Linda is Checking In

Lake Alice
20x24 inches
acrylic on birch panel




Dear all,
It's been a busy summer, but now the season is starting to change and I'm switching into travel and outdoor mode soon. I have spent lots of money on web site upgrades, and public relations stuff this summer. Too much!! I am praying that some of it will begin to pay off, as the economy restarts itself again. My decision to get a publicist was a good one I think. She has been quite wonderful.

I produced a good body of large paintings in the 18x24 to 30x40 size range over the summer. Since most of my small format work sits unsold in the studio, I am moving to larger work these days. Who knew? I would have guessed that small paintings would be highly sought after in this economy, but that has not been the case. I am selling my 5x7's on Ebay regularly, but have not sold a small painting on the web site or in the studio in 6 months. That's ok, I like doing large format so it all works out.

My web site stats tell me that my focus on Facebook has payed off, as it is the number 3 referral to my web site now. I'm trying to get the time to get a good fan page built there but I'm really not good at that kind of thing. I think I'll get my daughter to do it for me. Twitter, surprisingly is far down the list for referrals, so I have cut back on my time there. I am convinced that for marketing my art, Facebook and my html newsletter far outdistance any blogging I ever did. For me, blogs are a time drain that doesn't really pay off. Yes, they are fun and I don't regret the years I blogged regularly, but I think they have been marginalized by other more effective networks like Face Book.

My next E-Class is Values in the Landscape beginning September 29, for 6 weeks. See it on the artist resource page HERE
I'll check in again in a few months. I hope all goes well for everyone.

New E Class for Acrylic Landscape Painters-Linda Blondheim Art Studio

Linda Blondheim E-Lessons-
I offer the following E classes:

Color Mixing the Southern Landscape for Oil Painters

Color Mixing the Southern Landscape for Acrylic Painters

Values in the Landscape I

Composing and Design in Landscape Painting

Values II- Notan and Design in Values

Painting Basics for Acrylic Beginners

Painting Basics for Oils Beginners

All E-Classes are designed for a 6 week schedule. 4 Weekly Lessons and Assignments with 2 extra weeks for catch up, Q&A and discussion.

All classes are designed for either beginning or Intermediate painters.

If you have ideas for more E-classes please request them.

Six Week E Classes are 100.00




My Current Online E-Class 8 Spaces Left

Giving your Acrylic Landscape Paintings an Oils Quality


I have been working with acrylics for about 10 years now having come from an oil painting experience of about 30 years. My goal at the outset of my acrylic experience has been to make them look as close to my oils in style and color palette as possible. This has been no small challenge, as they are entirely different mediums with very different technique. The tube color, though named the same is quite different too between the two mediums.



My technique has at last caught up with my desire and has become fairly seamless with my oils. In fact, many of my patrons are drawn to the acrylic paintings first, thinking they are oils.



This unit of study is based on my research and technique to specifically emulate an “oil like” look to acrylics.



This class is designed for experienced painters who have either studied oils or acrylics or perhaps both, but who have been unsuccessful in keeping a cohesive look to both mediums. It is for anyone who is dissatisfied with their current acrylic work, either due to palette disharmony or due to flat tight brushwork and hard edges.



Beginners are welcome, but it may be difficult for you. If you are an advanced painter, this may be too easy for you. This is designed for painters who know basic acrylic technique but are ready to move on a bit further. You must have a digital camera or scanner to take this class as we will be posting images of our exercises and paintings to the blog.



We will be using a private blog for this class. You will be given an invitation to be an author on the blog and you will receive automatic email updates for comments to each weekly lesson. We will post our comments under the lessons in the main post and view each others’ exercises and paintings as we move along. I will of course, do critiques for you each week for the group to see.



Our focus for this class will be brushwork, edgework, color mixing, and glazing. I will post studio notes relating to technique, and use my own paintings as a visual aid for the class.



This is designed to be a four week unit of study, but I realize that we are all busy and tied up with life. I will post a new lesson each Monday on the blog. You can either do them weekly or you can play catch-up over a period of 6 weeks. I am building two extra weeks into the course for those of you who need it. The lesson will be up for 2 weeks after the last one is posted and I will be reading the blog during that two week for comments and to give critiques.



The blog will have a format of the assignment and my notes each Monday. The comment section is for all correspondence of questions and answers. Post your images on the blog as new posts and I will edit them and critique under the images of your paintings each week.



I will critique one painting a week per student in addition to the class. This is not required, but is given to you as an extra perk.



A class outline and materials list will be given to participants



The fee for the class is 100.00 for the 6 week class, which includes 4 lessons, critiques, and all Q&A you desire.

This class will be limited to 10 students. As soon as it fills we will begin.

You can pay online at my artist resources page at http://www.lindablondheim.com with pay pal or
If you prefer to send me a check or money order, that will be swell too.

Linda Blondheim

3032 NW 161 Court

Gainesville, FLorida 32609

Checking in, A New E-Lesson Class

Dear Ones,
Just checking in to let you know I am alive and well, painting through the summer with acrylics. I am enjoying teaching online these days with a few private students and will soon offer the class below.

http://www.lindablondheim.com/publications.php

The Think Tanks continue and they have been a blessing. I post frequently on Face Book and Twitter. My url at FB is http://www.facebook.com/linda.blondheim

I have been wrestling with the idea and decison of giving up my commercial galleries and going fully independant. I've not decided yet.

I'll check in again before summer is over.
Love,
Linda

Notes From the Studio A fond Farewell Dear Friends

Notes From The Studio

I started a new painting yesterday. It's a 24x36 acrylic on Birch. I had forgotten how much I love my winter palette below:

FUB
Ivory Black
Cad Red Light
Yellow Ochre
Titanium White

All Stephen Quiller acrylics

It's so simple but so beautiful. I will use it for most of this big painting, adding a bit of thalo blue to pop the green here and there toward the end.

You all know how much I love Daniel Greene's oils. I made a discovery in my mixing last night. I was able to duplicate almost exactly, his Sap Green in my acrylic palette by using equal parts FUB,Ivory black and then adding a bit of yellow ochre until I had a good duplicate. His Sap Green is like no other I've ever used. Really beautiful, so I'm excited by my mixing discovery. I will definitely put that formula in my Chart notebook.

You know there is something to be said for using charts for painting. You all know how I love my chart system. It has served me so well. I see a lot of painters who use the same palette for all of their painting, no matter the light situation, the atmosphere or time of year. This is quite interesting to me. It is a way to brand yourself. I want to ponder this for a bit. I am so fond of the winter palette in Florida. I wonder if I would want to go with that for awhile and see what happens? It seems a bit silly to do this when there is an emerald green lawn in front of me to paint in July, but the painters I know who do this single palette, just use it for everything. I know a painter who has dne this for years. All of her work is the exact same palette and tone, no matter the time or place. It's lovely but it is so formulaic and utterly predictable. She has done very well in the hotel, corporate market with these large paintings. As ADD as I am, I fear I would go stark raving mad doing that. The other issue is that as a location painter, what is the point of going out to work if all of the paintings are exactly the same? I'm not sure I can do that.

I do struggle more in the summer with my palette. I'm not sure why, but I suspect the Cadmium yellows are the culprit, particularly the lemon yellow. I am thinking of replacing it with cad yellow light instead. I have long war going with cad lemon yellow. I give it up for months. Then I feel the need to use it again in the spring and summer. It doesn't take long before my palette is totally out of control with color intensity again. I really believe I have a serious issue with intensity and have had for years. I am liking that less and less and must keep struggling to control it. While it is a big fad and in vogue to use shrieking color, I am not fond of it. Summer in Florida is a nightmare of color intensity.

I will spend some time this summer thinking about new palettes for summer painting. The winter palette is just lovely. No need to tweak that one.

Dear Ones,
It has been a great experience for me doing Art Notes. I learned far more than anyone else in this Tribe. I will leave it up for the archives. I'll still be around on FB and Twitter, and I will keep my Collector Blog updated about once a week.

I will continue my Notes from the Studio and Notes From the Pochade Box for myself on my word processor. I urge you to keep a journal for yourself. There is nothing more valuable to the process of your art and someday you may want to assemble the notes into a book either to sell or to give to new painters. As I turn my focus on collectors, I will still want to be a part of your lives. God Bless all painters and especially all who have been so loyal and kind to me.
Love,
Linda

An update on the "I want List"

In January I wrote out my Want List for 2009 I thought I'd get it out and take a look. Not too bad. A few things crossed off and some added that were accomplished. The important thing is that I believe these things will happen and am actively working toward them. Since I wrote that list I have saved 200.00 through my saving 5% of sales plan, gotten a brand new Futon for my studio, and payed off one credit card.

Here it is:

I think I want lists are just as important as all of the other lists we do at the beginning of each year. The I want list is far different than any of the others because it involves the dreams we hold in our hearts as well as the more practical wants. We deserve this dream list and should make it for ourselves each January. We can tick off the wants that are fulfilled and reserve the others for the next years list. As my friend Louise Courtelis always says, "Go Big or Go Home".

1. An electrician to fix my studio office light and ceiling fan-

DONE!

2. Carpet removed from the studio and the concrete floors stained and sealed with a high gloss finish; or a nice durable vinyl, or hardwood floors. _ I sent an email to a guy who does floors and asked him for an estimate. I have a feeling this one is going to have to wait.

Not done yet. About 1600.00 to accomplish this one. Still on the list.


3. Having the outside of the studio painted. I have a feeling this one is going to have to wait.

Not done yet. I know it will happen.

4. Having the toppled tree from last summer removed and yard trimming done.

DONE!!!

5. A new H-Frame Easel. I have my eye on a sturdy H-Frame, not too big, with a base that folds flat for easy storage. Until I can get my H Frame, I will use a table easel for painting with both oils and acrylics.

Not yet. I know it will happen.

6. A new pochade box 6x8 for my Color Fields paintings. My oldest 9x12 is getting very cranky to use. There is something wrong with the hinge for the lid and it is hard to adjust it. Since I have a newish 9x12 for oils, I think I want to switch to the dandy little 6x8 box for the acrylics. Most of those are the 5x7 paintings so a small box would be great.

DONE!! A very generous friend and patron surprised me a few months ago with a brand new 6x8 box and matching back pack. I was flabbergasted and thrilled beyond words. I still am. No one has ever done anything like that for me. I liked the set up so much that I ordered a backpack for my larger box and it is wonderful. No more dragging carts around for me.

7. A huge batch of birch panels.

DONE!! But now I need to order more soon. I'll never give them up now. They are too wonderful. I'm completely spoiled.

8. Another vacation in the fall at the beach for a week. We will see. That is an expensive luxury I should not afford myself this year. I think I need to take care of this other stuff instead.

Perhaps next year.


9. A 2 bedroom condo at St Augustine Beach. Doesn't even have to be beach front, I'm flexible.

Someday!

10. A new car. I have a 2001 Toyota Echo with no AC and 210,000 miles on it. Toyotas are so great. They never die, they just continue to lose parts and pieces.

Done!! My daughter wrecked the Toyota so I had no choice but to buy her a car. I'll be paying on her dream for about 5 years and then I can buy my own dream.


Even better, how about a pimped out minivan. I took the first step toward that dream by purchasing an Aero Twin Bed. My long time dream is to buy a van and travel in it for about 10 days at a time, living in state parks, painting little paintings.

Some Day.

11. A new mini fridge/freezer and a mini microwave for my office to heat up TV dinners and make popcorn. This is doable this year.

Half Done. Got the Microwave. perhaps the fridge soon.

12. New signage for my studio and gate. What I have is very ghetto.

Ghetto to stay for awhile.

13. More Commissions so that I can do all of the above.

Still hoping

14. To be completely debt free. I made some progress on that last year. I'm about half way there.

Progress. Another cc paid off recently.

15. To live the rest of my life as I am now,in good health, painting, traveling, and having a blast!!

Knock on wood, so far so good. I love my life.

Why bring this up again? I believe we succeed when we have faith. I'm living proof. Have you made your list?

Just what you want, another lecture!! ;>)

I had an interesting conversation with an artist friend today. We meet about once a month for breakfast.We are at about the same stage and brand name recognition in our careers so it is nice to have frank conversations about the state of the arts in our world. We got into the issues of ethical behavior of artists and how far some will go to push the limits of good behavior and decorum.

Please know that this is really my desire to help others and not a rant or negative tirade. I feel the need to say as much as I can in this brief time left for the blog to help other artists, especially those who are inexperienced and may not know what is acceptable etiquette.

At a recent paint out, a local artist who is evidently known in the area for still life paintings showed up and placed herself front and center at the museum where we had been invited to paint. She was not one of the invited artists and was not in the paint out. Sh was indiscreet to say the least, garnering as much attention for herself as possible, handing out her pr materials and so forth. The promoter of the paint out had invited local painters to paint for a day, but she went far beyond that. To make her flagrant PRing worse, she showed up at the patron opening, running around and giving out her PR materials everywhere. Again, she was not invited to do the event and was not showing her work in the museum, but she chose to abuse her privileges as an opening guest and try to undermine the other artists.

This kind of thing happens too frequently at art openings. It is one thing to be a good marketer. I am certainly that, but one crosses the line very easily when they use these tactics. Frankly, I'm not impressed with this woman. I really don't care how good a painter she is. Some of the artists used that to explain away her bad behavior. I would never buy a painting from her and I have no desire to know or befriend her. She has no class. Perhaps that doesn't matter to a lot of people anymore but it does to me. There seems to be a strange relationship between how "good" your work is and how much you can get away with. I wonder if she would have gotten away with this inexcusable behavior if she was a beginner or had hobbyist work?. It seems that this was all overlooked because she has studied with a big league painter and is a brand name.

She is only an example of the many artists who abuse privileges. When do we become so desperate to sell our work that we will push the limits of integrity and good form. Is it really worth it to go to someone Else's opening and try to push them out of the way to push our own work? Is it really worth it to push clients into a corner, pressuring them to buy, because that's the way you are supposed to sell art? There are all kinds of selling tactics out there which are high pressure. Would you really push someone to buy your painting if you know they cannot afford to? Sure, offering layaway and other easy payments is fine. I do that. I'm talking about pushing them, using high pressure and guilt tactics just to get a sale. I won't do that. It probably costs me sales every year, but I decided long ago what my core values are in business and I won't change them for convenience. I won't use them to undermine other artists or try to steal their clients out from under them. I won't set my gear up in front of another artist who is trying to paint. I won't set up next to an artist and start chatting. I won't go to a committee and demand that my work be placed in the best location for a group exhibit. I won't try to lure artists to do things they really shouldn't do. My brutal honesty gets me in a lot of trouble and sometimes hurts feelings but at least I'm not leading someone down a yellow brick road. I am a realist.

Think about your core values and integrity as a professional and keep them alive in all of your dealings with artists and patrons. Don't be so desperate for fame and recognition that you will leave them behind.

If you go down the right path and treat others with integrity, the results will some day pay off. Someone else may pull ahead with unfair tactics, but in the end, you will sleep better at night. Take pride in your work and your work ethic and apologise to no one for the work you do. Paint with joy and expectation. Take the high road and leave the low road for the losers.

An Update on the Quest for a good Newsletter

I've been working hard on the newsletters for a while. I have made gradual progress on building my mailing list, directly due to the newsletters. Before I started doing them regularly, my list had been about the same number of subscribers for a couple of years.

I have sent out about 10 tiny paintings as rewards in the last two weeks for people who forward my newsletter to a friend. They have helped both through email and by announcing my newsletter on Facebook, so I am very grateful to them for that.

My next idea was to order color postcards to send to my snail mail list, hoping they would switch over to my email newsletter list. Today I started getting results from that mail out with a couple of sign ups from names on my snail mail list. I will continue to send those out as the opportunity arises. The card serves two purposes. It gets a color image out into their mailbox and gives them a chance to get the newsletter or sign up for an Art Lover Salon.

I have settled into a routine of sending out the newsletter on Thursdays, as long as I have something interesting to say. Generally, I stick with two main topics and try to use paintings which will go well with those topics. I always have a recipe and now have added a Cook's Tip to that block as well. Now and then I add a collector's topic, like teaching children to appreciate art, or safety in purchasing art, and now and then I'll have upcoming events, but I try not to over do that, it gets boring. I always have a subscriber only special for each month at the bottom of the newsletter.

After I send the letter out, I put it on Facebook in a note with an image and then put it on my Collector blog for a few days too. I am trying to get maximum exposure.

As people send me emails with their news, I add them to my list. I have something in my signature block about the newsletter off and on too.



I'm happy to say that the new Studio Couch has arrived and Henry has approved. He slept on it all afternoon.