My plan on Wednesday was to take pictures of my backyard garden, as some of my readers have asked about it. I was all set with beautiful, artfully composed photos of every detail… so many photos, in fact, that you might have died of boredom. Then something unexpected happened… an odd late-season snowstorm! What did you think of this sudden throwback to Christmas? I was like a kid on Christmas morning!  I knew it would only last a few hours, so I couldn’t resist running around my garden, taking pictures of my beautiful blooms covered with snow. Here are photos…

I hope all of you had an enjoyable holiday weekend. Between Easter celebrations and working hard on my painting of the Ship Hotel, it’s been a very busy week for me and my family.  Easter is such a pretty time of year as the trees begin to sprout tiny green leaves, and flower buds are opening, scenting the air with their fragrance. Yet amid all this springtime fun, my granddaughter Autumn is still obsessed with Santa. “Ho-Ho-Ho!” is her favorite phrase, and she never gets tired of talking about Santa and what he might be up to. Remember the Jolly Old…

From my family to yours, Happy Easter!  We’re not even going to talk about the fact that it’s freezing outside. It’s almost like Mother Nature is saying, “Ha ha! April Fools!”  Regardless of the weather, we’re looking forward to a beautiful Easter weekend as we reflect and enjoy. This last week was filled with delightful days of painting the Ship Hotel. I think the sky in this piece may be my most exciting one ever! I was tickled pink as I applied each layer, running up and down the steps to my studio between sessions, as my inner art critic screamed…

Spring officially arrived this week and brought some warmer weather with it, so I’ve enjoyed spending a lot of time outdoors working on my garden. After I took the first spring photo (above), I went on to clean both the front yard and the back yard to get it ready for mulch. I’m thinking Tom and I may lay all the mulch ourselves this year instead of hiring a landscaper. The front yard won’t be so bad, but the back yard is four times the size. So no promises… let’s see how we do! We’re looking forward to the blooming…

I hope you are all well. With the coming of Daylight Savings Time, Tom and I have been enjoying the extra sunlight, and we love seeing new life emerging in our garden with the change in weather. But in addition to the seasonal joys of the arrival of Spring, this last week has also brought us a bit of excitement. (I’m sure you’re asking “Excitement? What’s that?”) I was honored to be part of a special surprise for someone… an anniversary surprise to be exact! It all started in January when I received an email from Michelle, wondering if my…

I pray you all have been well this week. As for me, I’ve had more excitement and adventure in the last week than I have in the past year! As you may have read in my most recent newsletters, I’ve been working on my upcoming painting of The Grand View Ship Hotel that was once located in Schellsburg, PA.  This week we took our first road trip in what seems like AGES to collect the some of the resources I needed to develop the painting. I’ve always loved this part of a project. It’s a little like being a detective,…

Isn’t it nice to finally see some sunshine? I know I’m enjoying it. The sun inspires me. Tom and I actually got out last night and took a walk. I also was finally able to spend some time in my garden. Gosh, I wish I were a better gardener! I think I may have cut back some of my bushes a bit too far. I hope not. I guess time, sunshine, and Mother Nature will let me know! Meanwhile, the process of creating my new painting of the Ship Hotel has begun. After last week’s newsletter, many of you wrote…

It’s been nice to have a little break in the cold weather this week. However, there was just one upside to the freezing weather we had last week – it was the perfect time to perform a job that no one likes doing… working on income taxes. Yes, taxes are one of those awful things that artists really, really hate – papers (not the good kind of paper!) and numbers and more numbers! Give me a brush and an empty museum pastel board any time, and I’ll sing all day long. But when I have to deal with papers and…

Happy Valentine’s Day! You can tell Valentine’s Day is near because of the huge increase in Facebook posts where our friends are celebrating their spouses. This week, Tom and I have definitely taken a few strolls down Memory Lane, remembering some of our most epic dates and the restaurants we used to enjoy. So many of them aren’t around anymore, including some of our favorites like Steak and Ale, the Brown Derby and the Red Bull Inn, but especially the Joshua Tree. Oh, how I miss those lovely days of prime rib and sangria… and the prime rib cost only…

Well, the decision has been made. For the first time in 27 years, I’m going to miss the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show. It’s still up in the air whether the show will happen at all, and after speaking with John DeSantis (owner of the Home and Garden Show), I decided it would be wiser to sit this year out so as not to endanger family members with medical issues.  Being the kind man that he is, John promised to reserve my same space for next year… at least there’s something to get excited about! It’s hard to believe that it…