When buying greeting cards, I tend toward the high-tech gimmicks: The buzzers or snide quips that blare when the card opens, or, better yet, the pop-outs that do everything but hit you in the face with a pie.

Now there's an idea.

		Seldom Seen, David Templeton's whimsical perspective on life and times in and around Washington County, appears weekly in Washington Sunday.

So, as one might guess, the cards I give wife Suellen drive her crazy. She opens them, ducks and flinches. She asks our daughter to open them across the room to avoid being assaulted by the pop-outs. And, to her dismay, I give her these obnoxious creations every chance I get -- birthdays, Valentine's Day and Too Bad You Married Him day.

But now I face a dilemma.

I found greeting cards she actually craves. She points them out to me with a "buy these, why don't you?" look in her eye.

Indeed, her favorite cards are wonderfully artful and creatively rendered. They thrill her female sensibilities rather than make her hair frizz and nerves frazzle. But the key attraction -- the coup de grace, the rah-rah and sis-boom-bah -- is the fact that her favorite cards feature eye-popping artwork of East Washington painter Susan Martinelli.

Her delightful acrylic paintings, which began as folk art, have matured into illustrative and allegorical works that include everything from personable frogs and smiling moons, to folksy and lovable little rabbits, surrounded by catchy quotes.

These unique works also appear on a line of puzzles and even ceramic bread-warmer tiles and cookie tins.

And it all happened, Martinelli said, "completely by accident."

This "accident" of happy artwork will be featured in her first public exhibit, which opens 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Washington Community Arts and Cultural Center, Beau and Main streets, Washington, and will continue through June 13.

"We recognize that Susan has a very loyal local following, and now we're seeing her work being recognized nationally in the last couple years, so we want to showcase it," Wash Arts Executive Director Sandee Umbach said. "She's never had a showing of her artwork, so we want to bring some overdo attention to it."

If Martinelli's art career is a welcome accident, imagine what would have happened had she tried to do it from the start.

Instead, she earned a master's degree of fine arts in theater and a bachelor's degree in music as a mezzo-soprano. Add her artwork to that resume and she's a walking advertisement for the fine arts. But 20 years ago, most would have predicted she'd pursue a full-tilt career in theater.

While she does act in Little Lake Theatre plays, her unexpected painting career has sent her to the art studio rather than the stage.

The Rockville, Md., native was studying theater at Penn State when she met her eventual husband, William Cameron, a Washington native.

When the couple lived in Philadelphia, she worked in a shop that sold the folk-art paintings of Diane Pedersen. Martinelli, who has had an interest in art since childhood, took a liking to Pedersen's work and felt she could do similar paintings.

"It looked kind of effortless," she said of Pedersen's work. "There's a simplicity in the way it's represented and an elegance in its simplicity."

In 1987, with Pedersen's guidance, Martinelli took up painting and revealed a native talent. Pedersen always framed her paintings with quotes, including biblical verses, and Martinelli adopted the practice in her own works.

Then Cameron landed a job as a theater professor at Washington and Jefferson College, and eventually became chairman of the college's theater and communications department. So Martinelli moved to East Washington, where she continued developing her painting style in her attic studio.

But her big break came when she sent samples of her spirit-boosting artwork to Mary Engelbreit, a folk artist who publishes the popular Home Companion magazine. Engelbreit decided to feature Martinelli and her paintings in a 2002 edition of the magazine, and the floodgates opened.

The article created an unending demand for her work. She had lithographs made of several paintings and shipped them to customers in tubes.

But the most important boost occurred when Portal Publications of Novato, Calif., decided to use her paintings on a series of greeting cards. Martinelli realized she didn't have enough paintings, so she worked furiously against a tight deadline to come up with 24 works for the series.

The current line of about 40 cards cover every occasion and are sold nationwide. They are available locally at W&J's bookstore, Quail Acres in North Strabane and Bed, Bath and Beyond in South Hills Village.

Heather Piazza, Portal Publications product manager for cards, said the company sought out Martinelli to capture a warm, traditional and conservative market for cards. "It's like 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' kind of feeling," she said of her work, noting her cards sell well.

As the company's Web site says, she uses storybook-like images and inspiring quotes to create "a beautiful yet whimsical collection." But Portal also recognizes the importance of her theatrical training in her artwork.

"Each card is a one-act tale narrated by an exquisitely painted tableau, complemented by heartfelt sentiments."

For her quotes surrounding her paintings, she gathers ideas from children's books, magazines and scrapbooks. Often, she begins a painting and tinkers with an idea until it takes shape on canvas. "There's a lot of trial and error," she said.

Martinelli's licensing agent also has succeeded in having her artwork used in puzzles and other items, including a bread warmer tile. She hopes in time to have her paintings used on Christmas ornaments and other items that can serve as a fresh tableau for her art.

But she denies ever having plans for such considerable success as a self-taught artist. "It was totally accidental," she said. "It's nothing I ever studied. Now I make money on what was a hobby as a kid."

Combining her artwork and acting skills, Martinelli has produced a series of seven paintings for Little Lake Theatre in North Strabane for use in brochures and mailings. Martinelli acts and Cameron directs plays at the theater.

The Wash Arts exhibit will feature original acrylic paintings. Since most originals are subject to licensing agreements, they cannot be sold. But prints of most of the paintings are available.

"I've progressed," she said, describing her accidental art career 18 years in the making. "My work is more sophisticated, and everything has gotten better."

Including Suellen's prospects for Mother's Day.