OMGoodness!  What is going on?  I am inspired and motivated beyond common sense.  What could this be??  I have to clean and organize all of the pastels in my painting box and I have to do it NOW!  Why?  As my friend Maggie Price told me, I'm going to the "Candy Store!"  This next week I will head to Albuquerque and, for a few days, I will totally immerse myself in everything pastel artists love. The International Association of Pastel Societies Convention is about to begin and I will be there! I have to make sure that I know exactly what I need to enhance my career as an artist!  Is it the perfect stick of pigment?  The perfect paper or maybe the perfect new plein air pallette and tripod.  Could it be a wonderful new instructional book or video?  It doesn't matter, does it?  What matters is I will be there !!

I've been before, so I know what to expect......amazing exhibits, famous artists, wonderful workshops and the biggest selection of pastel artist supplies anywhere.  I will touch every new color.  I will ask a million questions.  I will  listen intently to every word spoken, in every seminar, and I will come home a better painter. 

What a joy it is to be a painter!  I will travel alone across the country but, as soon as I arrive at the convention, I will be with people who "get me".  They know.  They are my friends from everwhere and I will be grateful to be a part of the community of artists from around the world. It's the connection and I don't know if there is anything else quite like sharing the desire to paint.

So, I have a list of the colors I need, the supplies I want and the workshops I will attend.  But, most of all, I AM GOING!   I am so thankful that I paint.