The art show just closed. Some sales, both prints and originals, so not bad - but also not the best show I've had here. I rec'd some nice compliments on the growing group of penguins - and the latest penguin watercolor, "Professor Fishmort and His Pinniped Repelling Ray Gun (With His Assistant Muffy)" was one of the ones that sold.

The panels this year have been better than sometimes, both the ones I was one and the ones that I went to see. Two stand out; The Evil Temptress and Concept Art. I particularly liked the second; it was useful to hear from working artists what employers in that field are looking for.

I also spent some time looking at everything in the art show. It's a really good show this year. Irene Gallo, art director at Tor, who's a special guest this year, had a row of panels where she curated a show of covers she has commissioned. It's a really impressive set of work. Johnna Klukas, the woodworker displayed a marvelous wall piece based on one of the most beautiful slices of burled wood I've seen. Mary Kay Kare displayed a colorful necklace of fish beads of all kinds with fish vertebrae used as the spacer beads - alas, not for sale.

It's been really cold here; I was out once on Friday to walk a block or so, and well, I'd forgotten how really cold it could get. I will be glad to get home, to climate instead of weather.

After a not exciting plane flight (a little mild turbulence when landing), I grabbed a cab with the people I was sharing a room with and headed out for the hotel. It was much easier than usual, as I'd shipped the trunk.

The hotel is still very nice, it now has a bar/restaurant in addition to the dining room, and it has the cutest little leaf shaped soaps.

That's the good news.

The bad news?

I left a painting (a big one) at home. My glasses broke (metal fatigue, of all things, in an ear piece), and I snagged and ran my favorite tights. The hotel is charging me an obscene amount of money - as in as much as it cost to ship it - just to accept shipment on the trunk ($60 if you're interested).

Things need to start getting better fast.

(Oh, there was one other good thing. The hotel shop was selling lovely shawls for $10.00 each. I have two, now. Faded purple to lavendar, and a burgundy one.)

And I will have three new paintings (as in never shown anywhere) in the art show, and all but one of them will be new to this convention.

Back to work now.