I think it fitting to start this blog off with how I have been influenced by art in my life. 

Genetically, both my mother and my paternal grandmother were both artists. Not in a professional manner, but more of a hobby.

My grandmother, Grace, was a painter. She was known to set up her easel and paint inside the Philadelphia Art Museum. Her rendition of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” hung in our dining room along with her own self-portrait, and one she painted of my grandfather upon horseback. 

My mother, Florence, paints as well as draws. Her most memorable painting for me was of colorful parrots in a tropical paradise that many of my friends complimented. However, I know her to be more of a doodler, creating playful little images on cards and envelopes. 

I definitely owe my father a hand in my artistic development as well. Although he was not a visual artist himself, he was appreciative of the arts. He would take my brother and me to museums all the time. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, there were plenty of museums to keep us occupied. Initially, I found them somewhat boring, but I began to find specific things I liked, and to really observe them. Their detail, colors, designs, stories, and the feelings they invoked, intrigued me. 

I have traveled the world since then and been to many, many, more museums! I’ve seen incredible works of art and now I can say I am creating them too. Lenny, my husband, is the perfect painter for my landscape photography. He has a, Je ne sais pas, with color theory that works well in creating movement on the canvas. He is fun to watch, but makes it look too easy, for I can not, even on my best day- do what he does. It’s pure talent for him!

Now, we have an amazing art studio where we not only produce our own original artwork, and books (I’m a writer as well) but also have Painting and a Picnic! This part of the business is very exciting; it’s unique and provides everyone, at any skill level, a chance to relax in a beautiful natural surrounding where you can learn about or enhance your creative side. All while having a complimentary, beautifully catered picnic to munch on and refresh yourself with lemonade or other non-alcoholic drinks at any point in the experience. We encourage you to get up, walk around, picnic, and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings at YOUR leisure! Come back to your painting with fresh eyes and do it again! 

I know my mother is very proud of what we have created, and I believe my grandmother, (who passed in 1989) would also be proud of the artist and business owner that I have become. 

-Natasha Picofsky