Hi fellow artists. I am an Australian that paints predominantly traditional landscapes/seascapes in oils.

I am planning an 8 week trip to America over November/December 2008 and am seeking advice or any assistance that you may be able to offer. I have recently returned from a year in the UK and Europe and received lots of help from the local artists there and am hoping that you guys will be able to offer me some helpful advice on where to go, what to see, cheap ways of hiring cars (or motorhome), finding affordable family accommodation. etc. I feel that there is nothing like local knowledge to avoid the usual tourist traps and to get the most out of our visit.

I am particularly interested in which galleries to visit, areas of natural beauty (as I intend taking lots of photos and working up studies with the view of possibly holding an exhibition when I get home) and of course any advice on good quality affordable family accommodation (2 adults and 3 children) and travel options. Many thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.

Garry
gkdolan@aapt.net.au

You don't want to miss the free museums located in Washington DC (The National Gallery of Art, American Art Museum, and National Portrait Gallery). There are many other free museums that your children may be interested in as well (www.si.edu).

In Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (www.philamuseum.org) and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (First Art School in the US - www.pafa.edu). Check the websites for these and any other museum you plan on visiting to see when their free or pay as you wish hours are. Baltimore's museums (Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Museum) are currently free.

Search for the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Program where by purchasing membership at one museum, you can gain free entry to many museums throughout North America and receive discounts in their museum shops. A good list can be found on http://www.greenvillemuseum.org/narm_mem.html with links to the participating museum websites. You can check to see which museum will give the best price for family membership with NARM benefits, also check to see if you qualify for reduced rates for residing outside of the museums area. Some museums on the list restrict the number of reciprocating museums membership is valid with.

You should check what exhibits will occur during your travel time frame and plan accordingly. Other museums to consider are the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY (http://www.metmuseum.org/) and the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston (http://www.gardnermuseum.org/).

Remember it will be winter in November and December, so your options for a non-winter landscape will be limited to the deep South and the West. The Southeast has been experiencing severe drought this year, but we hope it will be better by next. Most of the grass is brown and water levels are extremely low. I am not as familiar with the western landscape.

For artistic inspiration, or gallery information, you could check out the magazines Fine Art Connoisseur and American Art Collector and the website for the Art Renewal Center (www.artrenewal.org).

For trip planning, visit hotels.com, travelocity, expedia, orbitz, or any similar travel consolidator site, and check what the current rates are for November and December 2007 in areas where you are interested in visiting. Make note of any hotels you are interested in, so you can check when you get closer to booking. Always check the direct hotel website, as their prices are generally lower, and they will usually beat any other websites price.

I hope that is enough to get you started, feel free to email me (jenn@paulkeysar.com) if you have any more questions. I'll do my best to help.

Thank you very much for your kind help.

The info you offered will be of great help. I will take a bit of time to check out the websites you suggested and am sure that I will have more questions so may contact you soon.

Thanks,

Garry

Hi Garry: If you are on the east coast..Newtown, Pa where we live is beautiful...
about 50 minutes north of Phila. 16/1700's town
decorated for christmas...lots of victorian houses as well..and a state park. Can't say it's a cheap part of the country to stay in but there are some old Inns around! The week before
and on christmas day Revolutionary War reinactors cross the Delaware in boats to reinact an important part of American History.
(Catching the dress rehersal can be better pictures I think...)
Happy traveling!