Happy New Year

2012 is off to a slow start as I battle a whopper head cold, so I don't have a nice image to share with you right now. But I wanted to write a brief post to wish you a great upcoming year. I appreciate your continued interest in my artwork and I'm excited about some plans already in place for this year. I'd like to share with you some of the upcoming events that are on my calendar.

As in the past, I will exhibit in summer and fall outdoor art shows. As they say, the "jury is still out," so I don't have a firm schedule yet, but you can check my web site for schedule updates beginning in March. In addition, I will exhibit brand new works beginning in February and through the month of March at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania. I'm also working on securing dates for an exhibition of my artwork at Zola New World Bistro in State College for late this year.

Throughout this spring, I have a fair amount of travel scheduled to some new locations. The most exciting will be northern Italy, where I will join my husband while he teaches a workshop at Bocconi University (Being the "portable artist spouse" has its benefits). In addition, I'm venturing to the southwest United States, with destinations including Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. I anticipate that these places will be the perfect antidote to the winter blahs and I'm looking forward to gathering inspiration for my cityscapes.

Late this spring, on Saturday afternoon, May 12, I will teach "Painting in the Outdoors" at Pennsylvania's Black Moshannon State Park. I love this location, and this will be my second year of offering this mini workshop and it's part of a larger weekend of events entitled "Women in the Wilds."

This weekend offers an opportunity for women of all backgrounds to come out and see one of Pennsylvania's premier state parks while enjoying seminars on a variety of topics from bird watching, kayaking, fishing, trap shooting, gardening, and much more.

My seminar is open to aspiring artists in all media. We'll talk about choice of subject, composition, and materials to help you get started in the outdoors. Depending upon the interest, I may teach another workshop in the park later this year. To learn more and to register for the Women in the Wilds event in Black Moshannon State Park, please contact the park office in Philipsburg by phone at (814) 342-5960 or email blackmoshannonsp@state.pa.us.

Once I kick this head cold (phooey!), I'll be back in the studio painting at my easel. Expect to see some new Pennsylvania landscapes as well as some European cityscapes inspired by my time in France late this past fall.