Happy Fall!

For me, the arrival of Fall means it’s “Show Season,” my busiest (and most exciting) time of the year. First, we had a very successful show at the Mt. Lebanon Artist Market. Then on Thursday, I was an honored guest at the Purse Gala for the Highmark Caring Place. I brought 34 prints with me to be displayed and bid on, and 25 of them were sold. So many people spoke to me afterward about how the paintings were meaningful to them. It was wonderful to be a part of this special fundraiser that helps families who are grieving.

Next, Tom and I have an exciting weekend ahead at Fort Ligonier Days! I love everything about this show, starting with the drive up to Ligonier when the fall foliage is reaching its peak. The show is three fun-filled days of festival activities, great food, and lots of laughter and conversation!

Better yet, every year it falls on our wedding anniversary. This year we will be celebrating 44 years of marital bliss!

I’ll have all my new paintings for 2024 available for sale, as well as giftware to complement them. So if you’re ready to get a jump on your holiday season, and you’re thinking about gifts you’ll need, please stop by. I’ll be in the Municipal Lot up from the Diamond, located right in front of the YMCA.

Along with everything else, there will be new ornaments, new puzzles, new tote bags, and new prints – both big and small.

I hope to see you this weekend!

Today is the day – the big announcement of my new painting release for the 2024 Holiday Season!

When I started my Santa series nine years ago, I had a five-year painting plan. (All I can say to that is “Oops!”) The last four years of “extra Santas” have been both a surprise and a delight, as new ideas seem to be birthed every year.

You see, I really enjoy the holidays, and there is something about painting Santa that brings me back to the old days of twinkling lights, gifts from the heart, and mistletoe… or in this case, the bell of a streetcar!

This idea sparked last holiday season when Tom and I spent so many long hours together at the Holiday Market at Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh. Surrounded by so many paintings of the Jolly Old Elf  Himself, we wondered what new concept I could create that people might enjoy.

One of my friends/customers stopped by and mentioned the Christmas Trolley at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Immediately, the idea for a painting started swirling around in my head… a trolley coming over a hill with a silhouette of Pittsburgh in the background and Santa waving from the open door.

And that’s how this year’s Santa painting came to be… ”Here Comes Santa’s Jolly Trolley!”

My initial idea made sense until this summer when we were at Bethel Park’s Art and Music Festival. I asked Tom to pose for me with the streetcar they have on property, and I realized how huge the car was in relation to Tom. Uh-oh! In my mind, Santa should take up so much more space in the painting… but if I made him too big, he’d look like a giant. So the painting stayed in my head, unfinished. Then one day I was chatting on the phone with a friend whose awesome creativity got me thinking.

Sure enough, I started playing around with the idea of cropping the scene in closer. Then it was off to the races! Santa stopped by the Heinz History Center and posed alongside their trolley so I could see their relative sizes. Then later that evening, I stopped by Santa’s North Pole home, and he posed for me there as well. (Of course, while we were there, we also started brainstorming for next year’s Santa painting!)

It was when I started painting it that I saw the true beauty of this piece. The vibrant colors of a warm, celestial blue background with magical colored lights decorating the streetcar. I changed the number on the streetcar to #25, which seemed perfect for a Christmas trolley as it journeys to the North Pole. God bless Santa for posing for over a hundred photos, waving and smiling until we got just the right look, one that invited you to hop on board.

I asked Santa,”Why do you love driving a streetcar?” It was as if he had returned to his childhood, and the excitement bubbled up in him. He answered

“You ring the bell twice, then you apply a little power and feel that 19-ton vehicle start to move. Before you know it, you reach full speed, flying down the railway in an incredible vintage machine.”

Vintage machine indeed! Everyone loves streetcars, and you can ride the 1711 yourself anytime during the holiday season at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

In the meantime, this weekend you can actually bring home a print of your own! I’ll be exhibiting at the Ebenezer Covered Bridge Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22. My tent spaces are 25-26. I’ll have plenty of prints in stock!

Or if you can’t make it to the festival, you can purchase the print on my website, www.lindabarnicott.com!

Wow, these last two weeks certainly been a whirlwind!

We started out in Ireland, then on to Picklesburgh, and we’ll finish at a brand new festival in Bethel Park this weekend!

Our trip to Ireland was truly a dream vacation, full of unforgettable sights, smells, and sounds. As it turns out, we weren’t quite done with the Emerald Isle yet! As we finished loading the van after Picklesburgh ended, Jade, who works for Fly Space (who helped set up this year’s footprint of the festival), stopped by to ask what we thought about the festival. In just a few sentences, we all realized she was from Ireland! So after I thanked her for a well-run, successful show, we talked about her home country. As the Irish say,” Once you get us talking, we never stop!”

Picklesburgh was invigorating! In the four days we were there, we saw only happy people! Saturday seemed like the best attended day, with lines up and down the street, but no sad faces. We laughed and joked that it was probably because there was beer to be had on every corner and inbetween… pickle beer, that is!

Something new is coming to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Bethel Park will be hosting its very first Arts and Music Festival from 10 am to 8 pm on July 27^th.  Many of my fellow artists and I will be set up in the Community Center.

If you live in or near Pittsburgh, you won’t want to miss this one. Be a part of the Bethel Park’s First Annual Art & Music Festival! Come and share the excitement, eat some fun food, and listen to some great music! There will be lots of activities for all ages!

I hope to see you there!!!

Hi, it’s Linda!

For me, this year has been a year like no other. There is a lot going on in my art world! Unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about it!

I just finished a commission. It’s a surprise, so I can’t talk about it yet.

I have another commission that could have a big impact on my career… also a surprise, so I have to keep it quiet.

Then later this summer, I’ll be working on another big commission. It’s also a surprise gift, so I’m sworn to secrecy for the time being.

Finally, I’m just now on my way to a meeting about a huge event in October. And (you guessed it!) – for now, I can’t talk about it!

It’s so frustrating!

One of my favorite parts of writing this newsletter is talking to you, sharing my process and my thoughts along the way to a finished painting. So here I sit, having no idea what to say – except that I’m thrilled that you all read my posts, and I hope you’ll stick with me! I can’t wait until I’m free to tell you about these new commissions. There will be some fun storytelling soon!

Love to you all… and have a good week!

Hello from the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show! We have had perfect weather to go along with all the beautiful smiles Tom and I have seen so far this year!

There are plenty of big doings at the show this year as I celebrate my 28th anniversary as an exhibitor…

An old friend, Rob Pratte from KDKA, interviewed me this week. Years ago, I had the honor of painting him and his young children with the miniature train platform in his home. We reminisced, and he spoke of how I’ve documented Pittsburgh and its memories for all these years. Then he suggested subjects for three new paintings – each time, I said “I’m already on it!” One of them, of course, was Isaly’s.  I’m saving the other two ideas for another time because… well, actually, because I have a secret! And the problem with secrets is that I can’t tell you! But that secret is the reason that I may not be painting Isaly’s this year. Hopefully, I can share it with you in a couple of months.

I know I’ve said in the past that I sold all of my signature prints of Franco Harris, but then one buyer never followed through with the purchase, and I also found one hiding underneath a stack of unsigned prints. Well, the other night I actually did sell those last two Francos to another vendor here at the show. He also purchased a Maz and two different Roberto Clementes. So, I am very grateful for this show and for ALL the wonderful people we’ve met.

Don’t forget! The show isn’t over yet, and I’m still offering a sitewide 15% discount for online orders until Sunday, March 17th, at midnight! Just enter the code SPRING15 at checkout. It’s a great time to purchase gifts for all those special occasions before the savings is gone!

Have a great weekend… hope to see or hear from you soon!

It’s the scent of Spring in the air!

In fact, starting next Friday, the David L Lawrence Convention Center will be filled with the scent of spring flowers, thanks to the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show.  As you make your way through the downstairs hall, just ride the escalator up to the second floor and walk through the doors, then head a little to the left, where you’ll find Aisle 3100 – aka Artists’ Row – with tons of Pittsburgh art! I’m right there at the end of the aisle at my “Double-Wide” Booth 3146-8.

If you can make it on Opening Day, Friday, March 8th, you’ll be able to see my original pastel painting, “Keeping Watch Over Pittsburgh.” But the painting will be on display for ONE DAY ONLY! I’ll be walking it in that day and walking it back out that night.  Why? Because one of my collectors has already purchased the original!  Though the original will only be on display for the first day of the show, there will be plenty of prints available for purchase throughout the event.

In the meantime, I’m working hard, preparing and gathering as many prints and art gifts as I can. I want to make the 2024 Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show the best one yet!

I’ll be moving in Tuesday and getting ready all week for the big opening on Friday morning. Can’t wait to see you there!

Can it really be less than two weeks until I begin my 28th year at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show?

I still remember the very first year that I decided to do this really expensive show. My plan was just to get my name out there and have a chance to talk to thousands of people. I was so young and scared! After all, my husband was the one used to standing in a pulpit every week and talking to parishioners. I was always behind the scenes, a kinda-shy artist with only seven prints to my name and my first Kennywood painting.

I know I talk about the Home and Garden Show a lot, but that’s because it has had such an impact in my career. I created my first mailing list with emails I collected from this show. And as expensive as it was, it allowed me to meet my first customers – people who have collected my work throughout the years.

I remember at the end of Day #2 that first year, holding my hands to my cheeks and exclaiming to Tom, “What did we do?” – we had already made back the cost of the show! And I thought it was just a chance to get to meet people.

This year I have so many paintings, I have to make difficult decisions about what to put up on my walls and what goes with the rest of the unframed prints in the bin. I have so many choices of giftware that I need to be more selective than ever about what to display. I have truly been blessed… especially because I’ve met so many of you at the show over the years.

The BIG NEWS is I will be introducing my new painting – “Keeping Watch Over Pittsburgh” – at the show on Opening Day, March 8th. The original has already sold, but I’ll have limited-edition prints, mini prints, coasters, ornaments, and bookmarks available. You’ll have lots of opportunities to take this one home with you!

Have a great week… and wish me luck with all the planning!!!

Just when it feels like we’ve hit our stride, the Holiday Market in Market Square (like all other good things!) is coming to an end. It’s lovely, though, to think that after these last few days there will be no more aches from all that standing… no more exhaustion from early days and late nights. But we’ve gotten used to it! The smiles and the stories of our visitors and greeting old and new friends, especially the families who have come home to visit the Burgh, make it all worthwhile.

It looks like the weather will be pretty decent up to 3 pm on Christmas Eve, when it’s closing time for the 2023 season. Ornaments, coasters and 8×10 prints seem to be the favorites this year, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to restock along the way.

Please stop by this week if you’re in need of some last-minute gifts. We’re starting to see folks with that “(rein?) deer in the headlights” look when they realize they still have much of their shopping to do!

Tom and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! May the next year bring you great joy!

You probably knew this already, but the holiday season is my favorite time of year!

I love being at my Chalet and looking into the eyes of folks I have yet to know, listening to their stories, and trying to assist them in finding the perfect present that meets their needs.

Sometimes I can, but even when I can’t provide them with that gift, I’ve often made a new friend. At the end of the day, it’s all about the joy and magic of the holiday season. If I can provide a smile and an ear, then I feel that I’ve truly made a difference in the world.

I know someone else who feels that way… and his name is Santa Claus! Last night a young couple with a new baby named George stopped by my Chalet. While we were talking, they recognized the Santa paintings on my wall because they had just taken their little one’s first picture on Santa’s lap. In fact, Mom and dad were also posed on Santa’s lap! What a glorious photo it was!

Santa was so kind last weekend to stop by and see my new painting, “Santa Golfs at St. Andrews.” Do you know someone who golfs? This might be the perfect gift! Check it out on my website: https://lindabarnicott.com/product/santa-golfs-at-st-andrews/

I have lots to offer on my website, but here at my Chalet, I have even more unique gifts that you won’t find anywhere else. The Holiday Market is open every day at 11 am. I hope I can help you find the perfect gift.

Until next week… enjoy this magical time of year!