There's a remarkable light in Albuquerque--it seems to polish surfaces (see the flowers above) rather than sit on them as it does in the Ohio River valley.

Anne and I are gearing up for a full day of workshops, talks, and meeting and greeting our readers at the Trade Show.  We've met so many wonderful pastelists already--it's so nice to put faces to the names.

Yesterday, we lunched with two of our favorite PJ luminaries Maggie Price and Deborah Secor.  We talked about the magazine's history, our hopes for the future, and the bright new world of blogging.  As it turns out, Maggie and Deborah have blogs of their own.  We're hoping to entice them to blog here from time to time.  We also attended the Grand Opening demonstration in which Leslie B. DeMille painted a portrait of IAPS President Urania Christy Tarbet.  "How large would you like me to paint your ring?" he asked her as he painted her hand. 

Finally, a special invitation for convention attendees: Send us your photos of the conference for a chance to win a spot on the blog, or in our pages.  E-mail pjedit@fwpubs.com for details.