Erin Sargent Lusk created a nostalgic scene for Christmas Card Lane. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Erin Sargent Lusk depicted a charming, nostalgic scene for her artwork in Christmas Card Lane.

“My Christmas card is a painting of an old pickup truck carrying a tree through the snow,” Lusk said. “The dog in the back is riding along, while keeping watch over the presents.”

Her dog, Oakley, inspired the scene. She named her work, “Oakley’s Christmas.”

Using interior wall paint for larger sections, Lusk switched to acrylic paint for smaller areas of color in the painting. “To protect it from the elements, I put on layer after layer of spar varnish. I worked on it for several weeks, a little bit at a time,” she said.

In elementary school, Lusk had excellent art teachers “who nurtured my desire to create. I remember taking Marie Mosley’s art class at Liberty Middle School. From then on, I knew I wanted to be an art teacher,” she said.

At Bob Jones High School, Lusk continued art study “and loved Melissa Hughey. At the close of my senior year, I traveled to New York City with 12 other high school classmates to be recognized for my Scholastic Silver Key portfolio in the National Scholastic art competition.”

Lusk first entered college at Murray State University and then transferred to the University of Kansas to earn a bachelor’s degree in art education. She teaches art classes at Madison, West Madison and Columbia elementary schools.

After learning about Christmas Card Lane, she decided to apply to help in promoting arts in the community and boost her personal career as an artist. In addition, the outdoor exhibit “provides an opportunity for me to make something outside of teaching,” Lusk said.

“It may surprise some people to know that art teachers actually don’t produce a lot of their own art during the school year,” Lusk said. “Students require so much of our energy and time … but in a good way. Making this card was fun for me because it forced me to do my favorite thing, paint.”

Her husband Taylor Lusk works as an aerospace engineer.

For more information, visit etsy.com/shop/rocketcityart.