Birding

 

BIRDING

My bird adventure continued this morning as I walked along. I was first greeted by a chorus of Sand Hill cranes hooting along in rhythm from my neighbors large wetlands. It was a marvelous chaotic symphony, rather like a modern composer would write.

Next came the song birds warming up, accompanied by the two silly roosters who live next door. One is a tone deaf tenor, they other a baritone. These roosters are hilarious and completely inept. They try to herd the hens around, who completely ignore them. Definitely southern, as we ladies do that to most men here in the south. 

The final adventure was the most exciting. I have learned to approach the front porch quietly so as not to disturb the nesting wren family. As I approached, three wren burst out of the nest, two ladies and one gentleman. Evidently the second female had tried to horn in on the existing nest, not realizing it was occupied. The pair gave her what for in no uncertain terms! While they were in the trees cursing each other, I got a peek in the nest to see at least two tiny eggs.

 

Country artists love birds…..

Residencies

 I've been very lucky to have several artist residencies on private estates, condos on the coast and homes over the last 10 years. I became restless and tired of the paint out system abut 7 years ago. I decided to pursue private residencies and artist retreats instead. It was the best decision for me. 

 Private residencies allowed me to explore an area at my leisure and own schedule. I don't have to paint for the crowds or be shuffled around to places I don't want to paint. The only thing I miss about paint outs is the friends I made along the way. 

 I had a wonderful residency at a private estate near me for 8 years. it was the best of all. The estate was 160 acres of prime Florida. No livestock. Everything from wet lands to upland. Huge live oak trees, tall pines, beautiful palms,and many large hardwoods. Beautiful citrus groves. Many native birds and animals. It was paradise. I learned much I know about land management and conservation during my tenure there. 

 Another favorite was my occasional stay at my host's condo in St Augustine Beach. That one was divine. I have several painting friends in that area who are always happy to meet to paint together. it is beach front and lovely. I like to go down to the pier to hang around and watch the fishermen. I know where all the good restaurants are for breakfast, and it is a sweet little beach town. 

 My third favorite residency was in Vero Beach, provided by my wonderful host. It was waterfront, with a balcony porch right off the dock. I could sit out and drink my coffee, watching the dolphins and manatees. 

 Life is very good when country painters have generous friends who share their vacation homes and farms with artists. 

Busy Busy

 I’ve had a very busy couple of months this year. Lots of tea party guests. I bought an apartment sized refrigerator for my studio. It arrives on Thursday. Everything in the room is pushed to one side for now. 

I am showing in a new gallery for me, in Greenville, SC. I shipped six paintings to them today. It looks like a nice little gallery. It opened in 2019 so it has survived through Covid years. A good sign.

 

Tomorrow I hope to get out to the studio to make a batch of paper. I am trying a new method of drying the pages on some interface fabric instead of couching sheets. A friend told me the pages would come right off the fabric without tearing or sticking. I am anxious to try it. I bought a bolt of fabric, and I’ve been trying to find the time.

 

country painters stay busy…..

Second Studio

 My first away from home studio was in Ybor City, the old part of Tampa in an old cigar factory. It was a very old building. I was on the third floor in a loft with a couple of other art students. There was no heating or air conditioning. The fold out windows allowed pigeons to enter the building, so there were droppings around the edges of the room where they roosted on the window ledges. I soon learned to stay in the middle of my space, away from the windows. The floors were wood planks. We froze in the winter and broiled in the summer. 

 

 

I loved that studio. it was vast with incredibly high ceilings. The rent was about 40.00 a month. We thought of ourselves as the elite of the art student world. After all, we had studios off campus. I remember that the entrance floor of the factory had mosaic tile laid in the name of the factory and it was so pretty. The neighborhood was Cuban and there were many shops and tiny cafes where you could get wonderful food for very little money. We loved to hang around there after painting sessions. There were also street bodegas where they sold deep fried crab cakes with hot sauce. They were the best I ever tasted and I long for them to this day.

Studios

 I don't think there is any place more important to a painter than their studio. My first studio was in the old closed in porch at my first house. I was eight years old. I did a lot of drawing and painting with tempera and watercolor paints. The ones in the tin box with the brush. I believe the brand was Prang. I set up card tables around the room and held classes for the neighborhood kids. My fee was a candy bar.

 We studied horses and flowers. We would go out in the yard and bring in flowers, limbs and acorns to practice with, and I had several horse books for reference materials. It wasn't far different than the classes I taught more recently the exception that I actually know how to draw and paint now. I believe that was the beginning of my life long career in art and my amateur role as a naturalist. My relationship to my studios is an important part of my life as a painter. 

Country painters love their studios….. 

Tired, But Onward

 It is easy to be too tired to right the world. I’ll be 72 in June. I do get tired. I take an afternoon rest now in between my working sessions. It restores me to go forward with my day. I work six days a week to run my own business. Most of my peers are retired, doing as they please. I’ll never retire. I like painting.

 It is very easy to be tired of the politics swirling around us. I no longer watch much of the news, as it is depressing for me. Politics wears us down into numbness. Left, right, or moderate, there are always going to be ugly politics. I would like it if more people studied history. I have learned that in every era of politics, there have been ugly, nefarious plots going on. There have been incompetents running the world since the cave men. I don’t think our thoughts and actions should be about our political persuasions.

 Instead, they should be about the business of being decent, honest and kind  toward each other. I have many conservative friends. We treat each other with respect, find common interests, and value our friendships. We find ways to improve our little part of the world together, without politics.

 It is easy to wring our hands about the ills of the world and do nothing. It is too easy to ignore bad behavior, instead of making an effort to behave honorably ourselves. Every kindness we extend matters. Every bit of respect and positive effort we give matters. Every penny we donate to positive and decent organizations matters.

 Protests look impressive, but I would rather use my energy supporting the natural world organizations, and the organizations who support human decency, than to stand around with signs. We cannot change minds with anger and hatred. We can change minds with kindness welcoming others into our circle. One day at a time, one friend at a time matters. I won’t let being tired stop me from using all my potential.

 Life is wonderful for artists…..

Partnership of Art and Food

 Some of you know that I was a professional chef for 13 years. I was raising two little girls on my own and needed a predictable income, though I still did art too.

That skill set has really helped me as an artist in terms of entertaining guests to my studio. My tea parties have thrived with fun eats and great tea.The most popular teas are cranberry blood orange, ginger peach, and blueberry green. 

I found two new recipes this week I am going to try out for the parties. One is sweet potato bread. The other is brie and orange marmalade baked in puff pastry. 

I'm going to make lovely cream cheese sandwiches with the bread. I regularly add good recipes to the parties. At one party, I served brownies, fresh fruit, and corned beef pate' on rye crackers topped with pickles and tomatoes. Lately I have been making charcuterie boards with genuine white chocolate bark. Another favorite with guests are my homemade chicken pot pies. 

In my view, food and art are a great marriage. People are tired of the wine and cheese thing. They want real food. I stopped serving alcohol at my parties about 10 years ago. No one seems to miss it. The best part of that decision is that the people who used to come only for the free booze and food, no longer come, wasting everyone's time. There was a guy who came to every art opening in town, never talking to anyone or looking at art, leaving after he drank free wine and food. He no longer comes to my parties. Lucky for me!

Artists have a wonderful life......

Our World Now

 We do what we are able to in difficult times. I think it is all important to keep a positive outlook in any circumstances. 

 

Finding small ways to succeed become more important than ever. I realized yesterday that we have been dealing with  Covid for nearly 3 years. Remember when that seemed unthinkable? We adjusted our lives to it and 1 million US deaths later, we still have hope for an end. We have learned to live with masks, no longer going places unless we need to. We see our friends and family on FaceTime and Zoom now.

 

When we are hit by ill health or big changes to our lives, we adjust. I try to do a little work every day at my desk. I do little drawings and paintings at my design table, and make paper collages, though I’m not able to paint as much now. I always know that I will find my way back to my beloved routine. 

 

Keeping a work schedule helps me avoid despair. A purposeful life is the most important thing I can do. Now that we are in a new year, we must move our minds forward to a purposeful place as well. We all have influence in our circle of friends. Let’s use that wisely in positive ways.

 

Life is swell for country painters.....

Tree Love

 Ya’ll know how much I love trees. I have been studying and painting them for many years. I have taught many a workshop on painting trees in my career. Yesterday I read this in my Science Daily report:

 

 

“A new study involving more than 100 scientists from across the globe and the largest forest database yet assembled estimates that there are about 73,000 tree species on Earth, including about 9,200 species yet to be discovered.The global estimate is about 14% higher than the current number of known tree species. Most of the undiscovered species are likely to be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution, the study shows.

That makes the undiscovered species especially vulnerable to human-caused disruptions such as deforestation and climate change, according to the study authors, who say the new findings will help prioritize forest conservation efforts.”

 

I think this is good news for trees, though they face many challenges. People have the idea that trees are just like statues. In fact they have fascinating lives. They have communication skills with each other and are highly adaptable to their position in the natural world. They provide us with shelter, shade, the oxygen we breathe and have been witness to every occurrence throughout history. I only hope they can survive our careless disregard.

 

Country painters love trees…

Etsy Fun

 I opened an Etsy last week to show my bird drawings. I’m having some fun getting started. It is complicated and has a learning curve but I am working on improving it a bit each day. The biggest problem I have is the photos. I can’t figure out how to get them positioned correctly in the thumbnail slots. They often show the middle of the bird instead of the head. It is weird. 

 

The shop is called BlondheimBirdArt. If you get a chance, check it out. I had two sales in the first week, so I’m pleased. I raised my prices to 22.00  to cover fees. I will see how the shop goes for awhile. It is fun to try new things.

 

 

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlondheimBirdArt