Paynes Prairie State Park

12x16 inches

acrylic on panel

palette knife

There is an area inside the state park that I really love to paint. It is between the entrance and Puggy Road. It is full of weeds, tall grasses, and palms scattered among the giant oaks. In the fall and winter, the colors turn to blues, rusts, wheats, and olives. That's my favorite painting spot in the park.

Linda Blondheim

Angeline, Thanks so much for writing and I'm glad you like the blog. That was a fun workshops and I'm so glad I was able to be a positive influence for you in painting.
Love,
Linda

Gaining momentum...

This has been an exciting week of making plans with one of our new sponsors and one of our conservation partners.  We are busy finalizing opportunities for the public to meet us, to see and buy our paintings in support of conservation and art, and to get to know our conservation partners, what they do and how we can all support their efforts to preserve our natural world for future generations. 

Early in the week I met with our newest sponsor, Gainesville Wild Birds Unlimited. In case you don't know them, Bubba (that's him in the photo) and Ingrid opened Wild Birds Unlimited in Gainesville a couple of years ago.  It has become a haven for bird and nature lovers seeking everything from creature comforts and food for our birds to guidebooks to natural bugspray ~ a must for those of us who paint outdoors!  Bubba is also the chair of the field trip committee for the Alachua Audubon Society.  They have planned 30 field trips this season! Some of the trips are through the very prairies we are painting.  The schedule will be published this week and can be found at www.flmnh.ufl.edu/aud.

Today I drove out to Prairie Creek Lodge to meet with Hutch and Lesa of Alachua Conservation Trust. It was a beautiful drive under the billowing clouds which kept the temperature manageable and gave me a glimmer of hope that cooler weather is on the way. The lodge itself was a hive of enthusiastic activity punctuated by the ringing of the telephone and the happy smiles of those at work on various projects. Soon the weather will have cooled enough for us to really get out into the prairies to explore and paint on location. Hutch told me that the normally wet prairies are so dry at the moment that in places the cypress knees are totally exposed and so tall. Perhaps it has been the very hot and dry weather, but there seems to be a noticeable absense of the plants which usually give the prairies their unique colors at this time of year. Once we have them finalized, we will share with you news of the plans which Six Artists Six Prairies and the Alachua Conservation Trust are making.

Watch for news about November and February....

Mary Jane Volkmann

Prairie Pines

Pines

12x9 inches

acrylic on panel

Pine Flatwoods and Dry Prairies are part of the Upland Ecosystem. Prior to the advent of air conditioning, Florida was an unbearable place for people to live. The things that sustained Florida before tourism were turpentine harvesting, logging and other industries that depended on these upland ecosystems. Nearly half of the land area in Florida is pine flatwoods - generally flat, low lying land with poorly drained soil. In fact, the term "flatwoods" arose from the noticeable lack of topographic relief in the lands of this habitat. One of the most famous prairies in Florida is Paynes Prairie, a state reserve just south of Gainesville, Florida.- From http://www.floridiannature.com/

I've always loved to paint pine trees and they often rim a prairie like Hopkins Prairie near Ocala.

 

Linda Blondheim



Paynes Prairie in the Morning Mist

Early one morning I drove into Paynes Prairie to have a look around to see what had changed in the landscape.  I often do this.  It's part of finding peace, solitude and inspiration.  As I rounded one of the first corners, the sun was rising through a thick veil of mist, casting pearls of light on the dew covered flowering grasses which had sprung up after a fire the year before.  It was so beautiful!  There was design everywhere I looked.  I got out of my car and just stood there, trying to take it all in.  Those of you who know me know my passion for detail and how the intricacies of nature leave me rather breathless with excitement.  Now that it's too hot for me to paint outdoors, I decided to challenge myself to paint this scene in acrylics, working from some photographs I took that day.

Mary Jane Volkmann

Paynes Prairie Muck Fire

   My wife and I traveled to Paynes Prairie over this past weekend. The weather has been just too hot to sit and paint, so once again we were armed with our cameras. Our first stop was the visitors center where we gathered up all the information about the area. Our second stop proved to be very interesting. From the observation tower we saw a muck fire in progress. It had been started the day before by lighting and according to the Ranger had burned about one hundred and fifty acres.
   The sharp contrast of the deep green trees in the foreground against the ever changing colors of the smoke in the background, was something to behold. The studio painting "Paynes Praire Muck Fire" came from my research that day.

Scott Hiestand

Face to Face with a Green Anole in Paynes Prairie

Anyone who sees me get out of my car with all the gear I take with me to paint might chuckle because I like to anticipate all the things I might need while I'm out there.  I've pared it down quite a bit over the years, but I always have certain essentials with me such as my camera, my binoculars and my Audubon Field Guide.  These days my smartphone serves as a camera and has field guides!  While I paint I sometimes see something I will down my painting tools to photograph.  One day in Paynes Prairie I observed this little lizard.  I didn't see her at first because she was lying straight in the middle of one of the palm fronds, green as could be.  We eyed each other for awhile, then she slowly turned to the side and cautiously started stepping across the fronds, changing colors as she moved.  I read that she is a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis), a member of the Iguanid family. The Smithsonian's National Zoological Park online guide gives some fascinating facts: "Green anoles have adhesive lamellae on their foot-pads for crawling along walls, much like geckos. Able to change color, the green anole can be anywhere from bright green to browns and grays. One thought is that the green coloration is related to dominance. Their color varies depending on their mood, temperature, humidity and health. They are often referred to as the American chameleon, although they are unrelated to chameleons. ...Males are distinguishable from females because males have a pink dewlap, a flap of skin that hangs in an arc below their neck. This dewlap is used for attracting females and in territorial displays...Green anoles have a stereotyped set of behaviors. Male anoles perform rituals of dominance and territoriality. They show their dominance by bobbing their heads, usually through pushup-like movements. They also flare their dewlap. When threatened by another male, the opponents begin with head bobbing and flaring. Then they extend their throat (different than dewlap) to enlarge their body profile, they turn lateral to their opponent, showing the side profile of their body. They also erect crests along the back, and form an eyespot. These performances are intended to intimidate the other anole. The loser of the confrontation performs submissive head bobbing and retreats to a different territory."  Oh, and they eat spiders, too.  I wish she'd stay next to me and feast on the insects that like to feast on me....

Mary Jane Volkmann

A Poetry Review

Storm at Payne's Prairie 6 x 14

This is a thunderstorm over Gainesville and Payne’s Prairie. You probably recognize the image from a previous post. I took a photograph a couple of weeks ago at the elevated walkway on Highway 441. Painting it, and thinking about prairies, reminded me of my favorite book of poetry. Yes, I own a book of poetry. I wonder what percentage of the population owns an actual book of poetry? Is it more than, or less than the percentage that owns original art?

Anyway, if you don’t own a book of poetry, and you’re also interested in art, I recommend “The Art of Drowning” by Billy Collins. First of all, it will look good on your bookshelf. I don’t know how many people have pulled it out from between other books and asked “what is this?” Secondly, it’s a great read. The guy can do amazing things with words. There are also a number of poems with references to artists, paintings, sculptures and even the process of making art. In the poem “Medium” for example, he compares writing a poem to the process of painting.

. . .

I want to write with the least control,

one finger on the steering wheel,

to write like a watercolorist

whose brush persuades the liquids

to stay above the pull of gravity.

. . .

And my favorite poem in the book, and the reason this post is being written on this blog, and has anything to do with this painting, is the poem entitled “Horizon”

Horizon

You can use the brush of a Japanese monk
or a pencil stub from a race track.

As long as you draw the line a third
the way up from the bottom of the page,

the effect is the same: the world suddenly
divided into its elemental realms.

A moment ago there was only a piece of paper.
Now there is earth and sky, sky and sea.

You were sitting alone in a small room.
Now you are walking in the heat of a vast desert

or standing on the ledge of a winter beach
watching the light on the water, light in the air.

When you are out on a big prairie you have this same feeling of space. I only wish I could do with my paint, half the justice Mr. Collins does with his words. So go buy this book and let me know what you think. And while you’re at it, how about buying some original art. : )

Thanks for looking.

Steve Andrews