Holiday shopping can sometimes be a chore… but there will never be a better way to shop than at my Second Annual Holiday Trunk Show!  This is my event with the most intimate setting – here in my own home studio – with light refreshments, big savings, and good company.  If you’re in the Pittsburgh area this weekend, you’re invited to drop by for art, food, conversation, and a painless way to take care of some holiday gift shopping… all kinds of happiness!

To get ready for the big event, Tom and I have been turning our home into a winter showcase. We have been having fun decorating and setting up. We would love for you to come see it!

Tomorrow (Friday) is Preview Night, my biggest sale before the holidays, where you can take 20% off anything in the show. That’s right… everything from magnets to original paintings and anything in between (excluding my Super Savers, which are already marked at 40% off).  You’re welcome to stop by anytime between 7 and 9 pm.

On Incentive Saturday, I’m offering percentage discounts – the more you spend, the more you save! Show hours are 10 am to 1 pm.

Finally, the fun day, Mystery Sunday… Last year was a hoot! Each visitor gets a card, and no one goes away without something special. Try your luck this year and see what you will receive!  Come visit us any time between 12 and 3 pm.

My dream is that this year’s Trunk Show will be as successful as last year’s.  Our family sure had a ton of fun, and we would love to make this an annual Barnicott tradition.  So please come on over to my Trunk Show this weekend for fantastic art and gift bargains, good company, and yummy snacks.  You may even learn to enjoy holiday shopping!

Happy Holidays!

P.S. – New location this year in Brentwood – plenty of on-street parking!

3211 Brownsville Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15227

RSVPs encouraged (but not mandatory) on my Facebook page!

My Studio Trunk Show and Open House is back!

Last year I held an event where I invited my subscribers and customers to come visit my studio/home gallery… and with deep discounts and special sales of my artwork and giftware to boot! The feedback from the attendees was so positive (and I had such a fantastic time hosting it!) that I’ve decided to make it an annual event.

This year’s Open House event will take place at my new home/studio in Brentwood on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 15th-17th.

Items for sale will include everything from originals, prints, and gifts to one-of-a-kind pieces, including some of my “odds and ends,” and even “scratch and dent” pieces!

There will be something new each day… and here’s what you can expect:

Friday (November 15) is Preview Night.  From 7 PM to 9 PM, you can take 20% off any and all merchandise in the show – INCLUDING ORIGINALS!  (Excludes pieces already discounted as “Super Savers.”)

Saturday (November 16) is Incentive Day.  Come visit and browse from 10AM to 1PM to take advantage of percentage discounts – the more you spend, the greater the savings!

Feeling adventurous? On “Mystery Sunday” (November 17), I’ll be featuring unadvertised Mystery Specials that won’t be announced until the day of the show.  Stop by between 12 PM and 3 PM for some amazing deals!

I’m so excited about my Second Annual Trunk Show and Open House! Hope to see you there…

RSVP on my Facebook page!

Yet another action-packed week as the holiday season gets underway…

This week marked the final chapter of an art commission that I’ve literally been working on for years. Remember the Forbes Hospital Project? The one I used to mention but couldn’t share much about it because I was sworn to secrecy. I was commissioned to paint five panels that told the story of Forbes Hospital, its history and its people, and Monday evening I attended a celebration at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville for the great unveiling!  I was really excited but so nervous, as I was asked to get up and speak about each of the panels as they were revealed.

Today I received an email from the hospital that meant so much to me:

“I told you I would drop you a note in a few days to provide some feedback.  I am happy to say that I have heard nothing but rave reviews!!!  There has been so much excitement and conversation outside my office and many of our staff have poked their heads in to let us know how wonderful it is!  Employees are commenting on the beautiful pastel colors, the talent of the artist to sketch to such likeness and they seem to really like the story that it portrays.  I hear laughter and “I remember him… what was his name?”

Thank you for your passion and dedication to this project, Linda.  You did an amazing job!”

So now that the hospital project is put to bed, allow me to update you on another big project of mine that I’ve been teasing for a while…

Speaking of Big Reveals… “Santa’s Woodland Christmas” is finally finished!  Soon it will be available for sale on my website, but in the meantime, I wanted to show you how well it turned out. I hope you like it as much as I do!

At this time of year, I don’t have much time to relax. This weekend, I’ll be out and about for holiday shows.  On Saturday, November 9, you can come see me at the Holiday-A-Fair at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park from 9 am until 3pm.

Then on Sunday, November 10, from 11 am to 4 pm, I’ll be joining Wendell August Forge in Grove City, showing my art and gifts to help them launch their holiday season.

One of my newest events – one that was very successful last year – my Second Annual Open House/ Trunk Show is scheduled for the weekend of November 15-17 here at my home Gallery-Studio in Brentwood. (Final details on that soon!)

And then… hard to believe it’s almost here already – just a few days after that is Opening Day for the 2019 Holiday Market in Market Square on Thursday, November 21!

It’s a crazy time of year, but I love it!

I love painting memories that bring happiness to your heart, and I hope you’ll want to share my art with your family and friends in this holiday season and the coming year. I’m always happy to personalize each and every gift and sign and date the art to help make it extra special.

So as you’re making your Christmas or Holiday gift list, I hope you’ll stop by one of my shows to say hello and allow me to be of service to you.

I hope you’re enjoying Halloween so far. I’m getting ready to spend some time with my granddaughters today – Halloween is always such a fun and exciting day for the little ones (and some of us big ones, too)! Our little Aria started at a wonderful preschool this week, and they are having a Harvest Festival.  That being said, I can’t believe Aria is already going to preschool – and that our Twins are already 15 months old! And I thought time flew when my kids were growing up…

I can’t wait to return to John McMillan Presbyterian Church this Saturday, November 2nd, for their Christmas Affair craft show. It’s always a fun day with lots of great gift ideas for the holidays. Saturday is also the release date for my new painting, “Santa’s Woodland Christmas!”  The show is happening from 9am to 3pm on Saturday at 875 Clifton Road in Bethel Park (15102).

If you come visit me at the Christmas Affair, you can see all of my cool new gift ideas I’ve created this year, including the new limited edition throw blanket based on the very first painting from my Jolly Old Elf series, “Shhhh!”  As I said, it’s a limited edition piece, and it’s only available this holiday season on a first-come-first-served basis.  Most of the blankets have already been sold, but I do have just a few left… so why not stop by and get yours on Saturday?

As the holidays get closer and closer, I get busier and busier. This holiday season, you can keep up with my show/exhibition schedule with my new updated calendar – just look on my Events Page. I’ll be out and about practically every day from now until New Year’s Eve!

Speaking of busy… with so many work and family obligations, I know how hard it can be to get out to shop or come see me at my shows.  So I’ve made it super-easy for you to purchase my art and gifts online.  Among the new features on my updated website, the Magnets page now lets you select a set of any 5 magnets of your choice. These strong and beautiful magnets are just the thing for your refrigerator art gallery (or any other magnet-friendly surface).  They make great little gifts and stocking stuffers! Check them out on the Collectibles page.

Next week I’ll have more information about my Second Annual Holiday Trunk Show at my new Home Gallery and Studio on November 15, 16, and 17.

Happy Halloween… and have a great week!

Why am I celebrating today? Because I just put the final touches on my new Woodland Santa painting! I can’t wait until next week to show it to you… you will be some of the first to see the finished painting (though just a few days ago, the Jolly Old Elf himself stopped by to see how it was coming along!).

It’s funny how my mind gets laser-focused when I’m painting, and trivial matters – like housework, shopping, paperwork and such – get put on the back burner. So today I’ll start the process of catching up with “Real Life.”  In other words, it’s time to start focusing on the upcoming holiday shows that are just around the corner (and maybe even throw in a load of laundry).

Can you believe November is only a week away?  My first holiday show will be on Saturday, November 2nd in Bethel Park at the John McMillan Presbyterian Church “Christmas Affair” from 9 am to 3 pm.

Then on Saturday, November 9th, I’ll be exhibiting at the Bethel Presbyterian Church “Holiday-A-Fair” from 9 am to 3pm.

Last year’s Open House/Holiday Trunk Show experiment turned out so well that I’ve scheduled another one for this year, this time in my new home in Brentwood. Mark your calendar for the weekend of November 15th… details to follow!

And then there’s The Big One… PDP’s Holiday Market in Market Square, where I’ll be hanging out (with my big space heater) in my Chalet from November 21st to December 23rd. This year we are also participating in Handmade Arcade (same location) from December 28th to the 31st.

For me, one of the highlights of the holiday season is talking to out-of-town visitors who happen by, curious about what’s in the Chalets… not to mention the local folks who bring their family and friends who are home for the holidays.  The Holiday Market is a wonderful new Pittsburgh tradition with something new to see every year.

So update your calendar and make your wish list… and I will see you soon!

We’re into the swing of the Fall Festival season, and one of my favorite shows, Fort Ligonier Days, is celebrating its 60th year. The show starts today, which means last night I was hard at work getting my tents set up and my prints and giftware ready for the big opening. I’ve lost count of how many years I have had my two tents in the Loyalhanna Lot on South Market Street… it seems like forever.

With plenty of art and crafts, food, historical reenactments, and even a parade and a 5K race, Fort Ligonier Days is one of the best fall festivals in Western Pennsylvania and well worth the drive. Why not take a day trip, enjoy the lovely fall weather and come up and see me?

The latest painting in my Jolly Old Elf series, “Wishes for Santa,” is now available as a color metal ornament. I’ll have the first 10 ornaments with me at the show this weekend, and I’ll have prints of the painting available as well. There will be lots of new merchandise to see at my booths (#16 and #17), so come out and have a look. Fort Ligonier Days starts today, Friday, October 11 and runs through Sunday, October 13. Hours are from 9 am to 6 pm Friday and Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 am to 5 pm.

For more details about all the weekend’s festivities, visit http://fortligonierdays.com/

This weekend, Fort Ligonier Days is celebrating its 60th anniversary, but it’s also a very special weekend for Tom and me – Friday, October 11th is our 39th wedding anniversary!

I hope you’ll stop by and say hello and help us celebrate this double anniversary weekend!

P.S. – Here’s the latest progress on “Santa and His Woodland Friends.” The details are coming together!

It sure has been a busy week! Last weekend we were on the go non-stop, juggling two outdoor shows. Starting early Friday morning, setting up our booth at the Washington County Covered Bridge Festival, it seemed like we had no sooner put that show to bed than the alarm went off pre-dawn on Saturday morning, telling us it was time to set up for the Mt.Lebanon Artists’ Market. I swear I must have lost 5 pounds with all the running around between the two shows! And it didn’t help that Summer decided to give us one last taste of heat! But as always, I had a lot of fun.

Once I recovered from the weekend, I was able to give my full attention to my favorite (definitely not summery) project  – namely, the very last painting in my Jolly Old Elf series, my Woodland Santa. This piece has been taking shape in my head for a long time.  I’ve been doing my homework, taking pictures, trying to get all the elements just right. This is the theme that inspired my Santa series, and it’s the one I’ve dreamed about the most… which is the reason I saved it for last. And now the time has come!

As I imagined and researched the elements of this piece (the working title is “Santa and his Woodland
Friends”), I was thinking about how I wanted to portray all the little critters gathered around Santa, as if he had come to visit and they were joyfully greeting him. I wanted each one to have their own personality, each one delighted to see their friend, the Jolly Old Elf himself.

Here’s the very first preliminary sketch, which may change as the painting evolves. Keep an eye out for future emails, where you can follow along with the process as the painting takes shape.

As I work on the final Jolly Old Elf painting, don’t forget that the latest completed painting in the series, “Wishes for Santa,” is now available on my website. “Wishes for Santa” is #9 in the series and depicts Santa holding court on his fancy throne at Kaufmann’s Department Store.

There’s quite a bit of history hiding in this painting… not only are the two children with Santa taken from childhood images of a certain artist and her husband, but the suit Santa is wearing was created with the same pattern that was used to make the Santa suits for Gimbels back in the day. And Santa’s majestic chair is preserved for posterity and now resides at Heinz History Center. “Wishes for Santa” will make a wonderful nostalgic addition to your home for the holidays… or a perfect gift for any former child who remembers the awe and excitement of that annual visit with Santa.

Speaking of children… in honor of National Daughters’ Week, I’d like to give a shout out to my beautiful daughters and granddaughters. I am grateful – not just this week, but every day – to have been blessed with such strong, kind and compassionate daughters. They’re always ready to help out their mom in a pinch!

I hope you (and the fabulous daughters in your life) have a great week!

No sooner did I get back from my relaxing week down at the shore than it was time to get ready for this weekend’s shows… especially as I have two shows running simultaneously this weekend! Since I can’t be in two places at the same time, it’s a good thing I have Tom to represent me.  He’s the next best thing to a clone!

On Saturday, I’ll be at the beautiful Ebenezer Covered Bridge in Mingo Park as part of the Washington County Covered Bridge Festival.  Over 70 artists will be showing their creations, and there will be handmade crafts, live entertainment, historical re-enactments and homestyle food, as well as plenty of activities for kids.

On Sunday, I’ll change venues to the Mt. Lebanon Artists’ Market on Washington Road.  Again, Tom will be where I am not. Thank heavens for his helping hands… and that his Sundays are free now 🙂

The weather forecast is predicting a gorgeous fall weekend… sunny and pleasant and with a 100% chance of great art, crafts and food! Come on out and enjoy the good weather while it lasts – and maybe even start your holiday shopping early.

Just a quick reminder – my “Shhhh!” Santa Blanket is currently available for pre-order. This lovely 100% cotton throw blanket is priced at $99.50. They will be delivered in plenty of time for the Christmas holidays.

A limited number of blankets will be made, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Until then, they’re available on a first-come, first-served basis. Don’t miss out on this unique, cozy throw, sure to become a family favorite.

So… I saved the big news for last!

I’m proud to present my latest painting in the “Jolly Old Elf” series (#9), “Wishes for Santa,” which is being released today.  If you’ve been following the last couple weeks, I’ve described the story of how the painting was created and how it progressed over time.  It’s available as a 9 x 12″ print here.

Now check this out…

The first 28 customers who order “Wishes for Santa” will receive a genuine historic pin from Santa’s own collection.  These are the pins that he actually gave to the children who visited him when he held court at the department store!

“Wishes for Santa” makes a great Christmas wall decoration for your home or as a gift for someone special!  Order yours today… I’ll even sign it in gold!

PS – The Washington County Covered Bridge Festival runs from Saturday, September 21 through Sunday, September 22 at a number of beautiful and/or historic locations in Washington and Greene Counties. (I will be at the Ebenezer Covered Bridge in Mingo Park.) Visit their website for locations and more details – https://www.visitwashingtoncountypa.com/downloads/CBF-PDF-for-website.pdf

The Mount Lebanon Artists’ Market is also on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, in the Academy Avenue parking lot just off Washington Road in Mount Lebanon. https://mtlebopartnership.org/events/mount-lebanon-artist-market/