Being at home 24/7 does have an upside… I now have time to garden, cook (I’m definitely improving, just ask my husband!), paint with my friend in California via Zoom, and get my stories written down.  Today’s story is about “Wishing Under the Horne’s Tree,” the last painting in my Pittsburgh Remembered series. As I’ve mentioned before, when Tom and I first started dating back in the late 1970s, ours was a long-distance romance – I lived in New Jersey and Tom was from Bethel Park.  We were only able to be together about once a month, so every minute was precious.  As we…

Here we are, another week into social distancing. It’s a good thing I have so many stories! This week I want to tell you the story behind the very first painting in my Pittsburgh Remembered series, “Meet Me Under Kaufmann’s Clock.”  It was the start of my career as a Pittsburgh artist. In 1989, the nice people of Kustom Korners Gallery in Village Square Mall allowed me to set up my tables and pastel chalks out in front of their gallery and paint portraits. Not just “quickies,” mind you, but rich, detailed portraits.  I wanted to show more than just a face – I…

The other night, Tom and I decided to take a drive, and somehow we ended up in Market Square.  Normally it would be bustling with people and cars, but last night it was a ghost town – quite different from what I’m used to from the winter Holiday Markets and summer Night Markets.  The quiet and stillness reminded me of one of my earlier works, “Sharing the Season At Market Square,” and I thought you might enjoy hearing the story behind that painting… If you have ever yearned for a huge fish sandwich, clam chowder or crab cakes, you may have…

First and foremost, I want to humbly thank all of you who reached out to me last week after the loss of my father-in-law, as well as to express my gratitude for your kind comments about last week’s story behind “Meet Me Under Kaufmann’s Clock, Too!” As we continue our shelter-at-home lifestyle, I have another story to share with you. This one, I promise, is a bit brighter.  It’s about “Walking in the Light of the Cathedral,” the second painting in my “Pittsburgh Remembered” series. My artwork has always been about memories, and one of my very first recollections of Pittsburgh happened back in…