I have a title!!!! After much thought and collaboration with Tom and close friends, I settled on something short and sweet, but one that says it all – “Dear Santa.” Tom also proposed the subtitle “Letters from a Child’s Heart,” but we decided to keep it simple. As I promised last week, I want to show you some of the things I’ve included in the painting that have a special meaning or symbolism for me. As I was designing the painting, my first thoughts were that I wanted a living-room setting. Santa liked the idea of looking directly at the viewer while holding…

Is it cold in here, or is it just me? Even with all the 90-degree days this week, I’m feeling a chill in the air… maybe it’s just wishful thinking. Or maybe it’s because my mind has been on the North Pole lately as I put the finishing touches on my latest Santa painting. Try to picture the scene… After a busy afternoon making toys in his workshop at the North Pole, Santa takes a well-deserved break. This is his favorite time of day, and he settles into his favorite chair by the glowing fire and enjoys a late afternoon…

Aria turned 2 years old this week! We celebrated by taking her back to one of her favorite places – the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum. It’s one of the best indoor educational playgrounds I know. Not surprisingly, her favorite part is the area with the easels and paints. (Obviously the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!) It was very entertaining to watch her at work. She threw her whole self into it… including painting her hands and her face with all of the colors!  If there is such a thing, it looks like Aria has inherited the Artist Gene from Grandma!…

It’s been quite a busy and eventful week with some really great moments. First of all, I want to send out a big “Thank You” to everyone who visited my booth at last Saturday’s Night Market in Market Square. If you haven’t yet visited the Night Market, you don’t know what you’re missing! For me, after a long summer of being wrapped up in family matters, I was happy to be out in public again, meeting people and talking about art. It felt wonderful to finally be stepping out… but I wasn’t the only one! The twins made their first…

Finally (with plenty of encouragement from friends and family), I’m painting again! As you can see, I have been working on Santa’s hands – one holds a glass of milk, while the other holds letters from children all over the world. I feel as if these hands tell the whole story of the developing painting. I wanted to show you these small sections of the painting so you can see the great detail that goes into it. As you may already know, the medium I work in is soft pastel chalks. Everything I paint is in chalk. It’s not like…

The twins are home!!! Life is finally starting to settle down a bit since the girls came home on Tuesday. They still seem so tiny, but they’re steadily gaining weight. Autumn is almost 6 pounds now, and Abigail is not far behind her. Here are two of my favorite pictures from Homecoming Day… Abigail in the car seat looking like she’s waving and Autumn just looking beautiful. (You’ll have to forgive me for being a proud grandma!) Today Tom and I took Aria to her new favorite place, The Children’s Museum! Here she is, showing Bop Bop the finer points…

As you know, Tom and I have been eagerly awaiting the birth of our twin granddaughters, originally expected sometime in August. However, as time passed, our daughter developed more and more complications in her pregnancy. Alyssa was admitted to the hospital, and for the last week and a half, we’ve been in crisis mode as we prayed for our daughter’s life and the lives of her twins. The situation changed minute by minute, with the actions being taken based on the precarious state of her health and the babies’ well-being. Finally, the decision was made to deliver the babies at…

Well, I’m back from vacation, and what a vacation it was! We avoided the touristy parts – no Zoo, no Sea World – and other than splurging on a few movies and restaurants, Tom and I did just about every free thing there was to do in San Diego. Much of our time was spent just enjoying the ocean, the boardwalk, and the bay. We walked, we talked, we people-watched, and we especially loved watching the seals and sea lions! Balboa Park (shown in the photo above) was our favorite place to hang out. The part I liked best was listening to…

Vacation must really agree with us – Tom and I are super relaxed and enjoying our time away. A change of scene is something I highly recommend for everyone. Even if you can’t leave town, just spending some uninterrupted time with your loved ones is energizing for your spirit. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to have a great vacation experience that stays with you for the rest of your life. Other times you might have an experience that’s memorable… but for the wrong reasons! This actually isn’t our first visit to La Jolla. We vacationed here once many years ago when…