Welcome to My Project!

I was born and raised in Florida. After many years of travel, attending plein air paint outs, I discovered that residencies are the best way to explore the natural world I love. Working for an extended period from seven to ten days really enhances my painting experience. I am lucky to have friends and collectors who make it possible to explore the exciting and interesting locations I love to paint. Supporters provide their unoccupied vacation homes or hotel lodging for my residencies throughout the year. I am always delighted to leave an original framed painting for them as my thanks for their generous gift. If you would like to sponsor a residency, I would love to hear from you.
Contact me at: linda@lindablondheim.com

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

My Residency at Fair Oaks in Evinston, FL February 2012



Notes From my Fair Oaks Artist Residency

I spend as much time as I can painting at Fair Oaks. I try to go about twice a month, on Sundays, my only day out of the studio. I learned how important a week long residency is for growth as a painter. When you live in a place for a week or more you learn so much more. There is a rythm to the land that isn't possible to understand when you are there for a few hours. To really understand a place you must spend time there without stress, pressure, or timelines. A residency allows you to settle into the land and begin to notice so much more.

 During my time, I saw a King Fisher trying to catch his dinner, a Red Tailed hawk, listened to the owls at night, and saw lots of animal tracks around the back fields. Flowers began to bloom and trees began to bud out in the week I was there. I settled into a routine of drinking my coffee on the porch in the morning, painting until noon, taking a break for lunch and then heading back out into the fields for afternoon painting each day. Late in the afternoon I would shower and dress and head down to the pond to feed the fish and enjoy the birds. The little pond is stocked with all kinds of fish and turtles and I enjoyed seeing the big cat fish come up for their evening snack. Some are Albinos. There are lovely benches where I could relax and read my emails for the day, listening to the birds, and enjoying time with Shane, my canine friend. About six PM the Sandhill cranes would pay a visit. Days started early and ended early. I never slept better than I did at Fair Oaks. I left all of my cares at the end of the driveway.

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