Great news!

I haven't been painting this week as we are planning a three week trip to Australia, and this is a lot of work. Plus, to tell you the truth, I am kind of burnt out with all the teaching that I have been doing lately. But I wanted to share some good news with you -I was just notified that I have been given signature status in the International Plein Air Painters (IPAP)! So now I have some more initials after my name (I already have AFCA and ASA) which is really not that big of a deal in a marketing sense, but it does indicate a level of acceptance from my peers. The public buys art that it likes for a host of sometimes strange reasons, so it is hard to build up one's reputation as an artist based on sales alone. The granting of signature status in an international organization is a great perk to me. My work was reviewed by a 7 member advisory panel, and all the work submitted must have been done 90% en plein air. They commented that they thought I had "a good range of paintings, with great use of colour and value". Yipee!