Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Mini Residency at Fair Oaks - June 23, 2013
Mystery Bamboo
Beautiful Holy Ground Field
My 16x20 painting in progress. I will finish this in the studio.
Notes From My Residency Journal
I hurried off to Fair Oaks this morning anticipating a short day there. The forecast called for sunshine in the morning and rain by afternoon. I arrived to a glorious morning by 9 AM and headed out to the fields and my world of joy. I spent two hours on the above painting, so it will just need a few tweaks and adjustments in the studio to finish it properly. I decided to pack up my painting gear at 11 AM and spend the rest of my time wandering the fields and taking a few reference photos.
Exploring Fair Oaks is really my favorite pastime there. The subtle changes that occur are fascinating. Week to week, season to season, and year to year, I am captivated by this land. It is ever new and challenging for me as a painter. Fair Oaks isn't so much a place as it is a breath of life for all who find themselves there. It is owned by no one, instead relying on the stewards who live there for a time. Fair Oaks owns all of us who spend any time there. It sucks us in like a sponge and it reveals its magic gradually, in subtle layers. It is both delicate and refined and crude. The textures of Fair Oaks are deep, like the roots of the mighty trees who grow there. The culture and flavor of Fair Oaks is unique.
Fair Oaks allows me time to think and to process my work. It has become my muse as a painter. I was raised to value the natural world and so my time at Fair Oaks is precious to me. Understanding the rhythm and life of the land is so important for a landscape painter. To fully understand my subject I must spend time immersed in the places I paint. It is no accident that I sell more paintings of Fair Oaks than any other subject. Our work reflects what we most love as artists.
Many thanks to my sponsors for the residencies around my beloved Florida and especially for the opportunity at Fair Oaks.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Fair Oaks Mini Residency - June 16, 2013
Live Oak in Field One
Carpet of white flowers in Field One.
White Flowers
Notes From My Residency Journal
It has been about 3 weeks since I've been to Fair Oaks, so I was anxious to arrive this morning. A day of sunshine at last!! I decided to bring the custom canvas I've been waiting for to start on a commission. I painted upstairs in the studio of the old house. I have three studios where I paint regularly. My studio at home is a concrete block building with concrete floors and no frills. It is where I do large paintings. My loft studio is small and cozy upstairs over Paddiwhack Gallery in the city. The third studio at Fair Oaks, is one I share with other artists who work there from time to time. It is my favorite of course, because it is special. It has a long history from the 1890's to present. The light is wonderful, streaming in from tall sash windows with slightly wavy glass. Today I borrowed the Boze Radio from another room and listened to Bob Edwards weekend edition on the PBS station while I worked on my commission. I'm hoping the radio can just sort of move in with me if I leave it there long enough ;-). Next fall perhaps the Keurig coffee machine downstairs, will sort of magically move up to the studio ;-) "Gee, I wonder how that happened?" will be my response when no one can find it.
I took a break about lunch time and wandered over to have a wonderful lunch of yummy salad with feta cheese, pecans and blackberries and pizza from Blue Highway Restaurant, one of my favorite places. I am so very spoiled at Fair Oaks, no wonder I don't travel far from it.
I headed back upstairs to paint for another hour after lunch. When the painting got too wet, I packed up, cleaned up the studio and headed out in my favorite blue golf cart for an afternoon of exploration. It is only in summer that you truly realize how wild Florida really is.Florida is a jungle. The fields are knee high with beautiful grasses and the white carpets of wild flowers. The beautifully groomed woods of last fall and winter have been overtaken by shade plants, growing into the paths so carefully tended last year. I don't even think about attempting to drive out on Fish Prairie in the summer, a true swamp and jungle this time of year. The dog fennel and tiny trees are growing up in field three now. Today I saw a magnificent bird in field two. He stayed for a long time swirling and diving into the field with such lovely grace. I believe it was a Kite, the biggest one I have ever seen.
We are well into the summer season now, still pleasant in the shade. Soon the brutal heat of August will arrive, making it difficult to spend much time painting the fields. I will then move to the painting studio in the old house on my days there.
As always, Fair Oaks is the best place to be.
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