News Archive

Fall 2010, It seems like only days ago people were complaining about the heat and humidity, and cool fall days are here already! In Olde Towne, Portsmouth, we are gearing up for the holiday season. It seems way too early for me, but then, it's been a very long time since I was in retail sales. Now that I am a working artist and part of a local gallery, we need to be prepared before Arts and Antiques, November 20th, kicks off the Christmas season for all of our local shoppers and the tourists who come through looking for that something special to give as a gift.

We are busily making small and miniature canvases and incredible hand-painted jewelry; printing cards from our larger canvases; and continuing to create all different sizes of paintings for our holiday visitors. Our hope is to have a wide price range to suit anyone and to fit in any budget. Many of the items in our Christmas Shoppe will be under $35! We're located at 525 High Street. Put us on your shopping schedule! I'm sure you will find artwork that you will just love. And please remember, if you've been thinking of getting a commissioned piece for someone for the holidays, time is running out! I hope you will find one of our artists whose style really moves you, and ask him/her (or me!) to make something special for a loved one this year. If, as you read this, you realize that there isn't time for a commissioned piece to be finished, let me reassure you that any of us would be happy to issue a gift certificate for you to put under the tree! Check out our website at OldeTowneArt.com to see some of the amazing artists at OTA.

I've just finished a commissioned family portrait which you can see on my portrait gallery page, and have several other commissions underway.

I have two students taking private lessons, and am working out the syllabi for several group classes for 2010. I will be teaching Dramatic Use of Darks and Lights, and Freedom From Perfectionism, a class in the use of palette knife instead of brushes. If you would like to take these classes before you see them on our website, or for other private lessons, feel free to contact me directly at 757.289.4931 to schedule.

Don't forget that High Street in Olde Towne is a marvelous place to visit any time, and especially on the First Friday evening of each month. The next two are November 6th and December 4th. Most of the local businesses stay open late on First Friday. You will find free refreshments at Olde Towne Art and many of the shops on High Street, as well as live entertainment. We're scheduled to stay open till 8 p.m. and often later when folks are still visiting our gallery at closing time.

The new show in the gallery for November is our highly anticipated Extra Large Show, with canvases from 24" × 30" to over seven feet! One of mine, which was done as a collaborative piece with Julia Burgess, is five feet by four feet, called Glad Tidings. It is of three heraldic angels in golds, blues and purple! I will be showing some of my other large pieces and a brand new piece that is not yet named, of an African Bride... Please come see the show, it's going to be fabulous!

Please visit our studio/gallery when you get a chance, and I'd love to hear from you any time at contactme@sarahpaints.com. If you like my paintings but don't see exactly what you would like to have for yourself or to give as a present, I would be happy to do a commissioned piece for you. I also do lay-away purchases. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, may God bless you richly with His peace, joy, love, and the knowledge of His Presence!

Summer 2009 Newsletter

This summer has been very busy in Olde Towne, and very productive. Our prayers are being answered and we see new stores open, new restaurants where old ones had closed, and refurbishing and renovating going on all over! It is a very exciting time in Olde Towne Portsmouth. Our storefront and the gallery that is visible from the street continue to become more beautiful all the time. We completely change what is displayed there for the First Friday of every month, and in August we did our first annual Black and White Show. It's fabulous.

Earlier this summer, I was blessed to meet two young men who were planning on opening a business in the same storefront OTA used to occupy. They commissioned me to do a large painting for their business, Angry Adam's Wine and Cheese Stop, which is also a gourmet food store. I was very excited to do it for them, and ended up having about two weeks to do portraits of Adam and Randy, the owners, and their two sets of parents, as well as an expressionist depiction of wine bottles all across the bottom of the painting..... LOL I painted for long hours to finish it before their grand opening, let me tell you. But it got done, and they just love it. Here I am in front of it before I cut off all my hair. (Yes, it's short now! ... and, who knew? It's curly!)

Their business has been extremely well received and is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. Adam and Randy are working to support the arts and our local artists, and I was blessed to be their featured artist for the month of July and half of June, since their grand opening was in the middle of June. My entire series, Strength of a Woman, hung across the back of their store. Two other highly talented artists from OTA, Kas Lippa and Leslie Parker, also had art represented on the side wall of their store. Here is a link to the write up of their opening.

I'm continuing to help them to choose art as they change out their display month by month, and was honored to assist Alana Terantino as she prepared her canvases to be the featured artist there for August. OTA once again had several artists whose works were displayed on the side wall. I hope you can come check it out before September!

My work is also displayed at Riverview Gallery by the ferry landing in Olde Towne at the very beginning of High Street, and at Faveur, a delightful bath and body shop in the 600 block of High Street, and in Kilmarnock, Virginia at W.F. Booth and Son Furniture Store.

In these difficult economic times, some people are returning to older ways of purchasing what they need and want. One of these ways is to barter, and I've begun doing that, too! My new printer, Christopher Mendola, who has incredible gifts of his own, and is a fantastically skilled printer, wanted "Till You Return" and so we made an agreement for a certain amount to come off of each of my print invoices until the painting price was reached. Another recent barter was between me and Leslie Parker, an amazing artist at Olde Towne Art. I helped her purchase a piece of furniture for her new apartment, and received a painting of hers that has long been one of my favorites.

Sometimes the price of an original painting is too steep for a person to make all at once. I do lay-away contracts so that people can pay over time, without the interest charges a credit card would add on to their purchases.

I've also begun painting landscapes in oil. I just love the way it moves on the canvas, and the brilliance achievable. And although I really thought I would limit my use of oil to the landscapes, I started using it for other paintings in August, and am doing several commissioned portraits in oil now, too.

There is so much going on in Olde Towne Portsmouth. I hope you can come and check us out. First Fridays are like a huge block party. You'd love it.

Sarah

March, April 2009 - We're all enjoying our new location at 525 High Street, and are getting a terrific response from people who drop in. The gallery, which is visible from the street, has been a wonderful addition, giving each of the artists the opportunity to have work displayed where anyone can see it as they pass by. Each month we switch out the artwork, so the gallery constantly changes. Actually, since these photos were taken, we have made several improvements to the storefront!

We are in a national magazine now, American Art Collector. In the month of March, Olde Towne Art is featured in their spring tour section, and we have a full page ad, and a page featuring one of our artists, Lori Starnes Isom. We are also advertising in the Virginian Pilot via inserts before our First Friday events. Each First Friday of the month we stay open until 8pm, along with many of the local shops. It's a great time to wander around Olde Towne and savor the flavor!

You can find my work exhibited at the Artist Gallery in Virginia Beach during the month of March. They are having a Cat's Meow show in which I have two pieces. I have another three pieces in the Wildlife Exhibit at Riverview Gallery in Olde Towne. Later in the month I will begin permanently displaying some of my paintings for sale at Riverview. And you can still find some of my bird and water paintings at W.F. Booth and Son in Kilmarnock, Virginia.

The new website for Olde Towne Art is up now, and you can see lots of different styles of work there, as well as the classes we will be offering. I will have two classes, Chiaroscuro, The Dramatic use of Darks and Lights; and Free to Be Imperfect! The sole use of palette knife in painting. Both classes will be offered at different times and days from April through July. Please check out our website and the calendar where all of our current class offerings are listed. We will continue to add new classes month by month, so if you don't see what you are hoping for, keep checking back! You can also contact us through the website and ask about the possibility of a class you are interested in taking.

I was blessed to be asked to teach the adult education class, Introduction to Acrylics, again this semester at Wilson High School. It's always a delight to be part of people discovering their own creativity, and the joy they have as they accomplish finished paintings they never knew they could do!

I'm also a student right now, taking my very first oil painting class from Anne McNally at the D'Art Center in Norfolk. I'm having an absolute blast! And I find I'm in danger of wanting to do both oil and acrylic paintings now! The mediums are so different that I may use one for certain types of paintings, and the other for other styles. Her class is broadening my horizons, and I just love that. I always want to keep stretching and growing as an artist.

Please visit our studio gallery when you get a chance, and I'd love to hear from you any time at contactme@sarahpaints.com. If you like my paintings but don't see exactly what you would like to have for yourself or to give as a present, I would be happy to do a commissioned piece for you. I also do lay-away purchases. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, may God bless you richly with His peace, joy, love, and the knowledge of His Presence!

Sarah

Portsmouth, VA, January 2009 - There's something about seeing "January" on a blank check or a calendar page, or a document like this... that somehow surprises me for the duration of the entire month. I see it again, and I'm still surprised. It's like opening an unexpected present. It makes me smile. There's newness and freshness in the word January. We all get to start again, and I find that simply joyful.

There are 23 artists beginning a new year with me at Olde Towne Art, and we're going to have an Open House to celebrate it. If you are in the area, please drop by our new location at 525 High Street in Olde Towne any time between 5-8pm on Friday, January 2nd and join in the fun. If you can't make it that evening, come by when you can. I'd love to see you, and you will be amazed at the wonders of the creative gifts of the artists there.

I am very blessed to be represented at W.F. Booth and Son furniture store in Kilmarnock, VA. Seven of my paintings are now on consignment there, and I am continuing to paint bird and water scenes for his clientele.

Don't forget to check out the 23rd annual Nansemond-Suffolk Academy art show later this month. Some of my work will be for sale there.

I pray you have a wonderful, successful New Year filled with love and laughter and faith. You can reach me any time by email at contactme@sarahpaints.com and I would very much enjoy hearing from you.

Many blessings,

Sarah

Portsmouth, VA, November 2008 - By the time you read this page, we will be moving into our brand new space at 525 High Street in Olde Towne, just four doors farther from the water than our old space. All of the artists are very excited about the changes already made, and those coming, due to this move.

We have a large gallery space across the front of our storefront where we will display works by each of the artists in residence, and then frequently, we will spotlight an individual artist with a one-man show.

As you walk farther into our new space, you will encounter all of the artists’ studio spaces, whereas before we were separated in two storefronts. Now we will be all together in one spot! And one of the most inspiring new things for us as artists is that we now have a large classroom in the back, and will begin teaching classes as early as January of 2009! Hope to see you there!

There will be a new Olde Towne Art website up and running by early December, and the classes being offered will be continually updated on that website, so keep an eye on it to see what you might like to participate in. You can still see our old website at www.oldetowneart.com.

November 21st is Arts and Antiques in Olde Towne. We will be open late and set up with all kinds of Christmas gifts. This is quite a tradition in Olde Towne and hundreds of people come out for it.

November 22nd, the next night, is the Grand Illumination Celebration, and Norfolk lights up the edges of its office buildings for a totally stunning display that will be on till the New Year. It is most awesomely visible from the Ferry on the Portsmouth side, or from Waterside on the Norfolk side. Come and be amazed!

Hope you all have a wonderful, memorable Thanksgiving holiday!

Be thinking about art for Christmas! Original art is an investment. When you purchase a piece of art, you have something unique. Whether it is an original canvas or a numbered, limited edition print, you then have an item you won’t see everywhere you go. And don’t forget that I do commissions and all of the work that I have for sale can be purchased as lay-away. Come see me at the studio or email me at contactme@sarahpaints.com to set one up with me. I’ll help you start or increase your collection of original artwork today.

God bless you richly this holiday season, and always!

Sarah

Portsmouth, VA, September 2008 - So many great things have been happening! Our art studio is being purchased by one of the artists, Kas Lippa, and we are moving four doors down the street to a larger place where we can all be together in one storefront. It looks as if we may be settled in the new space by the end of October! We will have a large gallery space at the front, visible from the street. Then there will be room for all of our studio/gallery spaces, and there’s a large room in the back for classes. Most of us are looking forward to teaching larger classes there, and some of us already teach individual lessons, as I do now. Please keep watching our Olde Towne Art website for details. The website is being completely redesigned and will be looking vastly different very soon!

This is my student, Clair Arndt, with her first completed acrylic abstract!

I was one of the artists accepted for the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s 23rd Annual Art Show, which will be in January of 2009. This is a very prestigious show which attracts buyers from all over and raises money to benefit the Academy. There is no admission charge, and the variety and sheer magnitude of art is stunning. I hope you’ll come.

One of my paintings is entered in an auction to benefit the Elizabeth River Project. That auction will be held on Saturday, September 27th, with over 40 artists participating. We had a plein air painting event at the ferry area in Olde Towne, and the art that was created is simply amazing. You can still get tickets for the dinner, dance and auction by calling the Elizabeth River Project at 757-399-7487.

I’m stretching in another direction, too, in that I am teaching an adult class at Wilson High School this fall. We’ll be exploring acrylics, which I dearly love.

We’re already gearing up for the Christmas season and making plans. I hope you will include us as you begin your shopping and make your lists. Art is such a wonderful investment and a lasting gift. Commissioned works are possible, but should be started soon to ensure they’re done in time. Oh, and, by the way, I do layaways! :-)

Thanks for checking my website. I hope when you can, you will come visit the studio. We are at 501 High Street, Portsmouth, VA, 23704 for the next few weeks, and then we will be at 525 High Street, next to the Olde Towne Bakery. We’re easy to find, and we’d love to see you!


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« Back to current news	News Archive Fall 2010, It seems like only days ago people were complaining about the heat and humidity, and cool fall days are here already! In Olde Towne, Portsmouth, we are gearing up for the holiday season. It seems way too early for me, but then, it's been a very long time since I was in retail sales. Now that I am a working artist and part of a local gallery, we need to be prepared before Arts and Antiques, November 20th, kicks off the Christmas season for all of our local shoppers and the tourists who come through looking for that something special to give as a gift. We are busily making small and miniature canvases and incredible hand-painted jewelry; printing cards from our larger canvases; and continuing to create all different sizes of paintings for our holiday visitors. Our hope is to have a wide price range to suit anyone and to fit in any budget. Many of the items in our Christmas Shoppe will be under $35! We're located at 525 High Street. Put us on your shopping schedule! I'm sure you will find artwork that you will just love. And please remember, if you've been thinking of getting a commissioned piece for someone for the holidays, time is running out! I hope you will find one of our artists whose style really moves you, and ask him/her (or me!) to make something special for a loved one this year. If, as you read this, you realize that there isn't time for a commissioned piece to be finished, let me reassure you that any of us would be happy to issue a gift certificate for you to put under the tree! Check out our website at OldeTowneArt.com to see some of the amazing artists at OTA. I've just finished a commissioned family portrait which you can see on my portrait gallery page, and have several other commissions underway. I have two students taking private lessons, and am working out the syllabi for several group classes for 2010. I will be teaching Dramatic Use of Darks and Lights, and Freedom From Perfectionism, a class in the use of palette knife instead of brushes. If you would like to take these classes before you see them on our website, or for other private lessons, feel free to contact me directly at 757.289.4931 to schedule. Don't forget that High Street in Olde Towne is a marvelous place to visit any time, and especially on the First Friday evening of each month. The next two are November 6th and December 4th. Most of the local businesses stay open late on First Friday. You will find free refreshments at Olde Towne Art and many of the shops on High Street, as well as live entertainment. We're scheduled to stay open till 8 p.m. and often later when folks are still visiting our gallery at closing time. The new show in the gallery for November is our highly anticipated Extra Large Show, with canvases from 24" × 30" to over seven feet! One of mine, which was done as a collaborative piece with Julia Burgess, is five feet by four feet, called Glad Tidings. It is of three heraldic angels in golds, blues and purple! I will be showing some of my other large pieces and a brand new piece that is not yet named, of an African Bride... Please come see the show, it's going to be fabulous! Please visit our studio/gallery when you get a chance, and I'd love to hear from you any time at contactme@sarahpaints.com. If you like my paintings but don't see exactly what you would like to have for yourself or to give as a present, I would be happy to do a commissioned piece for you. I also do lay-away purchases. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, may God bless you richly with His peace, joy, love, and the knowledge of His Presence! Summer 2009 Newsletter This summer has been very busy in Olde Towne, and very productive. Our prayers are being answered and we see new stores open, new restaurants where old ones had closed, and refurbishing and renovating going on all over! It is a very exciting time in Olde Towne Portsmouth. Our storefront and the gallery that is visible from the street continue to become more beautiful all the time. We completely change what is displayed there for the First Friday of every month, and in August we did our first annual Black and White Show. It's fabulous. Earlier this summer, I was blessed to meet two young men who were planning on opening a business in the same storefront OTA used to occupy. They commissioned me to do a large painting for their business, Angry Adam's Wine and Cheese Stop, which is also a gourmet food store. I was very excited to do it for them, and ended up having about two weeks to do portraits of Adam and Randy, the owners, and their two sets of parents, as well as an expressionist depiction of wine bottles all across the bottom of the painting..... LOL I painted for long hours to finish it before their grand opening, let me tell you. But it got done, and they just love it. Here I am in front of it before I cut off all my hair. (Yes, it's short now! ... and, who knew? It's curly!) Their business has been extremely well received and is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. Adam and Randy are working to support the arts and our local artists, and I was blessed to be their featured artist for the month of July and half of June, since their grand opening was in the middle of June. My entire series, Strength of a Woman, hung across the back of their store. Two other highly talented artists from OTA, Kas Lippa and Leslie Parker, also had art represented on the side wall of their store. Here is a link to the write up of their opening. I'm continuing to help them to choose art as they change out their display month by month, and was honored to assist Alana Terantino as she prepared her canvases to be the featured artist there for August. OTA once again had several artists whose works were displayed on the side wall. I hope you can come check it out before September! My work is also displayed at Riverview Gallery by the ferry landing in Olde Towne at the very beginning of High Street, and at Faveur, a delightful bath and body shop in the 600 block of High Street, and in Kilmarnock, Virginia at W.F. Booth and Son Furniture Store. In these difficult economic times, some people are returning to older ways of purchasing what they need and want. One of these ways is to barter, and I've begun doing that, too! My new printer, Christopher Mendola, who has incredible gifts of his own, and is a fantastically skilled printer, wanted "Till You Return" and so we made an agreement for a certain amount to come off of each of my print invoices until the painting price was reached. Another recent barter was between me and Leslie Parker, an amazing artist at Olde Towne Art. I helped her purchase a piece of furniture for her new apartment, and received a painting of hers that has long been one of my favorites. Sometimes the price of an original painting is too steep for a person to make all at once. I do lay-away contracts so that people can pay over time, without the interest charges a credit card would add on to their purchases. I've also begun painting landscapes in oil. I just love the way it moves on the canvas, and the brilliance achievable. And although I really thought I would limit my use of oil to the landscapes, I started using it for other paintings in August, and am doing several commissioned portraits in oil now, too. There is so much going on in Olde Towne Portsmouth. I hope you can come and check us out. First Fridays are like a huge block party. You'd love it. Please visit our studio/gallery when you get a chance, and I'd love to hear from you any time at contactme@sarahpaints.com. If you like my paintings but don't see exactly what you would like to have for yourself or to give as a present, I would be happy to do a commissioned piece for you. I also do lay-away purchases. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, may God bless you richly with His peace, joy, love, and the knowledge of His Presence! Sarah March, April 2009 - We're all enjoying our new location at 525 High Street, and are getting a terrific response from people who drop in. The gallery, which is visible from the street, has been a wonderful addition, giving each of the artists the opportunity to have work displayed where anyone can see it as they pass by. Each month we switch out the artwork, so the gallery constantly changes. Actually, since these photos were taken, we have made several improvements to the storefront! We are in a national magazine now, American Art Collector. In the month of March, Olde Towne Art is featured in their spring tour section, and we have a full page ad, and a page featuring one of our artists, Lori Starnes Isom. We are also advertising in the Virginian Pilot via inserts before our First Friday events. Each First Friday of the month we stay open until 8pm, along with many of the local shops. It's a great time to wander around Olde Towne and savor the flavor! You can find my work exhibited at the Artist Gallery in Virginia Beach during the month of March. They are having a Cat's Meow show in which I have two pieces. I have another three pieces in the Wildlife Exhibit at Riverview Gallery in Olde Towne. Later in the month I will begin permanently displaying some of my paintings for sale at Riverview. And you can still find some of my bird and water paintings at W.F. Booth and Son in Kilmarnock, Virginia. The new website for Olde Towne Art is up now, and you can see lots of different styles of work there, as well as the classes we will be offering. I will have two classes, Chiaroscuro, The Dramatic use of Darks and Lights; and Free to Be Imperfect! The sole use of palette knife in painting. Both classes will be offered at different times and days from April through July. Please check out our website and the calendar where all of our current class offerings are listed. We will continue to add new classes month by month, so if you don't see what you are hoping for, keep checking back! You can also contact us through the website and ask about the possibility of a class you are interested in taking. I was blessed to be asked to teach the adult education class, Introduction to Acrylics, again this semester at Wilson High School. It's always a delight to be part of people discovering their own creativity, and the joy they have as they accomplish finished paintings they never knew they could do! I'm also a student right now, taking my very first oil painting class from Anne McNally at the D'Art Center in Norfolk. I'm having an absolute blast! And I find I'm in danger of wanting to do both oil and acrylic paintings now! The mediums are so different that I may use one for certain types of paintings, and the other for other styles. Her class is broadening my horizons, and I just love that. I always want to keep stretching and growing as an artist. Please visit our studio gallery when you get a chance, and I'd love to hear from you any time at contactme@sarahpaints.com. If you like my paintings but don't see exactly what you would like to have for yourself or to give as a present, I would be happy to do a commissioned piece for you. I also do lay-away purchases. I look forward to hearing from you! In the meantime, may God bless you richly with His peace, joy, love, and the knowledge of His Presence! Sarah Portsmouth, VA, January 2009 - There's something about seeing "January" on a blank check or a calendar page, or a document like this... that somehow surprises me for the duration of the entire month. I see it again, and I'm still surprised. It's like opening an unexpected present. It makes me smile. There's newness and freshness in the word January. We all get to start again, and I find that simply joyful. There are 23 artists beginning a new year with me at Olde Towne Art, and we're going to have an Open House to celebrate it. If you are in the area, please drop by our new location at 525 High Street in Olde Towne any time between 5-8pm on Friday, January 2nd and join in the fun. If you can't make it that evening, come by when you can. I'd love to see you, and you will be amazed at the wonders of the creative gifts of the artists there. I am very blessed to be represented at W.F. Booth and Son furniture store in Kilmarnock, VA. Seven of my paintings are now on consignment there, and I am continuing to paint bird and water scenes for his clientele. Don't forget to check out the 23rd annual Nansemond-Suffolk Academy art show later this month. Some of my work will be for sale there. I pray you have a wonderful, successful New Year filled with love and laughter and faith. You can reach me any time by email at contactme@sarahpaints.com and I would very much enjoy hearing from you. Many blessings, Sarah Portsmouth, VA, November 2008 - By the time you read this page, we will be moving into our brand new space at 525 High Street in Olde Towne, just four doors farther from the water than our old space. All of the artists are very excited about the changes already made, and those coming, due to this move. We have a large gallery space across the front of our storefront where we will display works by each of the artists in residence, and then frequently, we will spotlight an individual artist with a one-man show. As you walk farther into our new space, you will encounter all of the artists’ studio spaces, whereas before we were separated in two storefronts. Now we will be all together in one spot! And one of the most inspiring new things for us as artists is that we now have a large classroom in the back, and will begin teaching classes as early as January of 2009! Hope to see you there! There will be a new Olde Towne Art website up and running by early December, and the classes being offered will be continually updated on that website, so keep an eye on it to see what you might like to participate in. You can still see our old website at www.oldetowneart.com. November 21st is Arts and Antiques in Olde Towne. We will be open late and set up with all kinds of Christmas gifts. This is quite a tradition in Olde Towne and hundreds of people come out for it. November 22nd, the next night, is the Grand Illumination Celebration, and Norfolk lights up the edges of its office buildings for a totally stunning display that will be on till the New Year. It is most awesomely visible from the Ferry on the Portsmouth side, or from Waterside on the Norfolk side. Come and be amazed! Hope you all have a wonderful, memorable Thanksgiving holiday! Be thinking about art for Christmas! Original art is an investment. When you purchase a piece of art, you have something unique. Whether it is an original canvas or a numbered, limited edition print, you then have an item you won’t see everywhere you go. And don’t forget that I do commissions and all of the work that I have for sale can be purchased as lay-away. Come see me at the studio or email me at contactme@sarahpaints.com to set one up with me. I’ll help you start or increase your collection of original artwork today. God bless you richly this holiday season, and always! Sarah Portsmouth, VA, September 2008 - So many great things have been happening! Our art studio is being purchased by one of the artists, Kas Lippa, and we are moving four doors down the street to a larger place where we can all be together in one storefront. It looks as if we may be settled in the new space by the end of October! We will have a large gallery space at the front, visible from the street. Then there will be room for all of our studio/gallery spaces, and there’s a large room in the back for classes. Most of us are looking forward to teaching larger classes there, and some of us already teach individual lessons, as I do now. Please keep watching our Olde Towne Art website for details. The website is being completely redesigned and will be looking vastly different very soon! This is my student, Clair Arndt, with her first completed acrylic abstract! I was one of the artists accepted for the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s 23rd Annual Art Show, which will be in January of 2009. This is a very prestigious show which attracts buyers from all over and raises money to benefit the Academy. There is no admission charge, and the variety and sheer magnitude of art is stunning. I hope you’ll come. One of my paintings is entered in an auction to benefit the Elizabeth River Project. That auction will be held on Saturday, September 27th, with over 40 artists participating. We had a plein air painting event at the ferry area in Olde Towne, and the art that was created is simply amazing. You can still get tickets for the dinner, dance and auction by calling the Elizabeth River Project at 757-399-7487. I’m stretching in another direction, too, in that I am teaching an adult class at Wilson High School this fall. We’ll be exploring acrylics, which I dearly love. We’re already gearing up for the Christmas season and making plans. I hope you will include us as you begin your shopping and make your lists. Art is such a wonderful investment and a lasting gift. Commissioned works are possible, but should be started soon to ensure they’re done in time. Oh, and, by the way, I do layaways! :-) Thanks for checking my website. I hope when you can, you will come visit the studio. We are at 501 High Street, Portsmouth, VA, 23704 for the next few weeks, and then we will be at 525 High Street, next to the Olde Towne Bakery. We’re easy to find, and we’d love to see you!