Buddy's Birthday!! August 3, 2014

Buddy and Shane with their Daddy

I love Sweet Buddy

Chris with Buddy

Cloud Beauty

The new generator

Mark moving dirt

 

Linda's Art

 

Notes From My Residency Journal

Today was a special event. We celebrated Buddy's 15th birthday. Buddy is the gentleman of Fair Oaks.  He is incredibly sweet and kind. I haved learned a lot about good character being around Buddy and Shane, the Border Collies who own Fair Oaks. Buddy shared his party with Shane. They got to have balloons, birthday cards, doggie treats, hot dogs and cake with ice cream. There was even a Happy Birthday banner around the room. 

We all had a wonderful party and after lunch we got into the golf carts for a ride around the beautiful fields. It was a day of fun and celebration, one I won't forget. One of the perks of being an artist in residence is that I often get to be a part of the celebrations and parties at Fair Oaks. The people and dogs there are family to me and I treasure them.

I noticed how beautiful the clouds were as we rode along. When we returned, I grabbed my camera and made another round through the fields to take lots of cloud photos. Great fun, but really hot! August has arrived.

I headed for my studio with happy memories of a swell day at beloved Fair Oaks. 

 

Fair Oaks Mini Residency- June 22

I finished this painting at the Fair Oaks studio today.

The Summer Grasses

Reference photo for my next 40x60 inch painting

Notes From My Residency Journal

I arrived today at Fair Oaks and met the newest staff member Becky. She is very sweet and is to take care of Buddy and Shane, my sweet canine friends. After a great cup of coffee, I headed out for a short trip around the fields to take some reference photos for a large painting to come. The grasses seeded out and turned a rusty color as they dried. The fields are a lovely rich green from the rainy season. The birds are everywhere as well as the insects. All is beautiful at Fair Oaks.

I headed upstairs to work on the above painting. I have 2 or three paintings in production at the Fair Oaks Studio most of the time. I start one in my painting studio and then take it to Fair Oaks on Sunday to continue on Sundays. It gives me time away from the paintings for a week so I can look at them with fresh eyes and new ideas the following week. 

The lunch bell rang and I headed to a delicious beef stew, vegetable and salad. Magda and Sebastian arrived and I'm always happy to spend time with them. I headed back up to the studio to finish my painting and then steared Leroy toward my own studio after a swell day in paradise. 

Fair Oaks Mini Residency - March 30, 2014

East Hay Field

5x7 inches

Oil on panel

Notes From my Residency Journal

I was quite productive today, finishing four small paintings in the east hay field. During the rain season, it is the only field dry enough to paint in. Luckily, I love painting there. There are lots of tall pines and big live oaks as well as cabbage palms so there is plenty to paint. 

The day was exceptionally lovely and cool. I wore my hoodie all day and was very comfortable all day. This is the painting weather all outdoor painters wish for and we seldom get this lucky. 

Lunch was delicious, BBQ chicken with green beans and tots. Yummy. I finished my last painting around 4 PM and headed for the coffee machine first and then the picnic table to read email. 

At 6 PM we started a lovely party for a birthday/anniversary for Magda and Sebastian. We enjoyed steak, baked sweet potatoes, grilled goat cheese stuffed tomatoes, and crudités as a pre-dinner snack. We had two huge cakes and ice cream for dessert. We were entertained by a young violinist who played very well indeed. One of the perks of being part of the Fair Oaks family is being invited to attend the marvelous parties there. 

Lovely flowers from the Fair Oaks garden.

Chef Mark and Sebastian

The girls enjoy a chat.

After a fine day in paradise, I headed for home. 

Mini Residency at Fair Oaks Part Two- March 23

Floor Mats

Mirrors and a canopy!

Notes From My Residency Journal

Yay for me, I was allowed to stay for the whole weekend at Fair Oaks. We have new golf carts. It's very exciting. These are my new wheels ( at least for a day) far too fancy for a country girl like me but I could get used to this Surrey  with the Fringe on Top. It has two back up mirrors, turn signals, a splash guard window, floor mats and a seat with no holes in it. It even has little baskets to hold little things. The other new cart is a 6 seater to drive visitors around. A step up in the world of transportation at Fair Oaks. 

I decided to paint up in the studio this morning. I wanted to finish up my demo painting from the Oak Hammock party yesterday.  I did a little 5x7 marsh painting too, using my IPad reference photo. There is nothing like painting in this studio. I love staying in the old house. I feel so happy there. All of the stresses of the real  world fade away the instant I arrive. 

After a great BBQ lunch, I headed down to the big pond to enjoy watching the beautiful water birds who have returned as the pond has risen. I saw egrets, Great Blue a Herons and the smaller herons, a deeper blue with the bluefish beaks, about a third smaller than the Great Blues. 

The clouds built up for coming rain and it was time to saddle up Leroy and ride home after a weekend in paradise. 

Fair Oaks Residency Wrap Up

Holy Ground Field

20x24 inches

Oil on canvas

Notes From My Residency Journal

I was treated to a marvelous dinner at The Yearling Restaurant by my kind host on Saturday night. What a treat and it was such a pleasant evening with the Fair Oaks staff and friends. 

Today was beautiful, cool but not cold with lots of sun. I finished the above painting, started on Saturday out in the field, up in the studio and then gradually packed Leroy. I also enjoyed sitting out on the upstairs porch in the warm sun. 

Lunch was served alfresco in the covered pavilion down by the little pond. The views were lovely and we enjoyed sandwiches and salad from Blue Highway. It is one of my favorite places to eat. I have been thoroughly spoiled with outstanding hospitality for an entire week. After lunch I said my goodbyes with regret and headed for my studio with fond memories. 

I am announcing a studio move this week. I will give you the details shortly. I will be moving with Paddiwhack Gallery to a new space in the next two weeks. I will no longer be in a loft space so the studio will be more convenient for everyone with no stairs.  

Fair Oaks Residency Saturday

Huge full moon rising on Friday night.

Homemade Walking Sticks

Notes From My Residency Journal

I started the day upstairs in the studio working on an 18x24 canvas today. I wanted to leave the cart for the staff to use. They have begun to plant the trees that arrived earlier in the week. I always enjoy the studio upstairs. There is also an upstairs porch, sunny and welcoming on a cold day like this one. 

The lunch bell rang and I joined the staff for BBQ chicken, ribs, cole slaw baked beans and then pie for dessert. Wow! What a feast.  I found out there is a new golf cart coming to replace old blue. I won't come near it with my messy paints, but it will free up the one I use now more often, so I am thrilled! The cart I use has a little metal plate on it with #55. I will call it that.  It runs great and is practically new looking now that the seat holes are covered. 

Tomorrow I will clean the house, pack my car and head for my own studio after lunch. I can't tell you how much I will miss my time here this week. It has been a spectacular residency!

I will be moving to a new studio space with Paddiwhack Gallery in the next two weeks. It will  be difficult to leave my current cozy space, but who knows, the new one may be even better.

More adventures to come from paradise.

Fair Oaks Residency- Friday

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Notes From My Residency Journal

I got out to paint around 8:30 this morning. The light was swell today after the front moved through last night. I got two 5x7 studies in oil. You can see where I dropped one face down in pine bark. I will let it dry a bit and carefully brush it off. It has been some time since I did small ones and I enjoyed the immediacy of the small format. I have completed 11.5 paintings this week.

My friend Mary Jane Volkmann, fabulous painter, arrived in time for lunch. We lived it up at Pearl Country Store, eating sweet potato fries, collard greens, chicken for her and a burger for me. It was great to get a hot meal. 

After lunch we jumped into my trusty golf cart and headed around the fields. It is very wet now so we got stuck twice, but were able to push it out together. We saw several birds including Robins and could hear a few Sand Hills still scattered about, but many fewer than the first few days of the week. 

At the end of our adventure, we picked some citrus fruit for her to take home and enjoy. The groves here are impressive. There is an old orange tree on the edge of Collins Field that has especially sweet oranges, and I enjoyed one today by reaching across the fence for it. 

I have two more glorious days for this week and I will enjoy them more than I can say. This was the best time ever and I always say that! If I could live out the rest of my days here at FO I would be content in every way.

Fair Oaks Residency- Day 5

Palms

8x10 inches

Oil on panel

East Hay Field

12x12 inches

Oil on canvas

Notes From My Residency Journal

The fair weather is over for a couple of days. I struggled to get two paintings despite the dreary day. Tomorrow I will paint upstairs and stay warm.  I have a large seascape painting waiting for me, and the studio has heat and a nice radio. A wonderful place to hang around in to paint. I love the old house. It is charming and cozy. It always feels like home for me. 

Today was dark and atmospheric, always a challenge to me. Some painters love that look but I am a high contrast painter by nature, and I like a warm palette. The cool grays, blues and greens are harder. This climate is good for me because I must paint out of my comfort zone. I love the challenge. 

It is already mid week. Where does the time go? 

Fair Oaks Residency- Day Three

Pond View

8x10

Oil on panel

Oaks and Palmettoes

12x16 inches

Oil on canvas

Notes From My Residency Journal

The best thing that ever happened to me was my discovery of Fair Oaks almost seven years ago. For a north Florida native, there is no better place. It has all of the elements that touch my heart. These giant Live Oak trees and Cabbage palms reach deeply into my soul. 

I've been watching and listening to the cranes circling up for there migration soon to come. I wish they would stay year round. There is a pair who live here year round. I love to creep up on them slowly. They know I'm behind them and stay just ahead of me, then burst into flight!

Last night Mark, the land  manager and do everything man, hauled in a trailer full of new trees, including several kinds of oak trees, long leaf pines, and a red cedar. They look so pretty bundled together, standing tall and proud.  He has an idea to put my favorite field three into planted pines and native grasses. I think it will be so pretty and I love to paint pines. I hope he will leave the path around the edge of the field for me. 

One of the things I love the most here, are the hidey holes, portals between fields, and the lanes hidden from casual observation. They are like the secret spaces of my childhood in my parents' yard. I would have stockpiles of food and toys hidden away there and spent hours exploring. 

I have gotten used to a new golf cart now that old blue is gone. This was the first one I used when I started painting here. This afternoon Chris and I did some repair to the holes in the seat and it is tip top now! It has my official paint on the seat so I am happy. I need to find a new head ornament. It used to have a cow scull wired on but it fell off at some point. I will need to find something. 

The time is racing by. I wish I could slow it down. I always hate to leave paradise. 

Crystal River Residency Day 5 07/28/12

Wildlife Park Sign

Bald Eagle

Flamingoes

Manatee

Notes From My Residency Journal

Friday was my last day of exploring the nature coast of Florida. I started with bacon and eggs at Grannys Restaurant and then headed over to the Homosassa Wildlife Park which is a state park of Florida. I saved this for last because it is a favorite place for me. This is a theme park like the early ones in Florida. It is more like the places I remember from childhood. No fireworks or theme park stuff. It is a good zoo. There are winding paved paths along the way through the exhibits. Lots of benches line the shaded paths and it is really pleasant and interesting.

 I saw all kinds of birds, amphibians, reptiles, and of course Manatees. There is a deep underground observation room under the springs. I saw all kinds of fish and Manatees, as well as an alligator and river otter display. The most interesting exhibit was the reptile room where native Florida snakes are housed in lit terrariums. I loved closely observing the venomous snakes, which I have seen in the wild. It was good to see them up close so that I will recognize them immediately if I stumble upon one.  I also enjoyed the many birds on display, including Ibis, Blue heron, Screech owls, swans, and colorful Flamingos.

The park is located off US 19 one block before the Visitor’s Center. Turn right at the Hardees intersection and then left at the park sign. The price is 13.00 but my AAA membership made it 10.60. It was a good trip.

I started a painting on the back porch after lunch but it was really hot, 94 degrees on the shaded porch. I will definitely finish this one in my cool studio.

Today I clean the house, do the laundry and pack up to head for home tonight. It is time for the Olympics, so it’s time to get home and enjoy that. On August 14^th, Shark Week starts on the Discovery channel, and I never miss that either. Painting will be sporadic for the next few weeks. I’ll be glued to the TV for a while.

I have enjoyed this residency so much. I got a lot of research done and some terrific reference photos to use back in my cool studio.

 I’m very grateful to my sponsor Linda Daly for making this wonderful experience possible.

 As always, more to come….

Crystal River Reidency Day 1 07/23/12

The Daly's beautiful home on the marshes.

Marsh view from their back porch.

Their beautiful palms in the back yard.

Daly marsh view

5x7 inches

acrylic on panel

Notes From My Residency Journal

I arrived in no time in Crystal River after exploring the Chassowiska River Preserve on state road 24, just east of US 19. It was an interesting place but I spent little time there due to the hordes of mosquitos in the area. There are challenges in doing a mid- summer residency in Florida.

Crystal River is a charming small city on the west coast of Florida. The downtown area has lots of boutique style shops and a very nice waterfront area with a park.

When I arrived at my home I was completely thrilled. The house is upstairs over the carport. There are a couple of nice closed rooms underneath the house, one a workshop and the other a nice gardening shed. The house is lovely with wide heart pine plank floors, polished to a mirror finish. It is surrounded by balconies and a deep screened porch which gives a fantastic view of the marshes. Naturally I got set up on the screened porch with my paint box and got to work. I completed a 5x7 study of the marsh as a warm up for the day. Late in the afternoon, I got a start on a 9x12 painting,

Tomorrow I will find a good breakfast restaurant and then head out to the state park next to my neighborhood to look around and take reference photos. I have the idea that most of my actual painting time will be spent on the screened porch. There is a nice fan out there and more importantly, no bugs.

More adventure to come…..

Mini Fair Oaks Residency 07/15/2012

The Pond

5x7 inches

acrylic on panel

The Pond

Field One Clouds

Purple Flowers

Fairy House

Notes From My Residency Journal

I headed out to Fair Oaks early today. Rick was just getting ready to hurry off to get supplies for his new pontoon boat. Yay!! Pontoon boat gives me visions of painting in the boat. Let the begging commence!! 

 The heat has become problematic for painting late in the day. Afternoon storms come up suddenly as the heat and humidity rises.  I took a quick turn around the fields on arrival as I love to do. There are constant changes between my visits which might not be noticeable to a person unfamiliar with nature. 

There is a primal quality to Florida in the summer. A more ominous feel to the land. It seems to become more wild in the hot months. The sea of knee to waist high weeds and grasses make me wonder what is lurking in the grass, waiting for me to step out of the cart. The pond has returned in it's glory, and that brings Moccasins back, so I must be more careful. Also the Poison Ivy and clouds of mosquitoes are challenging. 

 Surprisingly, the heat has not bothered me much this year. I am able to do at least one small painting on each visit and take many good reference photos. As much as I love being there year round, I long for fall and winter to come, with its rich color, texture, and low humidity. Just a few more months before Fair Oaks will be in its full glory. I'm sure the staff and the dogs, Buddy and Shane look forward to fall. Henry does too. He misses Fair Oaks so much in the summer. He loves Rick, Buddy and Shane and so do I.

An important residency

I was recently graced with illness.  I say graced because once I got over being upset about having to down tools and do nothing but rest and recover (and graze on maple cookies, go figure), I shifted into another gear.  I went on an important residency of mind, of spirit, of thought and of reflection.  Much of my time over the past years has been spent at events, painting specific places for a specific purpose.  Don't get me wrong ~ I enjoy that very much.  However, I realize that the window of time is becoming statistically shorter and I need to make critical decisions about where and what I want to paint.  I am particularly drawn to water, particularly to the marshes, the sea and the rivers.  Perhaps that is because I am intrigued with the reflection of light on the water and what happens when the slightest breeze ripples the surface.  I am also drawn to vast, open landscapes such as we had in Namibia, with their seeming view to eternity.  I have drawn up a personal list of places I want to find a way to visit for a week or two so I can get out with my canvas and paints at different times of day to record the amazing changes that take place ~ so often unnoticed.  Painting on location puts me in direct touch with a very special inner place of peace and I intend spending more time there. (If you have a view of these places you'd like to share, please let us know). 

At the end of this year I have a three person exhibition of paintings of the Barrier Islands.  I have been privileged to stay as Artist in Residence on Sapelo Island and absolutely loved it!  I'll be posting more during the year about my adventures there, and I'll be posting more stories about other residencies as well.  Meanwhile I'm back at my easel and am loving it!

~Mary Jane