A Complete Success-The new Smyrna Residency

My New Smyrna Residency

I just returned from my first 2012 residency with Mary Jane Volkmann. She will tell you her own story. Thanks so much to Louann Hall who made this all possible. She gave us the keys to her vacation home in New Smyrna and wished us a happy stay. I am so grateful to her for her generous hospitality and for her very fine home. We were very comfortable there. It was convenient to all parts of the city. We enjoyed dinner out at the Garlic Restaurant one night dining alfresco on the patio which was filled with tiny lights and lush tropical plantings. What a treat. We also enjoyed an evening at the famous Stavros Pizza where we indulged ourselves with Greek salads and spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. We packed a lunch each day for our many adventures into the wilds of Canaveral Seashore, Merritt Island National Wild Life Preserve, Spruce Creek Preserve , a lovely park north of New Smyrna, and the famous Ormond Beach Loop. We packed many miles into our four day residency from one end of Volusia County to the other. Each night we stretched our muscles with a walk around the neighborhood, oohing and ahhing over the charming vintage homes. New Smyrna Beach is a lovely graceful city, retaining all of it’s charming architecture  from the past.

I will be posting a bit about each place we visited here on the blog, along with many photos and images of the paintings as I complete them. I did start an 18x24 inch painting of the Merritt Island preserve and will finish it shortly to show you here and on my web site soon.

Linda on the Ormond Beach Loop

Sorry, I can't make this photo of Mary Jane and me rotate.

Our house for the week

More to Come.....

Linda Blondheim

OutdoorPainter.com | 6 Artists Paint 6 Florida Prairies | Home of Plein Air Magazine

OutdoorPainter.com | 6 Artists Paint 6 Florida Prairies | Home of Plein Air Magazine

Linda's Fair Oaks Mini Residency 01/08/12

Field One

8x10 inches

acrylic on birch panel

alla prima on location

Notes From My Fair Oaks Residence Journal

I leave for my New Smyrna Residency tomorrow morning. Today I was lucky to have a few hours at Fair Oaks where I am an Artist in Residence. It could not have been more lovely. This is Florida at it's best. Every time I go to FO I see a completely different world. I have observed the gradual change from summer to fall, and now I begin to see the transition to winter, or what I like to call "Wintering in at Fair Oaks". The colorful cadmiums of oranges, golds and rust reds are gradually ending now, replaced by numerous shades of gray, dusty blue and mauve . The gray purples are moving in that Mary Jane loves so much. The winter rye has just been planted so we will soon have an impossibly emerald green field that is so striking in winter. Winter is my favorite at Fair Oaks so I am really excited about our week long residency there the end of February. The perfect time in Florida's most beautiful painting place.

I did this little painting this morning in Field One. Studio dog Henry came along to keep me company and enjoy the birds and smells of the land. We are happy painting companions.

Lunch was served alfresco in the shade with real table linens. We feasted on Paninis, Chicken/cheese/rosemary sausage, fresh fruit salad, sliced tomatoes, and homemade key lime pie, made with key limes from the Fair Oaks grove.

Is it any wonder I love Fair Oaks so much?

Linda Blondheim

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

Our Next Residency

New Smyrna Waves

Notes From my Residency Journal

We will soon be on our way to New Smyrna Beach for a week's residency thanks to our generous host Louann Hall. We will be using her beach house for the week of January 9-14, 2012. What a great way to start the new year with a week in my favorite beach town. Mary Jane and I will be painting around town in various locations. I love to paint the waves down on Flagler Avenue under the pavilion, stopping to have breakfast at the Beacon Restaurant. We will explore the National Seashore as well and a place she likes to go. I will spend a fair amount of time painting at Spruce Creek and at JB's Fish Camp too. I'm looking forward to our time there and I expect we will visit with friends who live there as well. I am really looking forward to this opportunity. I'll be posting photos and stories from our adventure so stay tuned.

Linda Blondheim

Our February Residency House

The House at Fair Oaks

I like to show the houses we stay in for residencies. This photo was taken by Fair Oaks resident photographer, Magda. This old house is wonderful. The huge porches on both stories are much used by guests. The floors are wide wood planking and the rooms are very tall. There is a room upstairs with easels for artists to use. It will soon be under construction for restoration, though I love it as it is. Mary Jane and I are looking forward to our next week long residency there from February 19-27th, 2012.

Linda's Mini Residency 12/04/2011

The Orchard

Fair Oaks has an impressive orchard with a variety of citrus fruits. Rick helped me gather a crate full to take home.

As Henry and I drove around the farm in our golf cart, we found these young cows. The neighbor's cattle invaded. Who can blame them? I want to live there too.

Rick keeps the bonfire under control. Each time I go, there is a new activity. It's always fun to discover the plan for the day. A place this big needs constant care and it is lovingly provided by Rick and his team of college boys who put in long hours of labor there.

Today's plein air painting. It's always fun to study painting at Fair Oaks. Henry naps beside me in the cart and I listen to the Sandhill Cranes and the crows as they fly overhead. Today I saw a paint of Bald Eagles. They are much bigger than they look in the sky. Beautiful and majestic.

For lunch we had Venison Italian sausage, hunted and made by farm manager Mark. It was really delish!! What a treat. We ate alfresco and enjoyed looking at the trees and watching the clouds go by. There is nothing I would rather do than be at Fair Oaks. I am so lucky that they put up with me.