On Sunday, our family visited Kennywood for the first time in three years. It’s hard to believe it had been that long. The park used to be a big part of our summer; in fact, I was a vendor at their summer festivals for 18 consecutive years. But this time we were there strictly for the fun of it! We brought our granddaughter for her first Kennywood experience, and like any true Pittsburgh kid, she loved it! She never even took a nap – she was fascinated by everything going on around her. She laughed and smiled all day, and…

What an amazing couple of weeks I’ve had in New Mexico… between the life-changing art convention and our wonderful vacation, I’ve been inspired to say the least. We took hundreds of pictures of our trip to New Mexico because we wanted to remember everything. So we couldn’t resist one last snapshot before leaving Taos. We certainly look happy, don’t we? When we finally rolled up in front of the house on Saturday morning, Tom and I were delighted to see that the flowers in our garden here in Pittsburgh had grown into giants. Thanks to the good care given by…

Today is our last day in New Mexico, a place I’ve fallen in love with in the past two weeks. But even though I’m sorry to leave it behind, I’m excited to return home to my family, my business, and my painting. This week in Taos has been nothing short of amazing. Tom and I have been doing a lot of hiking and exploring the history of New Mexico. One of the highlights was visiting Ghost Ranch, where painter Georgia O’Keefe first fell in love with the West. I read that when she arrived at Ghost Ranch, she looked around…

They call New Mexico “The Land of Enchantment,” and with good reason… I must admit I have fallen under its spell! As I mentioned in my last email, I’m in Albuquerque, New Mexico, kicking back and enjoying a little getaway with Tom after a whirlwind week at the IAPS Convention. The Convention was truly life-changing! I met amazing artists from all over the world and learned from wonderful master instructors, each one with their own technique of painting with pastels. There were painting contests and a huge pastel art show. There was never a dull moment, and definitely no chance…

I’m sorry I missed writing to all of you last week. My father-in-law has been very ill, and we’ve been focused on trying to get him the best care possible. It has been a quite a struggle, but I’m happy to say he is now in good hands and responding well to his new medication. Of course, making it to age 90 is already beating the odds, and we know we have been very blessed to have him with us for so long. His recent health problems, however, have been very severe. For a while, we weren’t sure he would…

As I’m writing this, my family and I are cheering the Pens’ Game 7 victory in the Stanley Cup playoffs. We’re so thrilled to see the Pens move on to the Finals! The timing is perfect because I’ve just completed an original painting of one of my personal heroes, Pens captain Sid Crosby. Needless to say, he’s grown up quite a bit since he was dubbed “Sid the Kid!” Coincidentally, Sid suffered a serious concussion in a game a few years ago, while at the very same time, my daughter Brittany also received the terrifying news that she had sustained…

There’s a beautiful birdhouse in the cherry tree just outside my window. It was painted by a fellow artist, and a bird family has made it their home for the last three years. As the birds come and go, chirping all day long, I think of how their lives are so busy… gathering the materials for their nest and preparing each Spring for their new little families. My own baby birds may have already flown the nest, but I can’t say I’m any less busy than I was in earlier years. In fact, I missed writing to you last week…

Hi, it’s The Birthday Girl! Yes, today is my birthday, and it’s turning out to be a glorious spring day! I’ve been starting to wake up my garden now for the last couple weeks, getting my hands in the dirt and smelling the fresh air. It’s done a lot for my spirits. Anyway, this has been an exciting week for our family (and not just because of my birthday)! One of the highlights was on Sunday when my granddaughter Aria attended her first big art show. The show is called “Pure Pigment,” and it’s currently running at The Artsmiths of…

In the last two weeks, I’ve shared stories with you about my first two Pittsburgh paintings. This week I’m going to skip ahead one and tell you a story about the fourth painting in my first Pittsburgh series, “Sharing the Season at Market Square.” When I began my preliminary sketches, I made the creative decision to remove an entire block between what was then the Jenny Lee Bakery and a group of older buildings, including the “1902 Landmark Tavern.” There was another nondescript building there at that time, but I felt it didn’t fit in with the composition and the…