The first sunday of Advent

This year I decided to paint landscapes that were inspired on the Gospel readings belonging to the four Sundays of Advent. 
That is easier said than done, because in the Roman Catholic Church in The Netherlands we read the Gospels in a three year cycle.
So I asked my mother for her old missal, published in 1957 (long before that three year cycle was introduced) and used that as my source of information.

This painting is inspired by Luke 21, 29b - 30: "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand." (source of the English text is www.kingjamesbibleonline.org)

Of course I have included some other elements that are connected to Advent - at least they are connected for me.
The star is a sign we hang in our windows when Advent starts and we remove it after Epiphany. So in every painting the star is present, though hidden behind some clouds.
There are light rays, one for the first Sunday, two for the second - and now I am already saying too much, the other paintings will be published when it is the right time.
A star means night, so the main colour is Indigo and only where the light shines other colours are introduced. 
The landscapes are scenes that are familiar to me: I did not search the internet for the landscapes of Israel, but I chose to paint variations on the nature of The Netherlands and Belgium. Sometimes I used a lot of imagination, sometimes I did not add much to the original landscape.

More information about this watercolour painting (size, paper and paints used, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com