Visit Art Studios for Insight into an Artist's Work

North Florida Cattle Ranch
20x24 inches
oil on Birch Panel
Wired and ready to hang, unframed
Sides are painted a neutral color.
Purchase HERE

Do you ever wonder about the process of art? How does an artist come up with the interesting paintings he/she produces? Are you curious about his/her life? What it's like to be a professional artist? Would you like to expose your children to a real artist's work, not just old masters paintings in museums?

The easy solution is to arrange a studio visit with an artist you admire. In fact, many artists enjoy studio visits from patrons and those who are simply curious about real artists.

I welcome and encourage friends and patrons to come to my studio as often as possible. It is home for me, really much more than my real home. It's a cozy old building behind my house. I always get excited about visitors. I make a snack and provide a nice, comfortable atmosphere for them with soft music and all the time in the world for a great visit. I consider my patrons to be true friends and I want to hear all about their children, hobbies, and their dreams, just as they want to hear about mine. I always have the newest work available in the studio, and encourage questions about technique and subjects.

A studio visit is really the best way to get to know an artist and to gain insight about the process of their work. It is much more relaxed than an art opening. Most painters prefer a studio visit to a gallery opening because there is no stress.

You are always welcome to come and visit and there is never pressure at all to purchase.

I have a studio party coming up in two weeks. Please come and enjoy the drive. I live North of Gainesville, eight miles from Alachua and 6 miles from Lacrosse. You will find directions from Gainesville on the contact page of my web site. HERE

Linda's Annual Chili Party
February 7, 2009
Saturday
10 AM - 6 PM

Enjoy a bowl of homemade chili and see my paintings from St Augustine Beach, The Color Fields Series and the Florida Farms and Ranches series.

Don't be afraid to contact and ask for a visit with an artist you admire. They will most likely be delighted and flattered that you wish to meet them. If you don't know how to contact them, the best way would be to do a www.google.com search of their name. If they have a web site, and most professional artists do, you will likely find their email on their web site. That is an easy non-intrusive way to contact them.

A Melrose Florida Adventure, Finding Art

Anastasia State Park
St Augustine Beach, Florida
12x16 inches
oil on Birch panel
700.00
shipping 20.00
HERE

Friday I took a day trip with my mother and sister and of course, Studio Dog, my French Bulldog, also named Henry. Studio Dog is his stage name, since he is quite famous, at least in his own mind. :>)

We decided to go east, exploring the little towns of Windsor, Earlton, and Melrose. They are all quite small and Melrose is the most interesting and the largest of the three. It is a sort of lakeside bedroom community for Gainesville and quite artsy in populous and style. Well know architect/author Ron Haase lives there along with several local and regional artists. There is a lovely little local gallery on State Road 26 called the Melrose Bay Gallery, and another called Bellamy Road. They seem to be connected in that they often have themed shows together. I am to have a one woman guest show there in 2010, featuring my Farms and Ranches Series.

There is a fair amount of Victorian architecture there with a couple of nice parks and the lovely lake Santa Fe dotted with old cypress trees and boat houses on stilts. It is a scruffy old town full of character, with some newer upscale homes carefully landscaped. There is a quaint little strip shopping center with a coffee house, some gift shops, bait and tackle shops and two or three restaurants, around town from down home, to pizza, to the elegant and interesting Blue Water Bay Restaurant HERE

By elegant, I don't mean the facility, which is a typical looking seafood restaurant. What I mean by elegant, is the attention to detail, with white linen cloths, real linen napkins, fresh flowers at each table, outstanding bar and restaurant service, and delicious and interesting cuisine. We had shrimp and Grouper with sides of Mango cole slaw and red beans and rice, both absolutely delicious. the fish and shrimp were cooked to perfection, just done. The plate presentation was nice, the dessert key Lime Pie was excellent and tart with real whipped cream, and the coffee excellent.

They have a full bar , separate from the main dining room, which is a nice idea. The bar is dark and cozy, with booths for dining as well. I was also quite impressed with the wait staff who were very knowledgeable about local activities, and the restaurant history. Our waitress was attentive without being annoying and very solicitous to my elderly Mother. I appreciated that so much.

The walls were decorated with art from local artists and that made me happy that they support the artists in their community. There were colorful and interesting stained glass fish in the windows to brighten the restaurant with splashes of color. It was an outstanding dining experience.

Finding Art Outside of the Formal Gallery Scene

Commercial galleries are only one of the ways to find good quality original art. Small local Cooperative galleries display a variety of art from inexpensive amateur paintings to well know regional artists work. Restaurants and cafes often display emerging artists paintings as well as business offices, libraries, and bookshops. All of these alternative spaces have interesting shows and themes.

These days more and more professional artists are using their web sites as Internet galleries to show and sell artwork directly to patrons. In fact, my web site and studio sales far outweigh my traditional brick and mortar gallery sales now. I always offer full satisfaction and shipping all over the USA. Most artists do these days. You can purchase work instantly from your favorite artist no matter where you live. I have an agent who handles all of my International sales as well. Art is shipped around the world ever day now. There are so many more opportunities to buy original art than there ever were in the past.

See and purchase my paintings HERE with a full money back guarantee.

This week's MAKE AN OFFER painting, Sunday Afternoon Rides, What should collectors do with too many paintings?

Lake Alice
8x10 inches
oil on Masonite Panel
Make an Offer

Your offer must be at least 10.00 You must pay Florida sales tax of 6.75% if you live in Florida and 4.00 for shipping. Send your offer to lindablondheim@gmail.com and put OFFER in the message line.

I'm a Sunday afternoon ride fan. When I was a child, my Daddy had a Model T Ford truck. It was the hit of the neighborhood because it was so old and even then it was stylish to have vintage cars. In those days it was customary to have a big full meal on Sunday afternoon with friends and family dropping in to eat. We often had fried chicken, which is still my favorite comfort food, or a baked ham, equally delicious. To this day, if I a worried or sad, I'll get the cast iron skillet out and fry chicken. Nothing is more comforting and I know no true southerner who doesn't love good fried chicken. Try the fried chicken at the Dixie Grill on US 98 in Live Oak Florida. It is incredible.

There were vine ripe beefsteak tomatoes right out of the garden, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, field peas and often homemade cakes and pies for dessert. In those days people really cooked and my love of cooking comes from my grandmother Resch who made Divine chicken perlow and homemade banana pudding in a deep Pyrex dish. That was the ultimate.

After stuffing ourselves and being turned loose outside to play and get out of the adults' hair, Daddy would load us in the truck for a Sunday drive. What I loved the most about it is the randomness and lack of purpose other than passing the time. People used to just have fun. We are so work oriented now from cradle to grave, that I wonder what happened?

We rode for miles on dusty roads in the back of that old pick up, going about 40 miles an hour. Daddy would yell out songs to us and we would sing along together, bouncing along, pretending that we were on a hay ride.

Perhaps it's time to bring back the Sunday afternoon drive, now that gas has gone down again.

Making Room for Art

Have you collected all the art you have room for but want to keep collecting? You are an artist's dream!! Here are some ways to enjoy more art.

Start a lending library among family and friends. lend out paintings for 6 months or a year at a time. Keep track of the paintings by using a data base. Put the dates of the loan and when they are expected to return with all contact information. You will be sharing your collection with many who cannot afford original art.

Rotate your art by storing half your collection for a year at a time. Each time you rotate, it will be a breath of freshness to see the beloved pieces again. You will have a new sense of pride in them.

Hang the work salon style. This is quite fashionable and fun for visitors. It involves hanging works floor to ceiling, frame to frame. I have the work in my office hung this way and it is fascinating to visitors. I never fail to get a Wow! reaction to this hanging style.

Hang work at your business office. Others will enjoy it and you can rotate the paintings every six months.

Enjoy paintings and then give them to friends for special gifts. Buy the painting, enjoy it for awhile and then give it to someone you care for. You will be able to visit the painting whenever you wish to, but spread the joy of ownership to to others, while creating more space for new art.

See my paintings HERE