Oldest Friends

Linda's Web Page

One of my oldest friends passed earlier this month. I am getting to the age now where friends and acquaintances are beginning to pass. She was a few years older than I. We started our friendship in art school a hundred years or so ago. We were in the BFA program. She was one of the funniest, sarcastic people I ever knew. We brought out the best (or worst) in each other. We would stay up in the art department late into the night, bringing coolers full of beer and eats with us. We launched many funny schemes together during those days as we practiced painting. 

There was a very annoying pushy girl in our program that we could barely tolerate. We used to pull tricks on her to annoy her. It was great fun. This girl was part of a weird "I found it" sect. She had a bumper sticker on her car that said "I Found It" We went to the dog track and bought a bumper sticker that had at the Tampa Dog Track as part of the wording. We added that to her bumper, so it said, "I found it at the Tampa Dog Track". She didn't notice it for weeks!!

We remained friends for life, though not often seeing each other. She had a little tiny dog named Rat. When my daughters were young, we would shop for costumes and hats for Rat. She would photograph Rat in all of his costumes for us and send them for the girls.

In our time together, we went through several life times, changing addresses, cities and so forth, but we remained friends. She lived in a wonderful vintage home in St Petersburg, FL. It was gorgeous. It had a cool neighborhood alley behind it and we used to take walks there. I've always loved alleys and odd portals.

We would walk down to the bay front park in ST Pete and visit with all her neighborhood friends, swapping stories together. I'm happy to say that was the time of a wonderful life for her. In later years she was quite ill. I'm glad to know she suffers no more. I will miss her.

Baked Citrus

Linda’s Web Page

Today I worked on a fun little project in the kitchen. I usually take Sundays to do other than painting projects, though I did manage to get a miniature painting done.  I recently saw on P Allen Smith’s newsletter, a blog about baking slices of citrus fruit to use for decoration. The blog advised to make chains of the fruit with twine to hang, but I decided to use embroidery thread to decorate them and put them in a bowl to sit on my tea table in the studio. I also added real cinnamon to mine. They smell wonderful. 

I used the rest of the fruit on my citrus trees, red grapefruit and Persian limes. I didn’t have any oranges left. I put parchment paper on a half sheet pan. I sliced the fruit thinly. I placed them flat on the parchment, no overlapping fruit. I used a clean dry towel to Pat the fruit as dry as possible. I baked the fruit at 250 , turning them a few times, about 2 and a half hours. The limes got more done than the larger fruit. I would be better next time to use fruit the same size.  I sprinkled cinnamon on them and tossed them. Then I did the sewing to add a bit of color.

I also made some goodies for upcoming tea parties. I made cheese stuffed salami and corned beef pate to spread on rye crackers with a pickle slice. My old chef day come in handy. I often use my catering recipes for tea parties.  I have a tea party guest tomorrow and another tea party group on January fourth, so I’d better get busy putting away supplies and new canvases tomorrow. If the weather holds, I’ll paint on my trail too!  

I am making a bit of progress on the new web site platform. I just have to figure out how to take stripe and PayPal for sales. I am still over my head, but at least I have my site back online. https://www.lindablondheim.com

Artists have a wonderful life...

Artists Gift Giving

Linda’s Web Page

Gift giving for artists

I’ve been thinking about artists and their loyal followers. Gifts for artists are pretty simple. We have learned to live low on the food chain, especially those of us who are single, without partners. We count heavily on those good souls who support us with loyalty and kindness. Here is a list of gifts for artists:

Moral support- This is far more important than you might realize. Kind words of encouragement go far.

Purchase Art- This is so important for us. No explanation needed.

Purchase art as gifts- So many people buy trinkets or useless gifts, searching for something without thought of gifting art. Each year I buy two pieces of original art for  my daughters for Christmas. This year I bought a piece for a friend as well. 

Share your favorite artist’s work with others.- Add the artist’s email contact and web site when you share. Word of mouth is still the best.

Write a testimonial- A short paragraph about your joy in the artist’s work and knowing them personally is so helpful. Artists are proud of their work and a supportive testimonial builds trust in the artist for new collectors.

Gift the artist - with a coffee break, breakfast or lunch out. 

Gift the artist- With equipment or art supplies. Framing and art supplies have become very expensive. This is a welcome gift to any artist. 

Plan a studio visit and bring friends- Most artists welcome a chance to show off their studio to friends and collectors.

Host a party for an artist- This is a delightful way to introduce an artist to new friends and potential collectors. It is like having an old fashioned Tupperware party, but with art instead.

Talk up your favorite artist to gallery owners- When you visit art galleries, ask if your favorite artists are represented? Tell the staff or owner about the artist. 

Join the artist’s discount collector’s club. You will save on your art purchases.

There are many subtle ways to support your favorite artists. Many of them cost you nothing. Rest assured that your artist friends are truly grateful for your friendship and support.

Artists have a wonderful life.......

Computer Madness

Linda's Bird Art

I've bitten off more than I can chew this week. After many years of having a word press web site and so many errors and mistakes, I decided to move my site to anew platform at Squarespace. I like the sleek simple look of the platform, but I have no idea of what I am doing with it. I thought it would simplify my efforts, but I am lost.

I admire the skills of webmasters, and tech savvy artists who can put thing together in a snap. I am the kind of tech girl who learns just what I must know and nothing else. Frankly, I have no interest in computers, other than the necessity of using them. I'd rather be painting in the studio or in the woods, or giving tea parties to friends and collectors. 

In our time, that is naive to say the least. I must teach myself this new platform to make it easy for my collectors to view my work and to purchase it online. I am gritting my teeth and pushing forward with this, kicking and screaming all the way. 

Artists who refuse to learn marketing skills, computer skills, social media skills, presentation skills, and business practices are foolish. It is not about liking to do these things. No artist really likes having to be away from their painting time. Many artists don't realize that they are business people, like it or not. 

My web site is down for a little while, while I make this transition to a new platform. www.lindablondheim.com will survive and thrive again with buttons that actually work. I promise.

Life is wonderful for artists ....

Gratitude

Linda's Web Page

This is the time of year to take stock in our career and personal lives. I'm just about the luckiest person I know. I am well aware of my good fortune, mostly because of the loyal friends and family I am lucky to have. I have a lovely parcel of land which is a family heritage. My old house trailer is solid for the most part, and my sister and I continue to make small and steady improvements on it.

My studio is the best I could hope for and it belonged to my beloved Daddy as his workshop before I got it. I feel him with me each morning as I enter with gratitude. 

Most of my trail is carved through the land, though I would enjoy another extension. I love living in the woods and enjoying the wild creatures who share it with me. 

I continue to study and grow as a painter, thanks to the friends who support me with their purchases. They help me with referrals too, when their rooms get full of art, and by giving my paintings as gifts. My collectors are golden and I never can thank them enough for their priceless support. 

All in, I have a wonderful life and I'm glad it was tough before this time, so that I understand how precious this stage is for me. If I had been pampered, I would not have understood how lucky I am now and how grateful I am.

Life is wonderful for artists.....

Linda's Tea Room

Linda's Web Page

I'm having a lot of fun working on some Tea themed notecards for my tea room at my Country Studio. I'm also making place card tags to put out for visitors, a sweet little souvenir to take home after a visit. The tags are wood, shaped like a luggage tag. They come with a piece of twine. I make a tea bag image on the front, and I bought a stamp for the back that welcomes them to my Country studio. I have a couple of button jars from my Mamma and Grandma that I have had forever. I thread the twine with an old button. 

I never imagined how much fun I would have with my tea room. I started with one pot and a bunch of old cups and saucers from my Mamma's china. I served tea in the big room of my studio. Once I got the idea for a tea room, it just took off with endless ideas. I discovered that there are many tea art shops around the country and more interest in tea than I realized. Come on out for tea at my Country Studio. No charge, just fun!

Life is wonderful for artists....

Thanksgiving WEEK

Linda's Web Page

The big Thanksgiving week is over, gone in a flash. Last night I got a night's sleep and today I will clean the floors. Yesterday I saw wonderful friends at Paddiwhack Gallery and I'm grateful for their loyal support and gifts. 

I got to thinking about the dynamic of family get togethers. We are all so different in our financial positions, levels of education, faith and lifestyle choices, yet we are family and loyal to each other. If it were a permanent situation it would soon become difficult to remain harmonic, but a now and then get together works reasonably well and we love each other unconditionally.

I'm glad that the generation below mine has done a better job than my sisters and I have done in staying closer to their cousins and extended family. They make the effort to see each other and allow their children time together when possible. I have first cousins that I've not seen in forty years, sadly.

It makes me think that our society could accomplish more harmony if we would be open to differences in our relationships. I am a liberal woman, yet I have many dear friends who are conservative and even ultra conservative. It doesn't seem to bother us. We find commonalities in our love of our children, grand children, farming and ranching, our hobbies and our pets. We have learned to simply avoid issues that result in anger and polarization. We share a love in our communities and our nation.

I am hopeful that the generations behind us will do a better job than we have.

Life is wonderful for artists......

Trail 3 A

Linda's Web Page

I had a tree down across the A portion of trail three for a few weeks. I've been taking my hand saw down to the tree for a little while each day, sawing across the limbs that are blocking the trail. It has been hard labor as you can imagine, but I got enough cut off to be able to walk the trail again. This morning at 7 AM I was out the door on my way. 

It was glorious this morning, about 50 degrees. Mr Sun was just below the tree line so the light was good but not yet blinding in the east. I don't usually walk the trail on Saturday and Sunday, so it has been three days since I was there. The color change was huge, back on trail three A. The hickories are at last beginning to adorn themselves with the deep yellow gold robes of late fall. Walking through A trail, seeing that beauty in the distant light was breathtaking. I must remember to take my camera tomorrow for a shot of that lovely view. 

As I walked along the trail, I thought about why we only learn about these important understandings so late in our lives. I am doing my best work as a painter now, hopefully with more improvement to come. What if I had been this disciplined and knowledgeable about my own land and as skilled a painter when I was a pathetic painter at 25? Why do I allow myself to be so busy with other obligations when every moment I have left is so valuable as a painter and lover of the natural world? I am going to make some changes in January, to give myself more time here in the woods.

Artists have a wonderful life........

Linda's Web Page

Today I’m getting ready for a nice tea party with collectors. It made me think about artists who want to give up, feeling despair at poor sales. These collectors had dropped off my radar a few years ago for some odd reason. Artists meet thousands of people every year and collectors come and go. One of these ladies happened to come to my last party in October. I had not seen her in about 6 years. She is so nice, I’m glad she came. She wanted to come back in November with her sisters and so they will arrive for a nice tea party today.

I think some artists think negatively during slow times. They don’t realize that this is part of the cycle of being an artist or being in any business for that matter. They don’t have faith in themselves or their work. They end up in a downward spiral which is hard to get out of, once you have that mind set. I have had up and down times like every other artist in my long career, but I never let it cripple me. When times are slow, I spend more time in front of the easel, to expand my skills. I must learn new technique and improve my work if I want to sell in this highly competitive market. I spend more time connecting with my collectors. I spend more time marketing so that when the good sales arrive, I am ready. Each night before I drift off to sleep, I say to myself “I will sell a painting tomorrow”.

One problem I see for emerging artists, is that they try to get into the business too soon. This is a real problem in many ways. They do not have the business acumen to succeed. Their paintings are not really good enough yet to have wide appeal. Their friends and relatives tell them to sell before they have earned that ability. Many baby boomers have jumped into the art business as a hobbyist before they are ready.

Most artists, especially women, don’t really have to sell their work. They are retired from a steady job, they are married to a successful spouse, they have an inheritance to live on. There are few like me, who can actually live on art sales alone. It can be a hard road with many disappointments, but if one is positive and has faith, ability, and a solid work ethic, it is possible and loads of fun.

Artists have a wonderful life……

Back Roads Color

Linda’s Web Page

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....