My visit with a local painter

 I spent the afternoon recently with Florida landscape artist Linda Blondheim.  Linda and I get together every 6 months or so to talk the business of art.  It's nice to be able to compare notes with someone that's not in my media.  We can discuss what's working and what's not working.  At the end, we always have an actionable plan to work on.  We'll report back to each other in a few months to see how our plan is going.

I met Linda at her studio which is about 10 miles north of Gainesville.  I fully admit that I have studio envy!  Linda's art studio is the perfect place for her to paint.  What I love about it is that her art studio is a separate, climate controlled, quaint building that she can completely call her own.  I long for the day that I can have a studio that's not part of my house and that I don't have to worry about little people inadvertently destroying something!  I took some pictures from my visit to share just what Linda's painting life is like.  You can see here at the easel she has a work in progress.  Linda blogs about her paintings and how she artistically works through them.

Her supplies are always organized and make sense.  You can see here how her brushes and paints are within easy reach of her easel.










I wandered around her studio grabbing pictures of her latest Florida landscape oil paintings.  I love how she is so exact with her interpretations.  As she explained to me, "I like people to experience a 'vacation', at least for a few moments, when they view my paintings."













Linda is taking notes about our conversation while I grab some pictures.











Linda is ALWAYS the best hostess.  I have never been to her studio without being treated like a special guest.  This day was no different.  A lovely plate of tea sandwiches and fruit awaited me.  She joyfully recalled how this was a part of her southern hospitality upbringing.







Linda always has a selection of paintings tastefully framed and ready for hanging.  I'm always impressed that she carefully considers the frame before putting the oil painting in it. 









These rubber chickens grace her studio as well.  I'll let her tell you how they got there.  *smile*













Linda does several paint outs during the year along with painting on location.  I think that closeness translates into her landscape paintings.

 I just couldn't stop taking pictures!  (and I certainly couldn't choose only one or two to post)










Linda also receives visitors to her studio.  She is very gracious and enjoys the time to connect.











This is me and Henry, Linda's studio dog.  Henry is a French Bulldog and is always happy to visit as well.  He is quite lively and Linda is aware that I like visiting with Henry as much as I do with her.  He accompanies her on trips and has even made a paint out or two.  Not much gets past him!






I look forward to my next visit!