It's a very special gift to receive at holiday time – one that's handmade from the brushstrokes of an artist. It takes lots of pictures and hours of study in the studio to capture the essence, or intimacy, of a subject, and when it's complete, there's even a part of the artist that shines through. It's a commissioned work of art, and one such artist is Sandra Corpora of Bethlehem.

Corpora knows what it takes to please the giver with commissioned portraits, landscapes and still life, having studied with the best in representational artists. She's taken workshops conducted by Nelson Shanks, T.M. Nicholas, Kenn Backhaus, Scott Jennings and John Phillip Osborne. Shanks, of Bucks County, is perhaps most notable for his portraits of His Holiness, John Paul II (2002) and of Her Royal Highness, Diana, Princess of Wales (1994). He was the 2006 recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Arts Award.

Corpora selected one of her plein air oils on canvas done this year – a snow scene titled "Monocacy in January" -- as her Christmas card for family and friends. The scene is a path alongside the Monocacy leading to the Burnside Plantation from Union Boulevard in Bethlehem.

"The challenge is bringing something fresh to an already familiar scene," she said. "I like to send a still life or landscape, whatever feels seasonal."

She's currently the featured artist through year’s end at the Allentown office of the Lehigh Valley Arts Council, located in the Butz Building at Ninth and Hamilton streets, where her work can be viewed by the public. Her subjects range from French landscapes painted in the sunny fall weather of Bordeaux, to the dramatically sunlit Victorian Louella House in Wayne, Pa., and the eastern shore of Maryland. Following its Allentown run, the exhibit will move to Bethlehem's Moravian Village.  

Corpora paints primarily from life in the studio and outdoors on location. Her award-winning plein air paintings hold life of their own as she features sites from her travels in the United States and abroad. Married to Sicily native Placido "Pat" Corpora, she enjoys traveling to Italy to visit family and to paint the country's rich landscapes.

Corpora said she started drawing at an early age and most likely was influenced by watching her Irish grandmother draw using just a pencil.

"I was always the artist in the classroom growing up," she said. "I always got art supplies as a kid."

She attended Kutztown University and received recognition as top fine arts graduate. She later worked as a creative director for Rodale's in-house advertising agency. That’s where she met her husband, who worked with Rodale's Prevention magazine and book division. She said her passion was always painting, and even though she became an award-winning home designer, she decided to take up her brush full time.

She never goes anywhere in the great outdoors without her palette to capture nature’s true colors. A photograph has its limitations and can’t begin to show the variations of a subject, she said. Working on location has increased her sensitivity to color, as has her ability to capture fleeting light effects.

"Looking at the landscape, you can see the complexity in shadows," she said. "In order to grow, you have to work from life. …One of the things I love to paint is water. It's alive. It's a perfect example of what light does to something."

One thing Corpora is committed to is the next generation of artists. She believes in sharing her knowledge and skills with other fledgling artists.

"It's important to pass along what you've learned," she said. "You learn more about your own art. I’m constantly studying and always trying to improve."

She teaches privately and also conducts workshops and demonstrations. Earlier this year, she was awarded a teaching residency at Allentown's Swain School, where she also had a solo exhibit of her still life paintings.

Her passion for plein art has garnered her much recognition across the region since the late 1990s. She's taken many workshops and entered numerous competitions, which she refers to as "road races." Competitions are "thrilling and wonderful ways to learn about painting in a short period of time. They’re a great way to meet other top artists," she said.

Corpora's work can be found in private and public collections throughout the United States, Canada and Italy. She received an Award of Excellence in the Oil Painters of America 13^th annual National Juried Exhibition. Last month, she had a painting accepted in the American Artists Professional League 84^th Grand National Exhibition in New York City. She also was featured in American Artist Magazine as part of a plein air painting event.

Locally, she's displayed in juried shows and exhibited at Mayfair Festival of the Arts, Banana Factory, Allentown Art Museum, Baum School of Art, Lehigh Valley Hospital, and Reading Public Museum, to name some. She’s been featured with the Lehigh Art Alliance, Bethlehem Palette Club, and Berks Art Alliance. Her "Riverscapes" were featured as artist-in-residence with the Wildlands Conservancy's Lehigh River Sojourn in Emmaus, Lehigh Co. In the coming year, she hopes to continue in plein air competitions including Havre De Grace Plein Air in Maryland. For further info: sandracorpora.com

Arts Roundup:

GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading will present its 2012 juried show, "Vanity Fare: Art, Fashion, Creativity," May 4-June 3, 2012. There will be a juror’s Grand Prize Award for best in show, with the winner featured in a solo show in the Cohen Gallery at GoggleWorks. Cash prizes also will be awarded for first, second and third place. Jurors are Lyn Godley, pioneer in transforming fine art designs into everyday products, and Pam Ptak of Season 7 of "Project Runway."

Entry deadline is Jan. 28, 2012, with all entries to be postmarked by this date. For further info: goggleworks.org