On our way home, but coming to you live from the road one more time…

Tom and I had quite the adventure in Canada, Vermont, and New York as we visited Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Lake Champlain. It was delightful being back on PEI after 12 years. Back then, we were accompanied by our children. We went to see the brilliant musical “Anne of Green Gables” and then crossed the island to Cavendish to visit her home – or at least the home that Lucy Maud Montgomery created for Anne.

Returning 12 years later sans daughters, we retraced our steps. Though time has changed a few things, most of the island hasn’t lost that quaint country feeling.

Panmure Lighthouse was not far from where we were staying. Of course, artists can’t resist lighthouses, so I started a painting there. Though it was windy and cool, it felt so good to be painting out on the beach. A young girl saw me and started running down the beach to watch me paint. She was a lovely child who also loves to paint… I’m guessing she was about 9 years old. I advised her to follow her heart and keep painting if that is her true calling.

After leaving Prince Edward Island, we next visited Hopewell Rocks near Moncton, New Brunswick. We actually walked on the ocean floor at low tide! They informed us as we descended the stairs to the beach that we only had 20 minutes before the tide would be rolling in… but not to worry because they had an evacuation procedure!

Yesterday we headed to Lake Champlain, Vermont. All I remembered from our visit 12 years ago was that it was very pretty, and we ate by the water. Well, when we arrived in Burlington, all the college students were also arriving, and the place was swamped. We couldn’t find a place to even get close to the water! We were getting a little claustrophobic, so we decided it was time to leave.

Our GPS sent us on a country road outside of town, and the next thing you know it told us to turn right and load onto the ferry… but we were in the woods! What a pleasant outcome after our disappointment! Only $14.00 to cross, and it took just 30 minutes to get us to Essex, New York – saving us about an hour of driving around the lake. We had such a great time watching the weather, as it was raining in some areas and sunny in others. The clouds were spectacular. We sat and watched the birds fly by and thought about how lucky we are.

I am finally relaxed and ready to come home to my family and my studio. I have so much to paint before the holiday season and so much more to share with you from our home in the ‘Burgh.

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We’re still on the road, and Tom and I are about to head over to Prince Edward Island after our lovely visit to Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is a quaint place and stunningly beautiful with its brightly painted little homes and waterways filled with fishing boats. The photos I’ve taken just don’t do it justice!

We took the Cabot Trail around Cape Breton yesterday, and then a wonderful Ceilidh (Celtic music) concert last night was a perfect ending to our stay here. If you’ve ever visited Nova Scotia, you may recall seeing Peggy’s Cove. The red boat in the front of the picture above really captured my artistic eye! I hope to paint several of these scenes in the coming year.

Before leaving New York for Nova Scotia, I had a chance to finish my painting of Lucas, the model whose portrait I painted at the workshop. Unfortunately, the finished piece is all boxed up in my van. I’ll get to take another look at it when we arrive home, and maybe I’ll decide to add a few more touches then.

In the meantime we are on our way to Prince Edward Island, home of red dirt, potatoes, and Anne of Green Gables. I’ll give you all the latest next week! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some of our photos from the first part of our trip.

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

This week, I’m writing to you from upstate New York as I begin my three-week working vacation. I call it a working vacation because I’m doing a lot more work than I am relaxing!

Let me take you back… way back… back 34 years to when I was a 23-year-old newlywed. In a leap of faith, I took a solo trip (leaving my new husband behind!) to North Salem, New York, to study with a legendary portrait artist I’d read about in American Artist Magazine. Daniel Greene was known internationally for his work, and his list of accomplishments even back then was very impressive.

I was nervous and maybe even a bit scared about how it would turn out. I had just started painting in pastels and found them a bit tricky to control.

Mr. Greene had a huge barn with north light set up as the studio where we would work. Each day, we arrived and started right on time, as he instilled his wisdom through lectures and demonstrations throughout the day and night. It was there that I created my first successful pastel portrait. (I wish I had it to show you!)

I’m remembering the famous quote by Yogi Berra this week – “It’s like deja vu all over again!” – as I relive that week that was such a milestone in my career… and I’m working just as hard as I did all those years ago. Mr. Greene may be an energetic octogenarian now, but his mastery has only grown over the 34 years since I saw him last.

The Sunday night session started off with an oil portrait demo, and when no one else was willing to pose as Mr. Greene had asked, I volunteered. Much to my delight, he painted my portrait in about two hours! I am thrilled to say he is signing it on Friday, and I will take it home to as a gift to Tom.

While I sat for him, he mentioned that I didn’t have to smile and that most models do not. My response was that it’s just how I roll… as you know, I can hold that smile for hours!

The fellow I am working on in this painting is a nice young man named Lucas. It’s been quite an interesting experience working 1) with a live subject, 2) without good light and 3) in a standing position – these are definitely three things that DO NOT happen in my studio back home in Bethel Park! Nonetheless, I am honored to be here with the best of them and enjoying every minute.

Next week, I’ll try to write again from Nova Scotia, as that’s where Tom and I are headed next. Then we’re moving on to Prince Edward Island for some downtime over the coming weeks. And of course, I hope to squeeze in a few paintings before we head for home!

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

After the announcement last week of the closing of Macy’s downtown store, I felt like I had to blog about that sad news and what it meant to me, so I postponed my original topic. This week, I’d like to share with you about the wonderful event I had at Kane Glen Hazel last Wednesday.

“A Stroll Down Pittsburgh’s Memory Lane” was a glorious day spent with Kane residents, staff, and visitors. Other attendees were a group from the Alzheimer’s Association and some of the staff from KDKA. I was honored to see that Ron Cook from KDKA had decided to work on his day off just so he could join us for the festivities.

There were smiles all around as we toured the facility and viewed all the paintings that were hung on each of the floors. It truly was “A Stroll Down Pittsburgh’s Memory Lane,” as we all recalled our favorite memories from times gone by. We were in for a special treat when we met one of the residents who actually had starred in the painting “Pittsburgh’s New Home for Hockey” in 2011 with his wife and son. He was very proud to share his story with his friends at Kane.

It’s funny how many aspects of my life seem to be coming full circle. When I was newly married at the tender age of 23 back in 1981, I attended a workshop taught by Daniel Greene, an internationally known portrait artist. It changed my entire artistic perspective as a painter of portraits. Just that one week of learning about pastels profoundly affected my creative process, and I feel that it was the experience that propelled my success in my career as an artist.

So now I’m very excited to report that next week I’m heading to upstate New York to attend another workshop with Mr. Greene!

When I was talking to Tom a couple of months ago about painting portraits and my new “Jolly Old Elf’ series. I mentioned how I would love to once again see Mr. Greene and learn from him. Fortunately Tom was all for the idea, and I signed up for the workshop right away. Then I discovered two weeks later that Mr. Greene is retiring, and this will be his last year of teaching. I was so relieved that I seized this opportunity and didn’t put it off until next year!

I can’t wait to share my experiences at the workshop next week with you, my special customers and readers. Tom will be joining me at the end of the workshop, then we’re off to a two-week holiday in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for some much-needed R&R.

It’s a good feeling to be able to leave our home and business in our daughters’ capable hands, as they’re now helping to run everything. There is something very gratifying about having your family around you providing help and support in your career – I am very blessed.

Next week, I’ll be writing to you live from New York! Until then…

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

This week, my blog was supposed to be about my amazing event Wednesday morning at Kane Glen Hazel, but when it was announced that the Downtown Macy’s (formerly Kaufmann’s) was closing forever, I knew there had to be a change in plans.

When Macy’s announced this week that they were selling the building and closing their Downtown store, I’m sure that, like me, you were saddened at the loss of a lifetime of traditions.

For me, it was always about the “Big Three,” Gimbels and Horne’s, but especially Kaufmann’s/Macy’s. Nothing compares to those holiday window displays along Fifth, Forbes, and Smithfield, with KDKA broadcasting live and fond memories of Jack Bogut and his Farkleberry Tarts! (“Start your heart, eat a Farkleberry Tart!”)

And of course, Kaufmann’s clock was the subject of my first Pittsburgh painting that launched my career. “Meet Me under Kaufmann’s Clock” was followed by “Meet Me under Kaufmann’s Clock Too!” because people kept requesting the first one after it was sold out.

As a young artist, I remember asking the late Jess Hager, another Pittsburgh artist, about whether I should create another painting of Kaufmann’s. He told me I should paint as many as I wanted to, from every angle. Little did I know how many times Kaufmann’s would appear in my paintings!

Over the years, I went on to paint five big paintings of the store, and it appeared in two other paintings as well:

“Holiday Memories under Kaufmann’s Clock” was painted for the non-profit Breathe Pennsylvania after my conversation with director Jack Rupp. I told him I would paint anything for him in Pittsburgh, and his response was, “Well, I thought maybe you could paint Kaufmann’s.” I told him, “I could paint it in my sleep!”

Kaufmann’s also appears in “Mazeroski’s Magical Moment” in the celebration in the bottom panel of the painting. Maz said it’s his favorite part of the painting because he and his wife first met under Kaufmann’s clock for a blind date.

I was asked by Macy’s to paint a piece for their celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Kaufmann’s Clock at Macy’s entitled, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s.” They even put it on the Downtown store’s shopping bags as well as on giftware.

Finally, this year, I picked the sold out “Waiting for you under Kaufmann’s Clock” (shown at the top of this page) as an accent in the background of my new Santa painting, “Shhhh!” I wanted to evoke memories of when we were children and would go downtown to visit with Santa and see the Kaufmann’s windows. “Waiting for You under Kaufmann’s Clock” was created for the American Cancer Society and is also sold out.

I will truly miss the big store where my husband Tom took our kids year after year on a special Christmas shopping trip for pick out a gift for their Mom. Though Kaufmann’s has seen its last holiday windows, I hope my paintings will help keep those warm and fuzzy memories alive.

P.S. – Wouldn’t you like to remember Kaufmann’s and get a piece of Pittsburgh nostalgia for your very own? Visit my Prints For Sale page or call my studio at 412-283-4072 to order while supplies last.

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

Today I have a special invitation for you!

On Wednesday, July 15th, the Kane Glen Hazel facility on Rivermont Drive will be hosting an exhibition of my paintings that is free and open to the public.

Over the last year, I’ve partnered with Kane to create oversized versions of 20 of my paintings for the residence halls at the facility. The idea is for the residents to “walk down Memory Lane” and share their stories with everyone they meet.

I am honored to have an opening there from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to share my own stories about the paintings. KDKA will be broadcasting live from the event, and there will be refreshments and live musical entertainment. I will also have some of my artwork there available for sale.

Come join me at Kane Glen Hazel to share this special occasion!

P.S. – Tom will be there with me, and Ruth will be there also, helping out for the day with my art-for-sale area. She would love for you to stop and say hello!

P.P.S. – Of course, I will also have my new Santa painting, “Shhhh!” for sale, and the new Santa magnets will also be available.

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

I have so much to share with you this week!

I told you last week about our terrible experience with the storm at the Three Rivers Arts Festival. With the damage done to my tent and my art (not to mention done to ourselves!), I wondered if I would ever do an outdoor show again. But you know what they say… when you fall off the horse, the best thing you can do is climb back on and keep riding!

That being said, I have a brand new tent that I’ll be setting up for the first time this weekend at the Westmoreland County Arts and Heritage Festival… also known as the Twin Lakes Art Show. I’ll have a nice selection of giftware and prints at my tent in booth space #96 from Thursday, July 2nd through Sunday, July 5th! Check my calendar for more details

The Jolly Old Elf series will also make an appearance at Twin Lakes, with new prints of “Shhhh!” and new Santa magnets (hot off the presses!) as well. I’m still proofing the ornaments and also working on this season’s holiday cards.

Needless to say, after the disaster at Three Rivers, I will no longer be bringing any pastel originals to outdoor exhibitions, now or in the future. If you’re interested in purchasing one of my original pastel paintings, please contact me at (412) 283-4072. I will be more than happy to give you a private showing at my studio (326 Turngate Drive in Bethel Park), where all my originals are nicely displayed, safe from the wind and rain!

Speaking of originals, I recently drove out to Beaver to pick up Father Richard’s original painting of “Shhhh!” from my framer of choice, the Courtney-Laughlin Gallery on Third Street. The frame was so heavy, I had to let them put it in my van – I wasn’t taking any chances! Those frames are a lot heavier than they look! Being 5 feet tall is definitely a disadvantage when there’s heavy lifting to be done. Father Richard and the folks at the rectory just loved the magnificent framing around the painting – it really made the piece look festive.

I’ve already sold several complete Jolly Old Elf Collections! Don’t forget – you can purchase all five years of the edition now, locking in the price. As a bonus, you’ll also receive the 9” x 12” open-edition prints at no cost – at least a $70 savings for each print. They will be created (at least one a year) along with the limited-edition Jolly Old Elf series, and you’ll receive them automatically as they are painted and printed.

They will make great gifts… or you can simply add them to your collection as companion pieces to the Jolly Old Elf series. Order the collection now and get a low number in any of the three editions. Please contact me if you are interested in this special offer.

Hope to see you this week at Twin Lakes! Keep your fingers crossed for sunny weather!

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

To say the least, my first year at the Three Rivers Arts Festival was certainly a memorable one!

I love exhibiting at shows because I meet so many wonderful people, and I look forward to helping them find the perfect piece of art.

However, in the past, I’ve always been hesitant to exhibit at the Arts Festival because of its history of stormy weather. I used to make the excuse of “that’s the time of year I’m painting,” which really was true. But for some crazy reason, I decided this year would be different, and I applied. I deliberately chose to exhibit the second weekend because it would be closer to July and (I hoped) the dryer months ahead.

Saturday started off great, but in the afternoon, my daughter Brittany and I experienced our first bad omen – our tent actually lifted with a wind gust. Which was something that never happened before, especially with our new $1200 tent! Luckily, two gentlemen I knew showed up just in time to help us get everything back in order.

Things were looking up that afternoon when a special guest dropped by. It was wonderful to see “Santa” (or at least the model for Santa!), who happened by just after I sold ““Shhhh!” paintings to two of my customers. He was gracious enough to personally sign them, adding a darling little heart under his name. He even stopped for a mini photo shoot!

Finally, the show was over, and it was time to pack up and head for home. I had just brought in all the bubble bags for the originals pastels and prints, and we were beginning to break down the displays and pack it all up… when it started to rain.

While we waited for authorization to bring in our van, we were hit with the first serious gust of wind and hard rain. We tried to hold down the tent with all our might; I think this may have been the moment I sprained my foot. The lights fell on my pregnant daughter, and part of the roof was torn off, drenching my paintings.

I ran to the garage to get my van and begged the attendant to let me out as fast as possible. By the time I got back to our tent, it was gone – lost to another tremendous gust of wind. It was ripped right out of their hands, even though Tom was standing on the stabilizer bars! Everything and everyone was soaked. The tent was so badly mutilated it took seven of us to pull it apart.

We always knew something like this could happen someday. It’s the worst fear for a vendor at an outdoor show. But we’re so grateful for everyone who pitched in to help us during this disaster.

Fortunately, my foot is only sprained, and I’ll only be hobbling around for a little while. Today I ordered a new tent, and most of my art is drying out with the help of fans and a dehumidifier. I like to think that there is somehow a blessing in every bad experience – for us, it was the love and support of family and friends, pulling together to let us know we are never alone.

For now, I’m going back to work in my studio for a while, though in two weeks I’ll be venturing outdoors again for the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival. Check my calendar for more details.

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

It’s been quite a week here at Linda Barnicott Studios! Not only have I been putting in a lot of studio time working on the Oakland Catholic commission, but I’ve also spent hours and hours this week huddled over my computer keyboard, updating my official bio.

My bio needed some work for three reasons: One, my website was in need of an update; two, I needed a current bio for my new catalog coming out in July; and three, for a national press release that went out this week to 218 media spots across the country! This was the first wave of publicity to promote painting number one in my new Jolly Old Elf series – “Shhhh!”

Last night I finished the printing changes on “Shhhh!”, making the print as close to the original as it can possibly be. Also, the work has been completed that was needed to start the ornament process, and soon we’ll start creating magnets and Christmas cards for the upcoming holiday season. The list of Retail Galleries and Gift Stores have been updated. Click here to see the updated list. And I’ve already pre-sold several prints and a few collections to galleries and customers!

Then just yesterday I brought the original pastel painting to my framer, Courtney-Laughlin Frame Studio and Gallery in Beaver, to finish the framing for its new owner, Father Yagesh.

Finally, I’ve been signing, enhancing, and packaging the prints for the Three Rivers Arts Festival on Saturday and Sunday…

And speaking of the Arts Festival, come see me this weekend at Booth #130! I’ll have a ton of original paintings there – more originals, in fact, than I will leave behind in my home and studio! As usual, I’ll also have bins full of prints – any of which could make a great Father’s Day gift for your dad… or your grandpa… or your uncle, brother, or cousin. Or maybe even a very good friend?

Also, if you would like a low number for my new Jolly Old Elf series, stop by and get yours this weekend where you can see it firsthand!

The show starts at noon and ends at 8 p.m. both days. My booth is located on Penn Avenue near Three Gateway Center. Hope to see you there! Check my calendar for more details

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.

Summer is here at last, and this week I dusted off my booth for my first outdoor show of the season, the Shadyside Arts Festival. (The festival has added a new Spring show in addition to their original August festival.) Despite a dire rainy forecast, we managed to stay dry up until the last 5 minutes. Then as we were loading up the van to come home, the heavens opened and sent buckets of rain!

My favorite part of the Festival was getting to meet up in person with some of my friends and fans. My second favorite part, of course, was taking orders for my new painting, “Shhhh!” – the first of five paintings from my new “Jolly Old Elf” series.

One rule at the Shadyside festival is that our booths must include a certain number of original paintings. I worry a lot about that because my pastel paintings take me months to complete and could easily be irreparably damaged by bad weather.

However, this time I’m glad I took the chance, because I sold another one of my originals at the Festival! The client bought the original of “Season’s Greetings at Station Square” as a gift for her father, who is a collector of paintings depicting old Pittsburgh. He also works in the coal industry, which is why this painting – the only one of my Pittsburgh series that shows a river with a coal barge on it, front and center! – was perfect for her father. This was a match that was definitely meant to be, because interestingly enough, I only brought the Station Square original with me as a last-minute substitute for another painting.

It was a sensational moment at an art fair, and I’m very grateful to have found a wonderful home for one of my originals. In fact, I’ve sold eight original pastel paintings since January, and I feel blessed that they’ve all gone to good homes. My next challenge is to paint something new to put on that empty space in my wall… so I guess it’s time to get back to the studio!

PS – I’ll be exhibiting for the first time at the Three Rivers Arts Festival downtown on June 13 and 14. Hope to see you there! Check my calendar for more details

Make sure you are the first to know about all of my news, appearances and any “special deals” I am offering to my subscribers, by taking the time to sign up for my weekly newsletters now. CLICK HERE to sign up. You will also receive a FREE slideshow showing the step-by-step development of my painting, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s”.