Fair Oaks Mini Residency-June 29, 2014

New Bird Houses at Fair Oaks

Skies are amazing at Fair Oaks

Mark is removing Hyasynths from the big pond to open up the water.

East Hay Field Study

8x10 inches

Acrylic on panel

Notes From My Residency Journal

I spent most of my day in the cool upstairs studio at Fair Oaks. It feels wonderful up there. The AC was already on when I arrived. Most of my generation grew up with limited air conditioning as children. We are used to the heat. My truck is ancient. It has no AC so summer is pretty brutal for me while driving. To walk into that studio is really wonderful after a hot trip from my studio to Fair Oaks. 

Today I got a good start on a new 24x24 inch painting of the pond area behind the old house. It is swell to work one day a week on these paintings at Fair Oaks. No rush and a more thoughtful process with that method. Today, I finished two other paintings and brought them home to my own studio for framing. 

Soon, Mark came to collect me for lunch. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, cowboy beans, and two pies for dessert. I chose the peach pie and it was delicious! I am so spoiled at Fair Oaks. Beautiful studio,new golf cart, beautiful fields to roam and delicious meals. Wow! I am so lucky!

I finished up painting around 2 PM and headed out around the fields in the golf cart to take reference photos. The land changes every week and throughout the seasons. We are heading into mid summer now. The heat is intense, so I know that August will be brutal if June is this hot. Something got stuck in the go pedal, so I was instantly driving at full speed for a few seconds before I got the cart turned off. This seems to happen to me frequently. I have a long history of getting stuck and of picking up stuff under the cart and careening around. Thank goodness I have never hit anything or messed up pipes. I am a classic "woman driver" according to my host and the staff. They take great pleasure in teasing me about my misadventures in the cart. I discovered two new bird houses in my ride today. There may be more that I've not found yet. I love to see them. Fair Oaks has many wonderful birds. 

After a marvelous day in paradise, Leroy took me home to my own studio. 

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 and Oak Hammock Mini Residencies- June 16

Flower Field

8x10 inches

Acrylic on panel

Notes From My Residency Journal

I spent my morning upstairs in the Fair Oaks Studio. It is wonderful to walk in the studio and see your paints laid out in order with your brushes, waiting patiently to begin the day's work. I always leave the studio as clean and orderly as I can. It is a very special place for me. I have spent so many happy hours there. I look forward to it each week during the summer.

Lunch was served at noon, marvelous chicken Alfredo with a stew of okra, tomatoes and onions. We had an experimental cake made with Guava that was good, but not Guavy enough. I will try again with a different recipe. 

I left early today to teach with my mentor group of painters. We are meeting for the next  five months at the Oak Hammock art room, a nifty studio. We were welcomed like royalty with a beautiful fruit and cheese tray and other goodies. We spent the afternoon enjoying good camaraderie and painting magic, followed by a lovely meal in the private dining room. I am so spoiled! I could get used to that treatment very quickly.

I forgot to take photos this week but we all had a swell time.

Fair Oaks Mini Residency - June 8, 2014

Field Three Tree

18x24 inches

Oil on canvas

My Lovely Birthday Gift, Sunflowers From the Fair Oaks Garden. They came in a giant mason jar. So wonderful! I will paint them tomorrow. 

The East Hay Field. So lovely!

Notes From My Residency Journal

I spent the morning upstairs working on my painting above. I brought a roll of brown paper with me, and covered the work table, so I won't worry so much about getting paint on it. All of the tables in my own studio are covered with dabs of paint, a mess! I like to keep the Fair Oasks studio very tidy as other artists may paint there as I do. It is such a swell studio. I listen to NPR as I work, learning about the world. At lunch time I headed for the cottage. Mark made a savory chicken stew, served with Fair Oaks tea, biscuits and homemade marmalade.  I enjoyed a cup of coffee to finish off the meal. 

After lunch, I cleaned up my gear and headed out to the fields to take some photos and explore. They look so pretty with their tiny flowers and tall seed stems in the v shape they always take. They look like a giant V for victory rally, waving their signs in the breeze. It is hot but still fresh and green in early summer. We have not yet faced the heavy, dusty, oppressive heat of late August when color is faded and we are wilted from long hot endless seeming days. 

I looked at my watch and realized it was 4:30! Where did the day go? I headed Leroy and my happy sunflowers for my studio with fond memories of another day in paradise. 

Fair Oaks Mini Residency- June 1, 2014

Field Three Live Oak

East Hay Field abloom with tiny white flowers

Marsh View

18x24 inches

oil on linen

 

Landscape Paintings

 

Notes From My Residency Journal

 

 

Summer has arrived during my absence from Fair Oaks. The first blooming of Spiderwort has finished and it will be putting out new blossoms shortly. The intense greens of spring are past and the land has settled into the long hot season in Florida. This is when Fair Oaks becomes the jungle that is natural Florida. The grasses in the fields grow tall and the little trees sprouted begin to grow up in the fields only to be mowed down again next fall.

 

I will spend the summer painting upstairs in the studio of the old house with  air conditioning and NPR to keep me company on my day at Fair Oaks each week. I like to work on various paintings from the reference photos I take in the Fair Oaks fields and from my travels for residencies. Today I started the above painting of Crystal River marshes from my residency last week. I so enjoy working in the cozy old studio. My kind host installed a nice pole lamp in the studio for me so the light on dark days is much improved. Next week I will take the time to do a bit of sweeping and clean up while I am there. I like to keep it tidy so others can use it if they happen to be at Fair Oaks. It is really a studio for all of Fair Oaks artists and I keep a log book there for artists to sign when they visit.

 

The lunch bell rang and I enjoyed a delicious lunch of lasagna, garlic bread and a beautiful salad. Coffee for dessert made a great lunch. I like to spend time with my friends who make Fair Oaks the paradise I love so much. I also love to spend time with the pups, Buddy and Shane who are the trail bosses in residence. They are lovely sweet friends to me and to Henry. (My French Bulldog.)

 

After lunch, I headed out for a bit of exploring and made it to field three today without getting stuck in the woods. It's interesting that some fields lend themselves to fall/winter at Fair Oaks for beauty, and others show off their prom dresses in spring/summer. I love field three and collins field in winter and I love east hay field and holy ground field in summer, with their carpets of flowers. In fact, there is nothing I don't like about Fair Oaks, the best paradise I've ever known.



 

Crystal River Residency - Day 6

My good friend Linda

Our view for lunch

Notes From my Residence Journal

Today I painted with my friend Linda and her friend and painter Ron Affee, http://www.ronaffee.com in Inverness at the town lake front park.

It wasn't too hot. I chose to study some trees and found a good shady spot, so I enjoyed myself. They chose different spots. I ended up in a nice conversation with a sculptor from the town so that was interesting and fun.

Linda and I traveled back to Crystal River and stopped at a restaurant called the Ale House. It was a great place with a covered patio, so we dined alfresco. There was a nice breeze and storm clouds building so it as very pleasant. Linda is an easy going comfortable friend who is easy to talk to. I always enjoy her company.  The food was very good. I had the shrimp basket with perfectly cooked large shrimp and good cole slaw. Linda had a bowl of broccoli soup. It was great fun watching the boats come and go past us. 

I barely made it back to the condo before the sky opened up with a good shower to cool things off. I spent the afternoon washing the bedding and doing a bit of cleaning, as I leave tomorrow morning. I'll stop for breakfast and head for my own stomping grounds. I have a cake order, so I need to get my chef's hat on and get busy with that. I'll be back in the town studio on Friday, with fond memories of this wonderful place. 

If you love nature, this is your vacation home! There is a nice pool, the boat dock is right in front of me and the view from the deck is spectacular. There is a large comfy bed on the top level bedroom and full bath. There is a nice half bath downstairs, a modern galley kitchen, and very comfortable furniture. A cozy, modern condo carefully disguised as a simple cottage, fitting into natural surroundings beautifully. 

The owners rent the condo by the week or by the month. Let me know if you are interested. I recommend this as a marvelous vacation setting.

My heartfelt thanks to the Daly's for this wonderful week in paradise. 

Crystal River Residency- Day 5

Marsh Clouds

8x10 inches

Oil on panel

River Study

 8x10 inches

Oil on panel

Roy Thomas Road

Off Ft Island Trail

Notes From My Residency Journal

I went to A J's Cafe today for breakfast. It is located on Us 19 on the west side if you are headed south. It was a bit nicer than most of the others I've visited in terms of decor. It has a typical breakfast menu. I had corned beef hash and fried eggs with homefries and rye toast, all good with excellent service. I've been impressed with the number of breakfast restaurants in this small town, at least four. Since breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out, I like all these choices, all in the range of 8.00-9.00. 

After breakfast I did some more exploring on my way back to my temporary studio. I found Roy Thomas road, a narrow dirt road that goes through the marshes and eventually dead ends at what I imagine is some sort of fish camp, with a couple of houses and public buildings like a camp.  The views of the river are glorious there. I didn't stay long, not wanting to be a bother. No one seemed to mind or care that I was there. I got some nice quick snapshots of the river and headed back to Ft Island Trail. 

The marshes here are fascinating in color and texture, in one direction they will be greenish bronze, in another wheat. Sometimes they turn to chocolate in color. They remind me of the Forgotten Coast marshes up along Simmons Bayou and Indian Pass, in the Port St Joe area. Exotic and ever changing. This is also a wonderful place to study cloud formations. 

Another day in paradise thanks to The Daly's.