On the evening of May 12th my husband and I delivered my work to the gallery — twenty oil paintings and five pastel drawings. With the assistance of Shawn Murray (the owner of Twenty Two Gallery Café) and Joe McGovern (art advisor) we hung the show in about an hour and a half. All that remained was for some last minute straightening and labeling.

I later found at that shortly after my husband and I departed some neighborhood art aficionados eager to see the show talked their way into the closed gallery and purchased three paintings and one pastel drawing before they were even labeled or had prices on them! Two of these collectors came to the opening the next night and each told me that they had recognized the views I had painted as places where they had grown up (Adams County and Wilkes-Barre, respectively) and had to have those works in their own home. This is the greatest compliment I can receive, for people to feel that I captured the feeling of a certain locale and to want to purchase them without even knowing the price.

The opening on May 13th at Twenty Two Gallery Café was a great success. There was a steady stream of people enjoying the lovely spring evening who ventured out to see the show. Some of these visitors were friends and co-workers, but I was delighted to meet so many new people who came because of their interest in my artwork. I sold about one third of the exhibit in the first 24 hours, which helps support the habit so I can continue to make art.

No rest for the wicked: The next day, I was back out there cranking out new work for the next show coming up in August at the Ocean City Art Center in New Jersey!