Hi, It’s Linda!

So much has been happening in the last several weeks! Planning a move on short notice is keeping me very busy, but lately with so many new opportunities around every corner, it’s been a pretty wild ride!

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who responded to my last email concerning our move to Bethel Park. What a blessing all of you are! Your kind wishes mean so much to Tom and me.

You might be surprised at what my biggest seller has been in this newly emerging spring season – original pastel paintings! Perhaps it’s a longing for soft colors and warmth after the long, cold winter we just survived? After selling “A Snowy Evening at the Benedum” a few months ago, I’ve recently sold three more originals: “Oasis of Beauty at Phipps,” “Water Lilies Swim, Light Streams,” and two weeks ago, “Ocean Breeze.”

Original paintings are true works of art. Even though there are beautiful prints of many of these paintings, there still is only ONE original. Pastel paintings become heirlooms – they have been around for centuries, and they don’t yellow or crack the way oils can. They keep their fresh look and show a multitude of colors as the pastels mix on the surface of the painting. Just put a picture light on them and watch them glow and shimmer!

I do have quite a few original pastels available in my studio… some old favorites like “Game Day at Pitt Stadium” and “A Grandview of Pittsburgh” – some adventuresome Kennywood pastels like “The Phantom of Lost Kennywood” and “Riding Kennywood’s Auto Race and Train” – some peaceful “take me away” landscapes of water, fields and flowers – and so many more.

If you’ve ever had a yearning to own an authentic original pastel, please take the opportunity to stop by my studio before mid-June. Just call my office to make an appointment, (412) 372-3200. Or email me at info@lindabarnicott.com.

They say change is inevitable, and it’s true – In less than three months, I’ll be moving from Monroeville to a new home in the South Hills!

We just found out that Tom has been called to serve First Bethel UMC in Bethel Park beginning on July 1st of this year. We were happy to learn that the parsonage is only five minutes from Tom’s dad’s home. And it will be interesting to see how many of our new neighbors and church members are Tom’s former classmates at Bethel Park High School!

Though we have loved our time in Monroeville and will truly miss all of our friends there, we’re looking forward to serving a wonderful and warm congregation at First Bethel UMC. Stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted on the details.

This all reminds me of when my husband Tom (already an exceptional account executive at AT&T at the tender age of 23) took me to the Blue Angel Restaurant in Latrobe for dinner for our first anniversary. As we watched the airplanes land and take off, he said he had something really important to tell me. OK, I thought, I’m game. He proceeded to tell me he hadn’t been coming straight home on Fridays after training all week in Philadelphia… now I’m not sure how you would react to that, but it definitely got my attention!

What he told me was that he was stopping at his church for a while each week and that he felt he was being called into the ministry. I told him immediately that I would support him 110%. We didn’t have children or a mortgage yet, so if we were going to make this change, we should do it now.

Tom entered the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (he entered as a Presbyterian and graduated five years later as a United Methodist – but that’s a story for another time!), and the rest is history!

This is all new to us, and we certainly weren’t expecting it, but I learned a long time ago to accept change and see it as an opportunity for new adventures. For example, just think of all the South Park landscapes I can paint!!

PS… So I looked around and started thinking… maybe it would be good idea to have a Moving Sale! I have so much inventory – I had stocked up for the year – and it’s a lot to move!! More details next week!

Kennywood Park is not just a local institution and historic landmark, but it’s also been one of my favorite subjects for my paintings over the last 20 years. With Opening Day just around the corner, I’d like to share with you the story of how I got started painting Kennywood.

Even at the beginning of my career, Kennywood held wonderful memories for me – it was the place where I had my first Pittsburgh date with a very special guy (Tom!) who would soon be my fiance. So I really, really wanted to paint it! Unfortunately, my publisher at that time was a North Hills/West View Park kind of guy, and he wasn’t interested in having me paint Kennywood.

However, I never gave up on the idea, and on the very day I parted from my old publisher, I walked into the new publisher’s gallery with a mission. I said “I have an idea for a series of paintings that I’ve wanted to do for years,” and he replied, “I also have an idea for a series!” I was taken aback, but I said, “OK. You go first, but I really feel strongly about this!”

As I looked at him with anticipation, he said, “I thought we could paint some Kennywood together!” I still get happy chills up and down my arms when I think of that moment! Folks, that’s when you know it is meant to be!

The next step was to convince Kennywood management to come on board with the idea. I remembered that Rick Sebak from WQED had helped me with some resources when I painted “Meet Me Under Kaufmann’s Clock, Too!” and he had just finished making a documentary at Kennywood called “Kennywood Memories.” He promptly returned my phone call, and I was flattered to hear that he was familiar with my work. He recommended that I call Mary Lou Rosemeyer, the PR director at Kennywood… and to tell her he said hi!

When I called Mary Lou, I introduced myself as a Pittsburgh artist and told her about our idea. She thought it was a wonderful project, and soon we got together and planned out the five paintings of the first series, beginning with “Ride With Me on the Carousel.”

The rest is history! Over the next 10 years, I painted many of the rides and buildings in the park, and Kennywood has always been very generous to me in return. Click Here to check out my Kennywood print collection and take a walk down Memory Lane.

“Ride With Me on the Carousel”

Available as a color poster – 16.5” x 12”
Retail $30.00

Have we finally put this long Pittsburgh winter behind us? Finally, it’s time to break out and enjoy the pleasures of spring!

One way you can do that is to visit me at the Doubletree Hotel in Monroeville from April 6th through 8th. The Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania is celebrating its 84th annual convention with a beautiful flower show – “My Fair Pittsburgh” – that’s free to the public. If you love flowers, this is an ideal place to celebrate the arrival of spring!

The show is open to the public from Sunday through Tuesday, and I’ll be there with two tables full of art gifts and prints. It’s a perfect time to stock up on gifts for all those special occasions coming up – like birthdays, anniversaries, Easter, and graduations!

Again, the event is at the Doubletree Hotel at the Monroeville Convention Center, 101 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, and there’s no charge for admission to the flower show, exhibits, and vendor marketplace. Hope to see you at the show!

Event hours are:
Sunday, April 6th – Vendor Marketplace 3 to 5 p.m., Flower Show 5 to 6 p.m.
Monday, April 7th – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8th – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you would like to part of a special group of people you get to see my works in progress, receive art tips, stories behind my paintings, regular updates on upcoming shows, plus FREE offers, sign up for my newsletter. Click Here to sign up – it’s easy!

As I finish up my 19th year at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show, I’m really happy to start getting my life back to normal, do some painting, and fill orders. Exhibiting at the Home and Garden show makes for a grueling couple of weeks, first with packing up all the art and display equipment, transporting everything to the Convention Center, and then 10 days of nonstop meet-and-greet for the entire run of the show. Then it all has to come down and be transported back home, where we then have to unload it all!

Though it may seem weird, I love being at the Home and Garden Show for every minute of the entire 10 days. I hate to even miss a minute of it to take a break! You may wonder, “Why is she so dedicated?” The answer is “It’s not really work if you’re having fun!” What truly makes me stay in my booth for all those hours is the opportunity to hang out with some of the best people I know and to meet new friends. As each familiar group turns the corner to my booth, I hear “It’s so good to see you this year!” And when new faces visit my booth, I look forward to meeting them and getting to know them.

Another reason I look forward every year to the Home and Garden Show is that it means spring is in the air! Time to leave winter behind and start my favorite season!

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When you sign up, you will receive a FREE slideshow of the development of my recent painting celebrating the 100th anniversary of Kaufmann’s Clock, “Celebrating Time and Tradition at Macy’s.”

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I can hardly believe another (eventful) year has come and gone! And just in time to help put this long, cold winter behind us, tomorrow is opening day for my biggest show of the year, the 2014 Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show at the David L Lawrence Convention Center Downtown, Pittsburgh.

Because this is my 19th year at the Home and Garden Show, and to celebrate my 25th year as a Pittsburgh artist, I’m making a special anniversary offer for anyone who comes down to the booth to say hello – selected Lithograph prints will be 25% off!

As I said, this is my biggest show of the year, where I’ll be unveiling my newest creation, “Oasis of Beauty at Phipps,” as well a collection of several new pastel landscape originals. Also new this year will be a lot of new paintings and giftware, featuring my new line of giftware – full color on metal – designed with Wendell August Forge. I’ll also have sets of Pittsburgh coasters and coasters featuring my landscape paintings for sale. I am very excited for you to see how beautiful these new pieces are!

The show runs from Friday, March 7th through Sunday, March 16th. My booth is #3146, on the second level at the beginning of the Home Interiors section – my booth is first in the Art Aisle. I can’t wait to see you there!

“Oasis of Beauty at Phipps”

On a warm, gentle summer day, with the sweet fragrance of flowers in the air, the old Victorian glass house of Phipps Conservatory stands in Oakland, beckoning families and friends to enjoy its beautiful flowers and gardens.

Image size – 16” x 12”
Archival Giclee Print – Retail $70.00
Original Pastel – $2800.00

OK, so that’s the motto of the US Postal Service, but mail carriers aren’t the only ones who have to go to work no matter what the weather! Lately, some of us would rather escape to a warmer climate, or at least just stay home, but we still have to go to work.

I was thinking about that while I spent the last week driving around in the snow and sleet, picking up paintings and delivering them to their new owners… sometimes in private homes, sometimes in a place of business. Which reminded me of how much time people spend in their offices every day, not only in their own workplace, but other offices as well, like those of their doctor or dentist.

I thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to see familiar art on the walls that reminds you of home, brings back happy memories, or gives you something to talk about with those around you?” You might take a walk down Memory Lane, or maybe even have a conversation where you learn something new about our beautiful city.

Many of my clients have decorated their offices with my work, and they tell me it inspires great conversation and stories from their clients and co-workers.

Could your office use a makeover? What is now empty wall space could be just the right place for a special painting. While you’re sitting at home waiting for winter to thaw into spring, why not check out my website, www.lindabarnicott.com? Maybe you’ll find something that will bring a little cheer to your heart on a midwinter work day.

The cold and snowy weather this week also reminded me of when I climbed through half a foot of snow for two and a half hours to find just the right spot to paint “A Grandview of Pittsburgh.” I could hardly see the city from the overlook in the wintry weather, but what an experience to see such beauty in the freshly fallen snow! Though the snow was only 6 inches deep, I’m only 5 feet tall… so it was almost up to my knees!

I painted “A Grandview of Pittsburgh” with the idea of recreating the experience of bringing friends and family up to Mt. Washington to show off our Golden Triangle. Fewer than 30 prints remain of this edition, so if you’d like to own a copy of this iconic view of our city from Mount Washington, don’t delay!

We all have our “Special Place” – and if you read my blog, you know mine is on the beaches of Florida! That’s why I’ve done so many beachscapes over the years… After all, for me, a painting takes you away to another place where you can live for a little while and escape from everyday life.

In nearly 25 years as a working artist, I’ve painted backyards, portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and cityscapes. And to celebrate my 25th year in business, I want to focus on creating paintings of your Special Places. Something you can hang on your wall that takes you there, something that gives you that deep sense of peace and joy. This has always been my goal.

Between my work for the American Cancer Society and Breathe Pennsylvania charities and my shows, I can only do a limited number of original pieces in a year’s time. Because of my hectic pre-holiday show schedule, if I don’t finish a painting by November 1st, as I always say to my husband, Tom, it won’t get finished until after the holidays. So if you would like to get an original painting of your favorite vacation spot this year, let me know as soon as possible.

So pull out those old photos, and let’s get together and dream! Just drop me an email or call me at 412-372-3200!

P.S. – I’m loving the stories that are coming in about how my work has brought back great memories! Please keep sending them in via email or even snail mail! I’m putting together a collection of these stories in celebration of my Silver Anniversary.

Happy New Year! I hope it’s been a happy, healthy one so far for you and yours.

Tom and I just returned from a much-needed vacation in Florida. Our timing was perfect – we missed the dreaded Polar Vortex that Pittsburgh just experienced. In fact, our daughter, who was left with the duty of caring for our dog, Allie, called to tell us “The wind chill is colder than it is on Mars!” It was colder than usual in Florida, too, but still funny for us Pittsburghers to see a woman walking by the pool and palm trees wearing a wool cap and coat in 50-degree weather!

One great thing about being on vacation is that you have plenty of time to think about your life, your family, and your career. As Tom and I walked hand in hand along the sandy beach, dreaming about the coming year, we were reminded that it was 25 years ago that I created my first Pittsburgh print, “Meet Me Under Kaufmann’s Clock.”

Over the last 25 years, I’ve created more than 50 paintings of special places in and around the city. I have painted each of these with love and in the hope that they will warm someone’s heart. I have been blessed to hear your stories, but unfortunately, I haven’t written them down.

So to help celebrate my 25th anniversary of creating Pittsburgh art, I’m making a special request – It would mean a lot to me if you would you share your story of how my art has given you a treasured memory. Whether there’s one painting that’s special to you or many, I’d love to hear from you and get your permission to publish the story as part of my history moving forward.

My email is info@lindabarnicott.com.

As this year unfolds, I plan to incorporate the number “25” in a lot of ways to celebrate my Silver Anniversary, so keep an eye on your inbox! Some of them will be exclusive only to you!

I can’t wait to hear your stories! Best to you in this New Year…