Back Roads Color

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I took the back roads over to Micanopy today to deliver three tree paintings to Christine, who with her husband owns Blackbird Farm and Gallery. The little gallery is just precious! I love showing my work there and she is a wonderful host. The tree show has about 15 artists, so you will see some lovely and interesting varieties of the theme. She had a field full of lovely very tall yellow flowers and sunflowers today. I admired the field as I arrived. Her farm is so charming and so is she. Go to her opening for the exhibit next Friday and the following two weekends. You will enjoy it. Take Division Street all the way to the right curve, then turn left on Whiting Street. Her farm is just after it turns into a dirt road on the right. Blackbird Farm in Micanopy.

As I drove home, scouting out CR 346 and then the road to Hawthorne Road, I so enjoyed the change in colors. The River Styx was in full regalia as I passed by. I was going back and forth to Evinston each day just a few weeks ago and now the tall green grasses and trees have changed to their Fall color, beautifully.

Now I see miles of rust and wheat in the grasses. I have an interest in wild grasses. Today many were standing tall, with puffs of cottony fluff on the tops. They re so pretty and varied. I studied painting grasses one year as one of my study projects and learned some about them. There are many wild varieties here in this part of Florida.

The swamp maples are in full color, along with many bald and pond cypress I viewed. The cypress leaves varied from golden yellow, to burnt orange and then oxide brown. Sometimes I like the North Florida Fall color better than the further north brilliance. In Florida, you get a variety from the blue grays, to green, to splashes of orang, red and gold, which makes those warm colors really stand out.

Life is wonderful for artists....

Linda's Web Page

I've been thinking about my years as a chef. I worked as a restaurant line cook, and pastry chef/baker/caterer for 13 years. There are endless stories during that period.

I learned how hard that work really is. I started as a pot washer, moved up to prep cook, then to line cook. On my own time, I studied with a pastry chef at another restaurant, and taught myself the fine art of garde' Manger. (Cutting up fruit and vegetables to look like flowers and birds) Sadly, that is becoming a lost art, due to cost cutting. It is labor intensive. My years in art school, studying sculpture and carving came in handy for that art. As a caterer, my knowledge of color mixing made my arrangements of crudités very pretty.

The camaraderie of restaurant kitchens is wonderful. There are plenty of loud arguments, and jockeying for position among cooks, but a good kitchen is a well oiled machine. Aside from the head chef, the expeditor is the top of the food chain with good reason. Orders are lined up as they come in, but different cooks do different parts of the order in different times. The expeditor must be able to coordinate this in his/her head through sometimes hundreds of orders. At one restaurant I worked in, the average lunch number was 400. Chaos quickly ensues if the expeditor loses track.

Of course I am too old now to do kitchen work but I believe all of that practice influences my self discipline, coordination and love for puzzles and challenges as a painter. I believe all of our non art life experiences are very important to our painting skills.

Life is good for artists...

Linda's Web Page

I will be gradually moving out of the studio at Paddiwhack Gallery from January through March of 2020. Paddiwhack will close in March, for a few months and re-open in a different location with a different theme. I have enjoyed my time with Paddiwhack Gallery and  it is now onward to new adventures in 2020. 

My Country Studio is thriving and I’m looking forward to more parties, tea parties, and constant visitors for fun and trail walks out in the country. You are always welcome, and if we plan ahead, I will give you a fine tea party when you visit. You can purchase my paintings every day on my web site https://www.lindablondheim.com  I charge low shipping rates too. You will find directions to my Country Studio at the bottom of my web page.

My thanks to Chuck Sapp for his fine work as my dealer for all the years we have had together. I wish him great success with his new plans for 2020. When one door closes, another opens.

Life as an artist is wonderful! 

Linda's Web Page

I like to do some research every day about science. I learned today that scientists have proven that trees pump water from their roots up into the leaves at night. It was formerly thought that it was an automatic process, but now they discovered that the limbs move up and down deliberately at night, pumping the water upwards from the roots. is that cool or what?

I have always loved trees, since my early childhood. I was at that time a champion tree climber. I had my share of falls too. Once I fell out of the tree in the yard and it knocked me out cold! My sisters were shocked when the teenager next door carried me into the house. He had been outside and saw me fall. My sister called my momma and told her I was dead, then hung up on Momma. I came to and they called her back to say I was ok.

Trees have been my friends for my entire life. I began to paint them in earnest about 20 years ago. I definitely feel their communication and wisdom when I stand under them. Can you imagine the stories they can tell over hundreds of years? Some are thousands of years old.

We really owe our very lives to trees. I like to look at species from around the world. Some are so exotic that they look alien. They have adapted to fit the climate they live in. Peoole make fun of "tree huggers" like me, but we must become aware of the life giving resource that developers are cutting down faster than they can grow. 

Artists have a wonderful life.

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Today I encountered a lovely site on Deer Woods Trail. A flock of wild turkeys were foraging along the trail in front of me. What lovely birds! They took off in flight at noticing me, so I was able to view their large wing spans. It took me back to my childhood days of being out in the woods with my daddy and his friend Mr Bailey.

This time of year is my favorite. The leaves are slowly turning, and the grape vines are dotted with yellow and oxide colors. There is such a wonderful feel to th walk in the woods each day. I see the fields turning to wheat and rust. Some trees are silver and gray now, having already lost their foliage. There is an odd little grassy plant that grows in one section. it is a spiral of stems coming out from the root, looking like Don King's hair.

I read an article this morning about the benefits of hiking in the natural world. I have often thought that being urban, away from the natural world was harmful and now I have proof.

"The researchers noted that increased urbanization closely correlates with increased instances of depression and other mental illness. Taking the time to regularly remove ourselves from urban settings and spend more time in nature can greatly benefit our psychological (and physical) well-being."

Article By Alanna Ketler

Life is wonderful for artists.........

Birds and Nests Art

This morning I was out early on the trail. There are lots of interesting fungi growing on trees this time of year. I picked up a sample that was growing on a piece of pine bark, next to the trail. I have two small jar terrariums for moss on the window sills of my studio. I added this sample to one of the terrariums. I like to pick up interesting things off the trail to add to my collection. I recently found a tiny bird's nest near the trail. I saved it. There were no eggs but I found some made with clay that look completely natural and fit nicely in the nest. 

What is it that I love so much about trails? Especially owning the land they are cut through. There is a simple magic to them. I never know what new object I might find. A nest, foot prints that were not there yesterday, the bends and turns with mystery just beyond my vision. The caw of crows overhead, the piercing call of the hawk high above me. The rustle and crashing sound of the deer at the perimeter of my vision, racing away.

Some people love to shop, some love to chat in cafes, some are movie fans. I love the woods and fields like no other place. The fine old trees along the path, the tortoise dens dug deep under ground. The filtered light bouncing off the leaves, making patterns along the trail. The waves of grass across the fields of a lovely farm, speak deeply to me.

Artists have a wonderful life.....

Plein Air Fun

Linda’s Web Site

I am making a bit of progress now with getting back outside to paint. Today is another beautiful day here in north Florida. When I arrived at my paint box there was a lovely doe in the woods. She flicked her white tail and bounded off into the sun. A beautiful sight indeed. 

Today I brought an 8x10 raw linen canvas. I prepared it with Golden glazing medium, which gave it a nice paint surface for acrylics. My palette was five colors, cad yellow lemon, Payne’s gray, titanium white, red iron oxide and ultramarine blue. Simple and easy to mix. 

The kiss rule always applies to my plein air work. 

I am always amazed by the plein air painters I see at events with cart loads of equipment. Tables, chairs, huge easels, lots of paint and brushes. They are basically moving their studio outside. I take a small paintbox with 6 colors, a couple of knives, three brushes, paper towel folded, a painting panel, tripod, water, hat. That is it. Everything fits in the box except the water and hat. I am a minimalist by nature, less is more.

I feel better about today’s effort. My muscle memory for paint box painting is starting to come back. Today I felt better in my own skin. It was no longer alien to me. Using the shade effectively, turning and moving the box as the sun changed was more natural today. Spending time on the trail is always the best part. Leaving my box set up and just bringing fresh water and a canvas is a fantastic way to paint out doors. There is a magic to painting your own land or land that you know and love so much, like Fair Oaks. 

Painters have a wonderful life....

Linda’s Web Page 

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I decided it was a good day to take my paint box out on the trail. I set up and brought along a tiny 4x4 inch canvas. My friend Diane Brody, kindly gave me these canvases, as she doesn’t like the tiny ones. She is a fine painter, using painting knives. 

I chose a spot along Deer Woods Trail with a portal of back light for today’s effort. I could feel the breeze, smell the good earth under my feet, and talk back to my friends the crows as they passed over my head, saying “un uh” to my work. Critics are everywhere! The light filtered in and out, and I repositioned my box a few times, to stay in the shade. 

I’m not a great plein air painter. I consider plein air work to be a study for larger studio work. It is not the painting for me, but the beauty of my surroundings, and learning that are of value. Surprisingly, some people really like the messes I make out in the field. 

After my painting session, I took a nice walk around the trail. The great thing about owning the land you paint on, is that I can leave my box out on the trail with a plastic bag tied over it. I can go out on the next day or so and paint again. 

Life is good for painters.....

Little Birds

                                                                      Linda’s Web Page

I found this little oil primed canvas in my store room today. It seemed perfect for one of my little bird paintings.  I collect reference photos of small birds constantly. I am so fond of them. They live around the world, often in exotic colors, but most of them have a lovely little chubbiness in shape. I suppose they remind me of my own short chubby shape. Basically I am square in body shape. I have a big head like these little birds too.

I think the little birds are my favorite challenge as a painter. I had never painted birds until about three years ago, when I started studying them. The easiest medium for painting them is acrylics for me. Drawing them and now using oils is quite a bit harder if I paint them in one session as I did this one today.

There is a little house wren who lives in my yard. I often see her around the front gate of Tucker’s play yard. Wrens are so adorable to me. Quick to move and fly, chubby, with lovely white accents on their brown feathers. They are no nonsense little birds, always at work. They are not divas like their Fairy Wren cousins in Asia, who have the bright plumage.

My crow friends are calling me to Deer Woods Trail, so off I go!

I found this little oil primed canvas in my store room today. It seemed perfect for one of my little bird paintings.  I collect reference photos of small birds constantly. I am so fond of them. They live around the world, often in exotic colors, but most of them have a lovely little chubbiness in shape. I suppose they remind me of my own short chubby shape. Basically I am square in body shape. I have a big head like these little birds too.

I think the little birds are my favorite challenge as a painter. I had never painted birds until about three years ago, when I started studying them. The easiest medium for painting them is acrylics for me. Drawing them and now using oils is quite a bit harder if I paint them in one session as I did this one today.

There is a little house wren who lives in my yard. I often see her around the front gate of Tucker’s play yard. Wrens are so adorable to me. Quick to move and fly, chubby, with lovely white accents on their brown feathers. They are no nonsense little birds, always at work. They are not divas like their Fairy Wren cousins in Asia, who have the bright plumage.

My crow friends are calling me to Deer Woods Trail, so off I go!

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When I was a kid I was quite a rascal! Is anyone surprised here? I loved the mysteries of the natural world and was curious about everything. 

Each year at Christmas time, my mother carefully wrapped gifts every night after my sisters and I went to bed. During our Christmas break from school, I learned the careful and slow art of unwrapping each of my gifts, looking them over and carefully rewrapping them to look untouched. I carefully lined up the paper for the correct creases and matched the re-taping process, then retying the ribbon just so. It gave me a great satisfaction in knowing what was under the tree for me.

Looking back,I realize I was trying to control my responses in advance for Christmas Day. I didn't want any disappointing surprises for the big day. If I didn't get a "good" gift, I would be able to act delighted with it so as not to be rude.

I've always liked to be in control of my environment and circumstances when possible. I am a planner by nature. I don't always get things right but I do try to plan for circumstances. I'm not a free thinker, depending on the whim of others. I tend to be an analytical thinker, which is odd for an artist.

I tend to want to do things for myself and not have to depend on others. That is not good when you're on a team. I don't play well in the sand box. Forcing myself to do so is probably good for me for short periods, but I feel sorry for those who have to tolerate me.