Meet Sam Paonessa, an active member of the Streamline Publishing PleinAir community. Since 2021, Sam has been painting the holiday greeting cards you see from Eric Rhoads and our team each year.
“One day in a bookstore, I came across a copy of Streamline Publishing’s PleinAir Magazine and was immediately impressed by the paintings, editorial, and print quality,” Sam said. “I learned more about the PleinAir Salon and the monthly competitions, conferences, and online painting seminars. I became a subscriber and began entering their competitions and reading publisher Eric Rhoads’ weekly blog, Sunday Coffee. In the fall of 2023, I attended Streamline’s Invitational event in the spectacular Adirondack Mountains and finally got to meet Eric in person, as well as some wonderful artists with whom I now correspond on social media.”
“The principle of a greeting card is having a connection between the sender and the receiver,” Sam says, “So, when my created image relates to both card sender and receiver that is the winning combination.”
In 2018, Sam won his first PleinAir Salon category award for Best Water. Other awards followed, and he says he was greatly encouraged. In 2021, he sent Eric a punny plein air Christmas greeting card depicting two squirrels engaged in plein air painting with the caption ‘Nuts about plein air!’. “Eric liked it and asked if it could be used for Streamline’s online Christmas greeting,” Sam said. “I happily agreed. In 2022, 2023, and 2024 I sent him new Christmas card ideas; each was accepted.”
31 Years of Card Labor
In addition to being a plein air painter, Sam has published editorial illustrations in Canadian Living, Canadian Gardening, and City and Country Home, and worked for Hallmark Cards Canada until he retired in 2014. He has designed and illustrated more than 600 cards, more than 250 caricatures and portraits, and a variety of other materials.
“My favorite part of my job was painting Christmas cards each year,” Sam said. “I lost count of how many winter scenes I have done for Hallmark and I still enjoy painting the season.”
“I am blessed to have had a long career creating memorable greeting cards to mark the special occasions and celebrations in people’s lives,” Sam said. ”I am very touched when people meet me and recognize my name or artwork and then recall that they have received and sometimes saved cards that I created. Knowing that people were touched by my artworks emotionally is so rewarding.”
“Hallmark Christmas cards were usually painted in the summertime, since the product needed to be printed and packaged overseas before shipping to Canada. I sometimes got fan mail from card buyers or recipients inquiring about where an illustration was painted and whether an enlargement was available.”
“Now, in my role as a painting instructor, bringing smiles into my workshops is important to me too, so I often sprinkle in some puns. It helps people feel relaxed and know they can have some added fun while learning to paint. I have an 0-pun door policy.”
“I’ve always loved painting outdoor scenes, including those of children playing pond hockey. It’s a piece of iconic Canadian imagery that, with hockey’s worldwide growth, has become almost universal.”
So what’s the design for 2025? You’ll have to stay tuned to see!
“I’m blessed to be able to paint, teach painting, and share the joy of the festive season through Christmas cards. My good fortune is plein to see.” ~Sam Paonessa
Connect with the artist at sampaonessa.com.
