If you've chatted with me at a recent art show or display, you know how much I enjoy talking with people about our region's landscapes and lighthouses.

 

It's fun to hear your experiences of visiting the same places and fascinating to see what catches your eye.

 

A middle schooler and his grandmother were browsing my booth at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts holiday marketplace. This young man seemed especially drawn to this photo of a pine plantation in winter. I was quite impressed with his sophistication.

 

Saint Mary's Health Care Center recently bought a framed print of this scene for their collection. On first glance, people are often puzzled by the subject. But after being drawn in by the minimalist composition, they are delighted to find it is a familiar scene they are now seeing with new eyes.

 

 

I'm pleased to announce a significant upgrade to my line of Keepsake Cards® that I think will redefine the term "art card."

 
My Keepsake Cards® have always been printed with the same materials I use for my fine art prints. The combination of pigment inks on 100% cotton paper will last, with care, for generations. Since I considered them as much art as card, I designed them to fit perfectly in a 5x7 frame.

 

But I've been troubled by the fact that if you put my Keepsake Cards® in a frame, there would be no separation between the card and the glass of the frame. This can actually damage the artwork, which is the reason framers always put space between the art and the glass.

 

So I've decided to make my Keepsake Cards® truly ready-to-frame by mounting them to a 5x7 cotton mat, just like my ready-to-frame matted prints. When you send someone a Keepsake Card®, you are truly sending them a piece of art. And when they place it in a frame, the message you've written will be preserved as a true keepsake!

 

Keepsake Cards® are $7.50 for individual cards, or $25 for a box of 4.