Transaction: on December 15th 2011 the company declared the annual dividend of $2 per share on the outstanding common stock. The dividends will be paid on January 15th 2012.

Common Stock ($10 Par)... 50,000
PIC-in excess of par common... 30,000

My answer:
Dividends,. 10,000
Dividends Payable... 10,000

And then since nothing else is done with that account do I close it straight to the capital or income summary

Your journal entry is correct. You first figured out the number of shares issued and outstanding then multiplied it by the dividend per share amount to get your total dividends.

Your closing entry will be a Debit to Retained Earnings and a Credit to Dividends for the amount in the dividends account when you are doing the income summary.