Driving Around, New Paintings in the Rotation,Potato Salad

Here are a couple of paintings from the rotation. I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the starts now, only missing occasional days.

I'd like to say a word or two about how rude people can be and how unnecessary it is. I put one of my paintings up in show and tell at a forum I go to. We all show our paintings there. I got a critique, completely unsolicited from a painter on the forum. His work is typical of many Florida painters. I see the style everywhere. It is pleasant and well done, traditional. As most of you know, I am an expressionist. My goal has never been to copy nature or to paint in the realist tradition. I have nothing in common with this painter and we are not headed remotely in the same direction in our work. Why do other artist feel compelled to "fix" other's paintings to suit their criteria? We are complete strangers. I would no more think of going to a stranger and telling him how to paint than jumping off a bridge. That is very bad form in my opinion. It is one thing to try and help your workshop student with advice, but quite another to tell another professional painter how to paint. This has been one of those weeks. We all have them. Yesterday I was notified by Feedblitz that someone had unsubscribed from my other blog complaining that it was offensive. How a Painters Tips blog can be offensive is beyond me. OK, Now that I have this out of my system, time to move on.



Yesterday, I spent the day meeting my friend Rich to prepare for the "Art in the House" open house at his real estate listing. You can read about it on my other blog HERE. While I was over that way, I spent a fair amount of time in the Heart of Florida territory, looking at locations with the big paint out in mind. I paint over there all of the time anyway but this will be the first time I have to contend with 49 other painters. I'm not wild about being on top of other people so I usually seek out the quiet less popular places to work. I love Freddy Wood's farm in Evinston, so I will spend quite a lot of time painting there I'm sure. At this time I'm doing a few studio paintings of Freddy's farm and I'll post them in the rotation. Here is some of the scenery from that area.




Freddy Wood's Farm
Evinston, Florida




Orange Lake Florida



Orange Lake



I've been getting paintings ready for "Country Roads" and "Art in the House" and my calculations tell me I will need close to 50 paintings for these two events. 12 for the "Country Roads", which is all ready to go, and then about 35 for the "Art in the House" In the mean time, I need to start thinking about how to get the studio arranged for the Chili Party on the first Saturday of November. Fortunately, Art in the House is prior to that event,so many of those paintings will come back for the party, but if I were to have good sales, I will still need paintings. Since it is starting to get to be gallery season soon, I may need to supply paintings to galleries as well before Christmas.

Emerging artists often ask me about how many paintings they need to function as an artist. it's better to have too many than too few. I have to have a huge volume because I have lots of quick opportunities which come up at the last minute. I need to be able to get a body of work together literally overnight often times. I don't turn down opportunities, so you will sometimes find me in the studio framing and inventorying work at 3 AM for an exhibit the next day. I also have a new selling assistant, so she will be selling even more paintings after her feet get wet.

My point is that artists need to be prepared all of the time for whatever opportunity that comes along.


Yesterday I stopped at Pearl Country Store in Micanopy Florida to buy three pork Sandwiches for dinner. Their BBQ is tops and you can bet that's where I will be eating lunch during the paint out in April. Last night I wrapped them in foil and put them in a low oven for about a half hour. They were sooo tasty. My family loves Pearl BBQ.

Today's Recipe is my favorite potato salad. Here in the South, potato salad is revered. Everyone has the "best" recipe and there are many discussions about it at church suppers and picnics. My recipe is a Southern style but I include a lot of crunchies that others don't put in. Mine is very colorful. It is tasty and I'm not just Whistling Dixie by saying that.


Potato Salad

10 pounds potatoes pealed and boiled. Refrigerate until cold. Dice into bite sized pieces.
1 red onion diced small
1 small red,green and yellow or orange bell pepper, all diced small
2 stalks celery diced small
2 carrots diced very small
two hard boiled eggs diced large
1 tsp celery seed
1/2- 1 cup mayo
1/2- 1 cup sour cream
2 T regular mustard
salt cracked black pepper to taste
1 T fresh chopped parsley
pinch of oregano leaf dried
pinch of thyme leaf dried
paprika to sprinkle on top

Optional - 1 T horseradish or hot sauce

You will need to adjust mayo/mustard/sour cream to get the consistency you want. It should be creamy but not soupy.

This recipe can be doubled for a large crowd.

The Heart of Florida Paint Out , Parties, Grilled Pork Recipe

Wow! Life is starting to get pretty busy now. I found out this week that I will be included in a big paint out in Marion County Florida, The Heart Of Florida Paint Out April 11-18th, 2008. The locations will include Evinston, Orange Lake and McIntosh, all favorites of mine where I have painted many times. I'm looking forward to painting with many old friends and meeting some new ones.

The Heart of Florida includes some of the most beautiful and historic scenery. It is full of rolling hills, massive Oaks draped in moss,tall graceful palms, beautiful lakes and rivers and historic architecture. Much of it has retained it's charm and beauty thanks to intensive land conservation efforts. Paynes Prairie State Park, near Evinston, is a wonderful place with many species of wild life, like deer, gators, American bison, wild ponies, and the usual indigenous creatures you would find in the wilds. There is a fabulous observation tower at the edge of the prairie where I love to paint and beautiful Lake Wauburg.

I actually have three big paint outs lined up, including Wekiva State Park the first week of March, Epcot Center, the first weekend in April and then the Heart of Florida so I dare not plan anything between March and mid April.

I'm going to Ocala on Friday to plan a staged open house for a realtor. This sounds like a lot of fun. He wants to have an open house/cocktail party one evening for a very cool house he is listing. We are going to hang the house with my paintings and have a meet and greet evening. It is so nice of him to do this. I'm looking forward to it. I'll bet you could arrange the same thing with Realtors in your area.






I'm going to try and do some painting on my way back from Ocala if it's not too hot. Time to start painting out again but I swear I can't seem to find the time.

Teaching

I spent a wonderful time with my friend Susan Fowler painting on Monday afternoon. I am lucky to have her as a painting student. She is charming and enormously talented. She is one of those perfect students who is willing to do fundamentals, exercises to improve her painting technique and is a sponge, soaking up every bit of information she can get. If every person who studies painting had her attitude, teaching would be a true joy. She is not concerned with the instant gratification that so many students expect. Many are not interested in anything but instant paintings.

This seems to be one of the biggest hurdles for painting teachers to overcome. Students do not want to study. They want to have pretty paintings right away. I hear this from many painting teachers. I see it often at my workshops. I wonder what the solution is? I think that is truly why so many teacher rely on demos for a substitute for real teaching. It is far easier to have students sit around while the painter paints, rather than doing difficult learning exercises where the student has to think and struggle.


My new Assistants


My new agent Carolyn is a wizard. She is already building a list of contacts and dealers. She is adding to my mailing list every day. From plumbers to business tycoons, she knows them all.

Valerie just wrote a bang up press release for me for my Chili Party in November. She has great writing skill and a singular wit.

I wish I had thought of this years ago. I highly recommend thi to any artist who wants to increase their presence in the marketplace.

Today's Recipe

Grilled Pork with Fruit

4 boneless Pork Chops, trimmed.

2 peeled and sliced peaches
1/4 sliced trimmed fresh pineapple
2 small apples peeled and sliced

2 T EVOO

1 pinch dried thyme leaves
1 pinch dried oregano leaves
1 pinch of garlic powder
1 pinch of dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch fresh ground pepper

Mix herbs/spices together and rub on chops. Heat oil on griddle and cook chops on medium heat with fresh fruit slices. Serve caramelized fruit over the chops.

New Agent,Framers, Feedback on the new palette, Mini Spuds

My commission is done, I'm so happy!!! It is at the frame shop. I took it down there this morning to pre-select a few frame mouldings which may be right for the painting. The patron will meet me there in a few days and the framer and I will help her decide on the right moulding. I try to do this with most of my commissions if they are a and local patron. It is helpful to the patron.




My advice to artists is to get to know and deal regularly with a good local framer. All of the frames I buy for the paintings I sell are wholesale from large manufacturers, but my local framer routinely makes frames for me in a hurry and frames for my patron commissions. He will bend over backwards to help me because I send him lots of business. More importantly, he gives my patrons great personal attention, which makes them very comfortable and happy.

I'm very excited about my new selling agent. She is a very successful realtor, and farmer from Gainesville. She is well traveled and knows tons of people, so I believe this is going to be a great partnership. It is going to free up more time for me to paint, which is always great. Her name is Carolyn Hufty and she is super smart and fun. Now that I have Carolyn handling sales and Valerie doing my Press Releases and writing for me, I have "put on the dog", as we say in the South.

I had mentioned on my newsletter, the weekly E-Painting on my web site, that I have been tweaking my palette since about May. Today I showed my subscribers the new paintings and I got some very positive feedback from a couple of readers. That is always wonderful to know that you aren't stubbing you toes too badly. Of course, friends who love the intense color of my normal palette may be disappointed. That is always a risk for a painter. That is why so many painters learn a palette and style and just keep it, with little experimentation. Their work will look just like it did 5,10 or 15 years ago. It is safety net for them. They no longer have to struggle to paint well. If you do something over and over the same way, you get really good at it. It is rote painting. They know they have a niche and they will not risk losing patrons by pushing themselves further. I really can't blame them and frankly, they are smarter than me. I take too many risks in painting for my own good.

I'm getting behind a bit in the rotation again. I missed painting all together yesterday due to the studio visit and I have a painting student today, but I will begin a new start today with her. In order to keep my discipline, I decided not to allow myself to work on any paintings until I do a start for each day. That seems to be helping me to keep myself in line. I'm back to work on the acrylic 5x7's again too this week.

I'm starting the planning for my Chili Party with my new agent Carolyn. We decided if the weather is good, to spread the party outside too. My studio is small, so that would expand our viewing area greatly. I have some old racks from my art festival career which will work very well to display paintings. Carolyn has the great idea of expanding the space and staging it, with a desk for sales, and the racks. Throw a couple of rugs out there with a few potted plants and we will have a lovely outdoor gallery space. I'm getting so excited about this party. It's going to be my best ever and the most fun.





Today's Recipe:

Mini Spuds

This is a favorite for a cocktail party. The recipe can be served cold or hot, depending on the filling.

5 to 10 pounds of the tiny red potatoes
Large sheet pans
olive oil
leaf dried thyme
leaf dried oregano
onion flakes
salt
pepper.

Mix up the above spices in a quantity large enough to sprinkle over the potatoes arranged on the sheet pans.

Drizzle olive oil over the potato first and roll them around in the oil to coat them.

Sprinkle on the spices

Roast in a 400 degree oven until tender. Use a fork.

Store potatoes in the fridge until cold.

Cut potato in half. Slice a tiny slice off both ends so that the potatoes sit up straight.

For cold appetizers, fill the potato with chicken salad, smoked tuna or salmon dip, Dill and cream cheese, pimiento cheese or any other cold filling. Garnish with a tiny grape tomato half and a parsley sprig,

For hot potatoes you can use taco meat, bacon and cheddar cheese, or mushrooms and Swiss cheese. Run them into a hot oven until all melts. Top with sour cream and tomato half.

Finally near the end of a commission,Sonny's BBQ,

I am near the end of a very long commission project. The patron is coming this weekend hopefully to take another look. This is the most difficult commission I have ever done. It has been painstaking with many,many changes over months and months. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will be happy with it and so I can move on to other projects.

At one time I felt like commissions would be a blessing and that if I could get enough of them I would be on easy street in terms of not being under pressure to sell work. This experience has made me re-think that a bit. The problem lies in having a collision of visions for a painting. It is impossible for me to know what the client's real vision is and impossible for them to see mine. The perfect commission is when a patron loves what you do and says just do what you do best in this size. Unfortunately, that rarely ever happens. It starts out that way but as the painting progresses, more and more changes come.

I have a couple of artist friends who make most of their living from commissions and they seem to have no problems with them. There is something I must be doing wrong. My work is just as popular as theirs on the gallery market, but they seem to excel at commission work while it has become a dread for me.

I asked a portrait artist I know about this situation and she said it is common for patrons to be disatisfied with the look of a portrait. She has gone to doing children because the parents seem happier with the results and of course the children love seeing themselves.

One artist told me that I have been too accomodating to clients for commissioned work and that I should just do the piece from start to finish before showing it to them.

I'd love to hear some commission opinions. I don't do many. Perhaps I am not well suited for that kind of art. Perhaps other artists face these same issues.



Last night my daughter and her boyfriend met me for dinner at Sonny's BBQ in Gainesville. It is a Southern BBQ franchise which started at that location in the late 60's either 1968 or 1969. I remember sitting in that restaurant right about the time I graduated from high school, thinking wow! This place was going to go somewhere. The restaurant was started by Sonny Tillman, a good ol' boy from High Springs, Florida, just up the road. He still lives there as far as I know. He made a huge network of Sonny's around the South and then sold the franchise. I believe he still owns the one in Alachua, Florida and that one is still the best. He is now into real estate too.

You can't beat Sonny's sauce. You can get good BBQ just about anywhere in the South but Sonny's has the best sauce. I love the Sizzlin Sweet version the best. It is combo of their regular and sweet sauces, Just perfect. He has around four different versions of sauce and they are all good. I have eaten at Sonny's hundreds of times and certainly every week when my girls were in school. The other items I love include the Big Deal, a sandwich of either pork or beef between two slices of garlic bread, the St Louis Ribs, BBQ Chicken, the sweet potato with cinnamon butter and the little cornbread loaves. They are just devine!! The iced tea is memorable too and comes in huge glasses with lemon, sweet or unsweet. It's always fresh and delicious.


BBQ is so much a part of the South it's hard to imagine not eating it at least once a week. BBQ joints always have the seedy, country look that we all love, with hard benches, panelled walls and plastic menues covered with stains. Floors are concrete or cheap frayed carpet. There is usually some kind of taxedermy on the walls, or cute country crafts. There are always dozens of pick up trucks in the parking lot, which is often dirt or full of potholes. Sonny's is pretty upscale but it does have some of these wonderful features. I love the South don't you?









Today's Recipe:

BBQ Rub

2 T salt
2 T sugar
2 T brown sugar
2 T dried onion flakes
2 T paprika
1 T ground cumin
1 T garlic powder
2 T chili powder
2 T course ground black pepper
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T dried leaf thyme


Mix up the spices and spread liberally over the beef or pork. Pat it in good. Let it rest for a bit and then put into the oven to roast or into the smoker if you are lucky enough to have one. I oftn use a crock pot to make very tasty BBQ but of course, only a smoker makes authentic BBQ.

Prime Rib, Some finished paintings in the rotation, too much rain to paint

Here are a couple of finished paintings in the rotation. This palette is a departure for me, with more neutrals, but I still have plenty of contrast. The color is just more subdued. I actually love this palette and really feel challenged by it but we will see how the patrons like it. I am relying more on the cool end of the spectrum, substituting Naples yellow and Cad orange for the more powerful yellows. Playing a lot with the orange blue compliments and the red green compliments in these paintings. I am beginning to think that minimizing the cad medium and lemon yellows is making a substantially more subtle palette. I have to make adjustments and play with this for awhile, but I think I may be on to something I like.





River Palms
12x16 inches
oil on panel




McIntosh Florida Palms
12x16 inches
oil on panel

Yesterday was hanging day in the studio. I have boxed up several paintings for an exhibition to come in late October, and now I have hung other paintings to replace them on the walls. The ongoing problem is that my studio is just too small to hang well. It has pretty good floor space and I use table top easels for display, which helps, but the wall space is very limited. This is an age old problem for most every artist I know. Never enough space for all we wish to do.






On the other hand, having a small studio means I must keep it cleaned up and organized fairly well. When my daughter finally grows up and gets out on her own, I will have a nice room for the computer and some of the studio furniture, so that the storage problems will be solved. The room will also give me more hanging space for art too. It is an extra room in my studio building.

I have the idea to make one end of that room a viewing room where paintings can be staged. I will paint the wall a lovely color and have a nice wall picture light on the wall, so that paintings can be viewed in a home setting. I love the idea of this and think that galleries are missing out by not doing this. Clients could be served coffee in the viewing room and look at all of the paintings they like, one at a time, like shopping in a fine clothing store. Way cool.



One of my very nice fiends and patrons sent me a beautiful 10 pound boneless heavy western beef prime rib which I have been saving, for what I don't know. Last night I decided it was time for the pleasure. I roasted it today, and heavenly doesn't even begin to describe the taste. Wow!!! It's been a looonnng time since I ate beef that good.

Here is my recipe:

1 large deep roasting pan
prime rib
1 bag carrots peeled and cut into chunks
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and left whole
1 large onion peeled and diced
4 celery stalks sliced
1 large red potato for each person, washed and left whole
2 fresh diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1/2 C red wine

Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Sprinkle liberally with salt. You want a crust of salt on the meat. Sprinkle on herb leaves and garlic powder


Place everything in the pan. Roast uncovered at 325 degrees for 2 or three hours or until roast is 130-140 degrees. The ends will be done and the middle pink.

Annual Studio Party, The Work Continues, Fall

Fall is just about here. I can feel it in the morning now. I always have a sense of anticipation this time of year, as if waiting for things to happen. October starts to crank up with activities. I am teaching three one day workshops around this area in October and November and the Annual Studio Chili Party is November 3rd. I'm hoping to find my new studio assistant before that because I will need some help on that day. It is always my biggest and best studio party. I love to make chili and I spend all day the day before making huge pots of it. I serve it with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced peppers, diced onions and diced tomatoes. Of course I have bags of Fritos Corn Chips for crushing on top. What a feast!!

This year I have decided to give away a gift certificate for 100.00 In the past I have given away a painting, but this way, the winner can pick their own. I think I want to have an activity too this year. I'm thinking of setting up my art pin making supplies so that people can make their own pin while the party is going on. Most people will enjoy that I believe. Studio parties are the best thing I do. I get to see friends that I only see occasionally, and of course it is always wonderful to sell paintings too. They are a huge amount of work but I really look forward to them.

The work roation continues, but I am again falling behind on the starts. I believe it is because I need to spend more time preparing panels. I have gotten into the habit of gessoing one at a time, because I loathe doing that chore. By the time, I get the three or four coats of gesso on a panel, I have missed my start opportunity for the day. I'm just going to have to stop long enough to do 10 or so panels at a time and then go back to the starts for ten days. I still think it is a wonderful way to paint. It is teaching me a great deal of patience in my painting technique.


My flaw is that doing the rotation does not produce finished paintings at the rate they are started. In other words, I may start a new painting each day but I don't finish them daily. Sometimes I will go for a week or two without anything to show on the E-Painting or Feature Painting on my web site. Some of my clients are not happy with the system because they like seeing new work almost every day. Hopefully they will get used to the slower pace. I really can't explain why it takes so long to get paintings done this way but it does. That is the beggest challenge. I have this feeling of wanting to finish them up and it takes discipline to do them in several stages. I fel myself saying stop and slow down, stop racing.







Of course when I go back to field painting it will now be more difficult because of the change in my painting technique. There is always compromise in painting.


I have settled into a palette for awhile too. I need to do this until I tire of it and move to another.

Here is my current palette in case anyone is interested:

Prussian Blue (Daniel Greene)
Sap Green (Daniel Greene)
Titanium White (Daniel Greene)
Ivory Black (Daniel Greene)
Cadmium Red Light (Utrecht)
Transparent Red Iron Oxide (Old Holland)
Naples Yellow (Utrecht)
Cad yellow medium (Daniel Greene)
French Ultramarine Blue (Utrecht)

It has a good range and is a bit cooler than some of the palettes I have used. It is a bit less colorful too. Most of you who know me realize that I like to try a lot of techniques, so who knows how long this all will last?


Today's Recipe

This is my chili recipe. The only problem with it is that I don't really measure anything so do the best you can with it.


1 pound of lean ground beef
1 large onion diced
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 pound of pinto beans pre-soaked overnight
3 large fresh tomatoes diced
2 bell peppers diced
1 can beef broth
4 cloves minced garlic

The following to taste:

Dried Oregano
Cumin
Chili powder
cracked pepper fresh ground
Salt
hot sauce

Sometimes I use a roast instead of ground beef.

Fry the meat with peppers/onions/garlic. Drain and put it all in a huge pot with the rest of the ingredients. Simmer over low heat for a long time. Adjust the seasonings.

Open Studio Class, Mac and Cheese, Muscle Cars

Oh how I love my monthly Open Studio Class!! I never know who will show up or how many. On the day before, I actually have to clean up and organize the studio, always a good thing. The thing I like most about it is the camaraderie. Artists are loners by nature and now and then it's good to have some friends and fellow artists around. It is important to share the visions and dreams of other artists, our hopes and anticipation for the masterpiece which is just around the corner.

Here we are:








I am determined to get out to paint this Friday, without fail. I think I'll go over to Twin Lakes Fish Camp in Cross Creek or to MKR State Park.










I've always been puzzled by artists who feel it is beneath them to paint with others who might not be as skilled as they are. I love painting with people who are sharing the same struggles that I am. There is a great deal of elitism in the world of art and it is disturbing. We are pitted against each other by promoters and art centers, festivals and so forth. It has become very competitive and now even paint outs are set up to be exclusive and elite. Many of the organizations try to give a feeling of elitism and status by making us vie for signature status and awards. What does all of that mean? Absolutely nothing!! We are simply putting paint on canvas. It shouldn't take signature status to tell us who can paint and who can't. Our eyes will tell us. There will always be painters whose work is superior. We shouldn't have to have exclusivity to make us feel self important. Good work always speaks for itself.


I was thinking the other day about my youth. In my high school years, muscle cars were it!!. I still love them. When I get rich, I'm gong to buy one fully restored. My high school boyfriend had a navy blue Plymouth Road Runner with all the stuff under the hood. What a car! Friday night was date night and he picked me up in the RR. There was always a bottle of whiskey on the front seat because in those days everyone drank. Our parents, grandparents and family friends all drank. It was part of our lives and no one thought anything about it. We would head straight for the drive in restaurant called Jerry's and that was the date. We spent the evening eating,drinking and socializing with all of our friends, All of the muscle cars cruised through the parking lot and so the noise was deafening. Surprisingly, most of us were not drunk. We could hold our likker. That was my Dad's best advice to me as a young adolescent. "If you can't hold your likker, don't drink". I always remembered it and to this day I hate to be around a sloppy drunk.


I got through college on a wing and a prayer. I wasn't very smart so I suffered through math and science classes, barely squeaking by. Money was always a problem. After all, I was in art school. I lived on tuna and mac and cheese sandwiches. There is nothing like a mac and cheese sandwich. No one believes me but it's true. Here is the recipe:

Prepare one box of Kraft Mac and Cheese. Put it in a bread loaf pan and pack it down good. Refrigerate it overnight.

At lunch time, take it out and slice off a nice thick piece. Take two slices of bread, mustard and mayo, some lettuce and tomato slices and build a sandwich. You can also use pickle slices for extra flavor. Don't forget the salt and pepper. it is delish!!! Good enough to get me through art school!!!

More Sunflower Madness, Thinking about Art For Regular People, Cheese Crispies

Studio Sales Assistant

I am looking for a part time assistant in Alachua County who is personable and not afraid to get out and talk with people about my work and my studio. Duties will include distributing promotional materials whenever and wherever possible. I need someone who is highly motivated to sell, with enthusiasm and energy to promote my work. My assistant will attend some events to do promotion and will have occasional travel to events to promote the studio. I will provide gas money, 25.00 a day for food and motel accommodations while traveling out of town for me. My assistant will need to be able to have some flexibility in hours, and to be able to think of creative ways to market my work. Sales or marketing experience would be helpful but enthusiasm is a fine substitute.

I need someone who is willing to trade their time and energy for free career coaching, free workshops, and or paintings for their services. Sales will earn 5% in commissions. This is a terrific position for an emerging artist who wants to get some experience.

Please contact Linda Blondheim

lindablondheim12@hotmail.com






I have been good, I started several new paintings in the last couple of days. I had started to get behind, but I'm back on track. This rotation system is fantastic!!

Here is another finish.





Swamp
24x24 inches
oil on canvas

I love the high speed Internet. I find that I spend less time on the computer than I used to which gives me more painting time. Always a good thing.


I've been thinking for a long time that some galleries are missing a huge market of first time art buyers and middle class patrons who will purchase small or inexpensive works, but who are very intimidated by the gallery scene. I have many clients who refuse to go to galleries because they feel uncomfortable in that environment. I can't really blame them. I often visit galleries when I am on the road traveling and frankly I am seldom welcomed with any enthusiasm. I wear off the rack clothes and no jewelry so I am looked at with disdain by gallery sales staff. They often ignore people like me, not even saying hello. Little do they know that I buy quite a few small paintings every year from emerging artists.







In the past, fine art was the luxury of the rich and elite segment of society, but I believe that is steadily changing. I only have a couple of super rich patrons. Much as I would love to have a dozen or so of them, most of my clients are middle class professional people, doctors and lawyers, but no Chiefs. They work hard for their money and purchasing a large painting is a major commitment for their budget. Many of my patrons buy work out of the browse bin and I am certainly grateful for that. To me, these are the people I can count on and they are largely marginalized by galleries. I believe these patrons will purchase more substantial paintings someday and they are every bit as valuable as the affluent patrons who shop in galleries.

Young people my daughters' age will someday have more income and they will be ready to buy larger paintings. Who will they buy from? The gallery or artist who ignores them or the artist who is truly grateful for their small purchase now? Every person who purchases a painting or drawing from me supports my family and they are dear to me. I don't care whether they spend 10.00 or 3,000.00. I am humbled and grateful for their support.

I think artists are wise to cultivate lower income buyers because you never know what will happen in the future. In fact my two most successful galleries are very open and welcoming to average people. They are fun to go to and the staff is friendly and helpful to anyone who walks in.







The Sunflower fun continues:








Today's recipe is really good. It is a savory take on the traditional rice crispy squares we all loved a a kid.

Cheese Crispies


Cheese Crispies

1 stick butter

1 package of sharp cheddar cheese shredded

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

paprika and red pepper flakes to taste

1 1/2 cup rice crispies

Cream butter, cheese and flour. Add the other ingredients. Roll up and slice into cookies. Flatten into disks.

Bake at 250 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Country Roads, Sunflowers Continue, Starbucks Pastries,

Fall Trees
14x18 inches
oil on panel

If you remember, this is one of my starts paintings. I have finished the rotation for this one. It will go into an exhibition in Leesburg Florida, called "Country Roads". I was so delighted by the invitation, because I love this theme. It fits so many of my paintings. In fact, I have 10 paintings here in the studio all ready for the exhibit. Three more will go in that are not roads but are appropriate as a rural theme. All I have to do is finish one, frame a few, and do the inventory. By October I will be ready. Yipee!! I am starting to fall behind in my daily starts. I need to be more disciplined about this. The busier I get, the harder it is to keep up with the rotation. I will slap myself today and get another start going.



I'm working on my 5x7 series again. I do these little painting in acrylics, in batches when I'm in the mood to do small format paintings. People love them because they are so fresh and expressive. My galleries ask me for them because they are a nice gift size. I buy the frames in bulk which saves me money and keeps the cost down on them. I use this series to work on subjects which are interesting to me and I can study the subject without getting bogged down in long complicated compositions. I really recommend doing these small paintings because they are good study time. Here are two that I did yesterday. I'm in the mood for sunflowers and fall trees right now.







Sunflowers
5x7 inches
acrylic on panel




Fall Trees
5x inches
acrylic on panel


Goodies at Starbucks

I don't know about you but I am a huge Starbucks fan. I know, I know, it is Yuppy and expensive, but dang it!!! I love it anyway. Starbucks also has the best music around too. I love their CD's. You can purchase them in the store or online at www.starbucks.com Let's not leave out the fabulous baked goods either. The pumpkin/cream cheese/pumpkin seed muffins are my very favorite. I wait with eager anticipation every fall for them to be out in the Starbucks stores. I can't leave out the marble loaf and the lemon loaf either. Lord love a duck, they are so great!!! They even have a low fat and low sugar selection as well. I love going by there in the morning on my way out to paint. It is just one of life's little treats that we all need so much in our busy lives. No, I don't own stock in the company but I wish I did.

Pumpkin Muffins


Here is my version of pumpkin muffins. They are pretty good.

1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar ( I use the new half sugar stuff for baking)
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt (salt substitute)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup of raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 400
grease muffin tin

Beat egg, stir in oil and milk. Sift together dry ingredients and add to liquid. Don't over stir. Fill muffin tin. Bake about 20 minutes until brown. Turn out of tin while hot and cool on rack.

You can sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little sugar before you bake them to get a sweet crunchy top.

Note:

The basic muffin recipe without the pumpkin and pie spice will make any number of muffin varieties.

New work For Galleries, Exhibitions, Spaghetti

I spent yesterday getting paintings inventoried for a change out at my local gallery, HERE. What a job. First you must frame everything and put studio stickers on the backs of each painting. Rule number 1, never let a painting go out of your studio without a sticker on the back with your web site, phone number and your name on it. I get mine made online. If you don't have stickers, just use blank labels instead.






I leave the cardboard corners on my frames when they are in my studio. I just hang the paintings that way. When I deliver them to a gallery, I put the corners onto the frames of paintings I am removing to go back to my studio. I bring a heavy duty stapler with me to the gallery and just attach the corners to the paintings as I take them to the car. Then those painting hang in my studio with the corners on. I sell a lot of paintings directly from my studio and web site, so it is great to have the protective corners on for people to transport or for shipping.

Next you must decide on a cohesive body of work. My first thought was that I would send all of my new North Carolina paintings to the gallery for fall, but that went out the window when I was invited to do a 3 person show at the Leesburg Art Center in November. The theme for the show is "country roads". Since many of my NC paintings have roads and paths in them, they will be ideal for that show. I am going to take my Florida rivers paintings to the gallery instead. I have been working on the rivers series for a couple of years.Happily,many of them have sold so i keep doing more. My idea is to have an exhibition at some point, but who knows when I will have the time or opportunity for that.

The next thing I had to do was inventory the paintings for the galley,so I will know what they have. I use excel for all of my studio inventories. It is so easy. It allows you to import images so each painting has all info on the spreadsheet and a thumbnail image too. My galleries love me for this. It is so easy for them to keep up with my paintings, since there is an image. I print out a copy for them and I keep a file of the inventory on my computer.

Next comes the packing part. I keep the boxes that my frames are delivered in so that is very convenient to have the right sized box. I use masking tape to seal the boxes and I take it with me to the gallery to seal the box back up when I fill it with the gallery paintings.

Lastly, when I get my paintings back from the gallery, I will need to rehang my studio walls and change the paintings on my web site, taking off the paintings I have taken to the gallery and adding on the paintings which I bring home tomorrow.

Multiply this process by 5 or 6 galleries and you can see why I am working so hard to make my own studio and web site pay off. It would save me a huge amount of time and effort to simply sell from my own studio/web site. Not that I don't appreciate my galleries because I certainly do. But multiple galleries are a lot of time and effort to keep up with. The out of town galleries are actually easier to keep up with because it is a matter of shipping a few paintings now and then.


Today's Recipe

Baked Spaghetti


I make this for my sister because she loves it. It is a great quick way to feed a crowd.

1 package Mozzarella sliced cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large box of spaghetti cooked and drained. Rinse so it will not stick together.

1 large jar spaghetti or pasta sauce, whatever flavor you prefer.

1 pound ground beef, browned

1 onion diced and cooked with the meat.

1/2 pound Italian sausage browned (Optional)

Pour grease off meat and onions. Add sauce to meat and simmer a bit.

Grease a rectangular pan

Mix spaghetti with sauce and meats. Place 1/2 spaghetti/meat mix into the pan and sprinkle with half Parmesan cheese and half Mozzarella cheese. Place rest of spaghetti on top evenly and use the rest of the cheeses on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until hot. Remove cover and cook until edges start to brown and get crusty.

You can add extra sauce and chopped peppers or other ingredients if you like.






I like to serve this with garlic bread and a nice green salad.

Advice for Emerging Artists, Crockpot BBQ

I'm home again. I spent a weekend running errands with my friend and purchasing a computer for her. It was very hot in St Pete so I did not get to paint as planned.
:>(

I did go to a great dive called the Dome, downtown on Central Avenue. It has alfresco cafe' tables and indoor seating. I love this kind of place, with old paintings stacked along the wall, great old beat up furniture with seats as hard as a rock, and great coffee. I had the corned beef hash, eggs and rye toast. Yummy.

St Petersburg is my favorite Florida city. It is full of bungalows and vintage post WW2 architecture, brick streets, lots of shady trees and a beautiful bay front. I always love going there.



I have been thinking about what I wish I had done as a young artist. My advice to emerging artists or beginning older artists is to take classes online or at colleges in beginning finance, beginning business and beginning marketing. Add to that a basic html, basic Internet marketing class. The biggest handicap I see in emerging artists is their unwillingness to get with the program in these areas of business. Too many are unwilling to learn how to use Paypal, Ebay, how to set up their web site so that purchases can be made, and other related issues. Just get over it and get on with it. If you want to make a living you must learn these thing or outsource them. I pay a web master and a blog master to help me when I don't know how to do things. I don't sit in the corner and say, I don't like doing this so I wont. Anybody who really wants to can learn how to do this stuff, or pay someone to do it. It is essential that you have a working knowledge of marketing in order to make a living. Ignore the Internet at your own peril. That is the way of the future for artists.

My other advice is that you get to know a local framer and offer to work for free for a few weeks or a couple of months. You will learn a lot about presentation, how to cut glass and mats, and the tricks of framing.

You must realize that art school teaches you nothing about selling art or the business of being an artist. You have to take the initiative to learn these things about studio management in order to thrive and proper as an artist. Being a good artist is only the beginning.






Crock pot BBQ

This is a favorite in my family. Easy to do and so delicious.

One pork roast or beef roast

salt/pepper to taste
garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 small onion chopped finely

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and set on low. Let cook all day. When ready for dinner, pour off stock to save and freeze.

Pour one bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce over the roast and put the lid back on. Cook another half hour and then break up the meat and stir the sauce in evenly.

Place meat on buns.

First "Process" Paintings Completed

I have finally finished a couple of paintings in my rotation. I must confess that this is a really fun way to paint. Every morning I get in the studio and start a fresh painting. Then I look around the studio and see 6+ others in various stages of completion. The interesting thing is that they don't finish systematically, the way they start. I don't finish one each day. In fact,I go for days at a time without a completed painting. They just continue to languish around the room while I pick this or that one to work on. Some days like yesterday, I will finish more than one.








I love paintings in stages, and I had missed out on that fun for years and years while I was obsessed by alla prima and plein air work. I find it so interesting that the stages of painting are far more intimidating and challenging than alla prima is to me now. Something about facing that partially finished painting on the easel with new eyes is exhilarating. I think to myself, is this going to get screwed up? I had such a good start. Am I going to go in the right direction? What do I need to fix in the composition before I go further? What color mixing must I do? How about the values? All of these decisions have time to percolate over a period of days, rather than minutes in the field.


It is also interesting to find that I have been able to retain the fresh energy in the studio that is so lovely about plein air work, but with better control and certainly much better composition and design.


Of course I love field work too and will continue to do a few paint outs and work on location at least once a week, but I have always done my best work in the studio and my clients buy studio work about 5 to 1 over plein air.


My friend from St Pete has told me about a place there called the Dome. It is a dive, and sounds perfect for me. I'll be telling you all about my adventures in the city when I get back.


Today's recipe is so easy and delish.

Grilled Pork Chops

4 boneless chops

1 flat griddle or large flat skillet

EVOO
Balsamic Vinegar

Linda's Seasoning Mix

Dried Thyme
Dried Oregano
Paprika
Dried Onion Flakes
dried Parsley
Garlic powder
dried rosemary
salt or salt substitute
Cracked black pepper coarsely ground

I use a small spice jar and fill it with equal amounts of the above spices. Mix thoroughly and sprinkle on the chops. It is also great on chicken, beef,and home fries.

Heat the skillet or griddle. Cast iron is the best. Place chops on the griddle and sprinkle with seasoning mix. Drizzle on olive oil and grill until done. Drizzle on balsamic vinegar and it will deglaze the pan a bit and add flavor. Serve while hot.


I'll be traveling for a few days so look for my next post here on Monday.

Sunflowers, How Artists are Perceived

I wrote in my other blog today HERE about presenting work in clients homes or offices. I mentioned that artists don't come off very well to the business and professional community.


I usually get a backlash about this from artists but it is really true. I travel a lot and work with business people in various projects I'm involved with and invariably I get comments about artists in general, and about how surprised they are that I present myself professionally and in a businesslike way.

This does not speak well for us as a profession. Most of the comments are that artists are prima donnas, that we are unreliable, we are not prompt, cannot meet deadlines, are unorganized and flamboyant. Basically they feel that we are difficult people and that we feel some sort of entitlement about being an artist. Frankly, I know a lot of artists who fit this description. They are constantly late, disorganized, and unprofessional in their dealings with other artists too.


The fact is that we don't have the luxury of this kind of behavior when we make a living from our work. This is all fine and good if we have a husband/wife other stream of income or inheritance to support us, but for those of us who are single and living off our art, we need to understand that no one owes us anything. We are business people and should behave like professionals. It only takes one experience with a difficult artist to ruin it for the rest. I have dealt with this in event situations.


The corporate world has the money to purchase art and so we must be willing to make them comfortable in dealing with us.










Beautiful Sunflowers

I'm in a sunflower mood. I was remembering that in my 20's the agronomy farm for the University of Florida used to plant acres and acres of sunflowers each year. What a glorious site it was. The farm is only a couple of miles from my house and it is situated right next to the Dairy Farm. As I drove along I would see happy flowers and black and white dairy cows. What a visual feast. Now they plant corn, which is a let down though still pretty. It makes we want to do a series of miniature sunflower paintings, so I think I'll do just that.








Today's Recipe:

Roasted sunflower Seeds

Place shelled seeds on a flat sheet pan

Put in a 350 Degree oven

sprinkle with salt and a light sprinkling of black pepper

Stir a few times and watch the seeds so they don't get too brown.

They make a gret snack and are great with nuts/dried cranberries in a trail mix.


I love to dry sunflowers too. Sometimes I tie the stems together with string or a rubber band and hang them upside down in a dark closet for a few weeks. They make wonderful subjects for still life paintings or in an arrangment to enjoy in the studio.

Sometimes I like to just lay the seedheads on the window sills to dry and then put the whole seedhead out on the birdfeeder. The birds and squirrels make short work of them.

Painting Stage Two, Sour Cream Pound Cake,St Petersburg

I have rotated around my starts to this painting for stage two. It needs a lot of work but it is starting to look a bit like a painting. I have made some compositional adjustments but the road still needs further adjustment. In this stage I focused on the sky and cloud development, and laying in a bit of color in the major element of the painting, the large tree mass on the left.

The huge advantage of this rotational painting method is that there will be some time in between sessions to process and figure out what I might want to do in the next session. I am liking this method more and more. The disadvantage to it is the feeling of never being able to finish a painting. It takes much longer to do a painting from start to finish with this method and so there is a lag time between completions.



I'm going to be showing my work in a new gallery opening in South Carolina. Here is the blog about it. If you live or travel in that area please stop by to see my paintings soon. HERE



I am going to St Petersburg for the opening at Scarfone-Hartley Gallery and I'm looking forward to it. I've always liked St Petersburg with it's vintage architecture and lovely bay front parks. There was a great little restaurant down the street from my friends house on 4th Avenue, and the last time I was there I looked for it. Alas, it had been bulldozed for a new shopping center. Now I am hoping to find a cozy little breakfast dive when I go back. If anyone knows of a Mom and Pop style diner or cafe' in the bay front area between the Vinoy and 22nd Street N please email me with the address. That area is my favorite in the city. It is full of brick shaded streets and fine old bungalows. Lots of tiny alley ways behind houses.





I've always loved alleys. I know it seems strange, but there is something secret and mysterious about them. A private world away from the traffic, where neighbors walk their dogs and gossip about the neighborhood. It take me back to my childhood, when all of the neighbors hung around outside after dinner. We had complete freedom to roam and play well after dark. I regret that my children did not live in a world where that was possible. I guess mine was the last generation with that freedom.




Sour Cream Pound Cake


Today's recipe is an old favorite. This is the basic recipe I used for all of my wedding cakes when I was a caterer. I used different fillings and flavorings of course, but this was the cake. Using this pound cake made the layers stand up well. I learned to freeze all of my cakes after baking. Something about doing that improves the texture and taste of a layer cake. I used to take them out of the oven, let them cool to room temperature and then wrap and freeze them overnight.

I would let them thaw about half way before torting the layers to fill. This gives a nice clean cut to the layers and the texture is wonderful.


1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a tube pan and set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together and then add sour cream. Sift flour and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes and then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frost cake when completely cooled.

Amaretto Buttercream Frosting: 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened 3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons amaretto
With an electric mixer, cream butter in a large mixing bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar until smooth and creamy and sweetened to your liking (about 2 minutes). Add amaretto and stir to blend. Frost cake when fully cooled. If you are not using the frosting immediately, store it, covered, in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature just prior to using.

I like to spread seedless raspberry jam on the cake layers before putting the frosting between the layers. This is a delicious cake and beautiful for a wedding.
Yield: 3 cups

Evolving in My Work, Shepherd's Pie,Paint Brands

You know I have been thinking about how an artist's work evolves in a fairly short time period. I think it's good. I know some of my clients don't agree, having gotten used to a certain palette or look to the work, but I think it is important for growth to explore and gradually change and evolve as an artist.

I am sitting at my desk, looking at a painting I did a couple of years ago and looking at a painting I did a couple of weeks ago. It strikes me immediately that my current work has more harmony in palette, due to the work I have been doing with limited palettes over the past year. It is more subtle now, less spontaneous but richer for it's control. The bruhwork is similar. You know I love bold strokes and that barely controlled brushwork which I love to think of as controlled chaos. I love energy and movement in painting. Too much information is just showing off in my world. I like to show the viewer that I know how to paint, but not bore them to death with overworked detail. I love a painter who takes me on a bit of a ride, who goes just to the edge of control but not into tedium. I want a painter to show me he/she has game but not to show off. I don't know if that make sense to you. I hope so.

I thought you might be interested in some of the art brands I am fond of. Many of you know that I do product testing for my sponors and so I am lucky to try a lot of different brands. I use different brands for different hues, not focusing on one line for the most part.




SOLD

I love Utrecht for Naples Yellow Light. That is a really beautiful paint color, different from regular Naples Yellow. I buy it in the large studio tubes and it is a staple on my palette. It is incredibly useful. With black it makes a lovely warm gray. With thalo blue it makes a lovely distant tree or waterline. With cad red light it makes the perfect salmon color and with red iron oxide, the perfect light brown.

I also have favorites by Daniel Greene from Jack Richeson & Company. His Prussian Blue, Sap Green, all of his Umbers, Flake White, Titanim White and his Cadmiums are just superb. I've never used a sap green like his. In fact, I had stopped using sap green years ago, preferring to mix greens. Other brands are sort of a sick yellow bias in sap green, but his is a cut above.

Old Holland has the best Red Iron Oxide and their blues are all very nice.

There are several small independent companies who make very good paints as well. www.studioproducts.com is one. They also make superb mediums and solvents of all kinds.

For moderately priced paints I like W&N,Shiva and Grumbacher. Not bad at all, especially if you are starting out. Don't spend money on top line paints until you are selling regularly. I will admit that the more expensive paints are just better and handle better, but the cost is high. If you are a hobbyist, you may want to use student grade for awhile until you get your feet planted. Grumbacher Academy would be a good student grade paint to use.

I'll talk more about materials next time. Just remember that we all have our favorites. I may not mention yours, because I am talking about mine :>)

Today's recipe can be made in a hundred different ways. originally it was made with lamb out in the fields by sheepherders. I have had it made with pork, beef roast, hamburger,and lamb and they are all great. Believe it or not, the first time I ever had it was at the Cinderella's Castle restaurant at Walt Disney World about 25 years ago. It was incredibly delicious. Disney Chefs are so talented, simply amazing. Here is my version. My kids grew up on this and they love it so much. They always ask for it for their birthdays and special occasions.








Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground beef
1 can beef broth
2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and 1 small onion diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 diced fresh tomatoes
Mashed potatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 Tsp Thyme
1/2 Tsp oregano
Salt and Fresh ground pepper to taste
corn starch with 1/2 cup of red wine

Make a pot of mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream, salt and pepper. They should be creamy but stiff enough to spread like icing.

Brown the meat and vegetables in a skillet. pour off any fat. Add beef broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix wine with enough cornstarch to thicken gravy, on or two T. Pour into beef mixture and stir until smooth and gravy forms. Taste and adjust seasoning. Place in baking pan and spread mashed potato on top. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until bubbly and yummy.

Football At Last, Tomato Salad,Starts

This is my start from Saturday. I am loving this Start method of painting. I wish I had the self discipline to do this year round but I always let other things intrude eventually. It is the absolute best way to paint for me. The thing I like best about it is always having paintings "in the works". It is highly motivating to see all of these paintings stacked around the room, and it is also the feeling of denied gratification, which is also great. Only another painter could understand that feeling. Our inclination is to start a painting and move through it to it's logical conclusion with no interruption. We have been conditioned especially in the landscape genre, that alla prima is superior. Forcing myself to lay a painting aside after a brief session and starting a painting when there are painting sitting around uncompleted takes a fair amount of discipline for me. I believe it eventually makes better paintings. We will see how long this will last. It may not mean anything to painters who are slow in their process. For me it is revolutionary. Slow is never a part of my vocabulary as anyone who knows me will agree.


Thank heaven, Football season is here. The Gator Nation was in The Swamp at last, yesterday afternoon, though we were cheated out of eight minutes of the game due to bad weather. What was Mother Nature thinkin?!!!!! I have high hopes for a good season.

There is no place like the South for football. It is a religion here. The Swamp is a scary place. The noise is deafening. There is nothing like hearing the fight song start up for the first time each year. It sends chills down my spine as it does in countless cities around my beloved South. I will miss going up for the Troy Trojans
game this year for the first time in four years. My daughter is back home and I feel a bit sad over it. I have high hopes for Alabama this year with a new coach. I have been waiting patiently for quite a while for them to clobber Auburn and perhaps this will be the year. Go Gators, Go Dawgs, Go Seminoles, Go Miami, Go Trojans, Roll Tide!!!!!!!










Today's Recipe:

Tomato Salad

5 tomatoes, assorted varieties
1/4 cup EVOO
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
Salt and black pepper
4 handfuls mixed salad greens
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 1/4 cups crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese

1. Slice the tomatoes thinly. Place the tomatoes in a separate bowl and let sit for 30 minutes. Combine the liquid from the tomatoes with the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper to make a dressing.

2. Divide the salad greens equally among serving plates. Place the tomatoes on top and sprinkle with herbs, dressing, and cheese. Serve immediately.

My favorite crackers to serve with salad or just out of the box for a snack are John Wm Macy's Cheese Crisps. They are the world's best crackers. I discovered them about a year ago when I judged the Halifax art festival. The promoters had put a basket of goodies in my hotel room. There was a box of these crackers. They are so good. I have since found them at Publix Markets.