I have been very busy of late...painting, selling and exhibiting.  I just did a show/sale at Ligonier Country Club.  It was great fun and sold one of my very favorite pieces.  Earth and Sky:Sunlit Missouri Stream. It was a great day, with great music and wonderful support from Bill Elliot and his amazing staff at LCC.

I am also happy to announce that my painting Bent Not Broken#Me Too has been accepted into two juried shows: The Pittsburgh Watercolor Society's Aqueous International (October 6 through October 27 at the Spinning Plate Gallery and the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art/Loretto's Biennial Exhibition (October 19 through January). Unfortunately due to an oversight on my part, I can only show the painting in the Aqueous.

Fortunately my painting Lacrima Azzura was also accepted into the Biennial and will be on display at the Exhibition in Loretto.

Last night I received word that my oil painting Storm Laden Skies Above Fields of Gold has been accepted into the Greater Latrobe Exhibition and Gala as well as the 23rd Annual Regional SPCA Juried Art Exhibition at SAMA/Ligonier.  I feel honored to have my work accepted at these wonderful exhibits

I will be showcasing my work and my McHenry Maryland studio for the Garrett Arts Art/Studio Tour July 28 and 29 right at Deep Creek Lake. I will have originals available for sale as well as many prints and some greeting cards.Come on to the lake and check it out!  I'm located at 905 Deep Creek Drive in McHenry Maryland.  see https://garrettarts.org/art-tour/
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My painting, In the Arms of An Angel is currently being shown at the Artist's Choice Exhibit for The Pittsburgh Society of Artists at the Brew House in Southside (through August 3). Earth and Sky: Sunlit Missouri Stream will be on display at the Greensburg Art Center's Biennial juried exhibit, Complementary from July 21 through August 24.  It is located at the Rowe Gallery in Greensburg.

Just to follow up on my last blog...(a little time gap I might add),  I'd like to share a recent painting that I did as a commission of a young boy with his best friend.  First of all, I feel as if I became both friends with my client through our several conversations, and feel as if I really began to know "the boy and his best friend" through the many photos my client sent me to use as references for the piece.

This was a super fun commission to do...(which I received through Finely.io--check out their website). The client wanted a painting of his nephew with his "best friend".  Both were dressed as super heroes, which  made the work more creative and enjoyable. He wanted the painting to be realistic yet showing the young boy's imaginative side.  Hence, Boy on a Green Hill with His "Dog", both are at the ready...ready to jump into action when they see the Batman signal in the bright night sky.  (30' w x 40" h)  oil on canvas

The above are two early stages---the first sketch to help determine the composition, the second is after the sketch on the canvas, first paint, the third is the finished painting hanging in my studio.  And now it's not.  One of my babies has gone off into the world!  Always a happy thing, but always a little wistful.

Often in my work I have the opportunity to meet new friends or to reconnect with old ones.  I was fortunate enough to actually meet a "new" friend who actually seemed like an "old" friend.  A few years back, I was asked to paint a picture for a friend of two of his friends. It was to be a portrait taken from a photo of a couple whose picture was live on the Jumbotron at PNC park.   I had actually never met the "subjects" of the painting, but in painting their portrait I felt as if I knew them. Three weeks ago, the husband contacted me via this website and asked me to paint a picture for his wife of her best friend. So, long story short, I finally had the opportunity to meet Rob (first via email, then over the phone and finally in person when he picked up the painting). in doing the painting, I feel like I first reconnected with an old friend and then formed a new friendship with Tracie's best friend. 

Painting is my passion but dancing has always been my heart. I love to incorporate my two loves into my work. So many qualities of the specific art forms reflect each other. There is theme, shape, movement, color, style, and emotion. When I choreographed, I loved to create dances that told a story, that were rooted in emotion, that had a message. When I paint, I want to create art that tells a story, that is rooted in emotion, that has a message. I especially love to paint “stories” that are passionate. I love to paint pictures of dance and what dance is more passionate than Tango? Below is one of my two new Tango paintings. This is 16” x 20” and is watercolor on paper. Interested?

So this is my recent abstract which I decided mid way through was to become an abstraction of The Golden Triangle...hence the title Triangle of Gold: Where the Three Rivers Meet.  If you look closely at the center of the painting, you can see the buildings with Highmark and UPMC towering over the others.  Mount Washington sits on the right with its incline and connecting bridges, while the lower hill sits on the left.  What do you see?