame or the white?

Black on dark timber, log walls, stone or deep paint. White on a painted or plaster wall, or any room that is already light.

Is it too Christmassy to leave up?

Not really. The only true Christmas color is the red lining at his collar and cuff. The rest is brown, cream and bone, so it behaves like a portrait rather than a decoration.

What size should I get?

It is a close crop, so it reads well smaller than a wide piece would. Over a mantel or a sofa, 24 by 24 or 36 by 36. On a landing or beside a chair, 16 by 16. Hallway or study, 10 by 10 or 14 by 14. The size refers to the canvas inside the frame, so the finished piece is a little larger.

NOTE: Measure your space carefully with a tape measure. We are not responsible for the wrong size ordered. Use our size guide here.