Autumn Dance

It was such a colorful autumn in northern Florida this year.  Was it a combination of dry weather and a seemingly slower changing of the seasons?  I just finished this painting of Paynes Prairie.  I was attracted to the scene because of the colors and design everywhere I looked. As I observed I had the feeling that autumn was dancing in the landscape. 

Over the next couple of weeks I hope to put the finishing touches on several prairie paintings I have in various stages towards completion. I'll post them as they find their resting points. 

Mark your calendars because our big event at Prairie Creek Lodge is drawing near!  On February 25 the Six Artists Six Prairies Project will combine forces with the Alachua Conservation Trust, showing and selling the prairie paintings we have done in an effort to support conservation and artists.  More details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Happy New Year to everyone!  May this be a special year for each of you!

Mary Jane Volkmann

Prairie Riot

Walking in the prairies at different times of  the year I am always delighted to observe how nature changes her drapery.  From exposed branches and the tangled design of grasses to the riot of color as the buds burst into bloom, each season brings both its subtle and bold changes, never ceasing to point out to me something I haven't seen before! This painting is from a spot I often visit along the La Chua Trail in Paynes Prairie.

Mary Jane Volkmann

Sundog over the Prairie

Living where I do in Florida, my view of the skies is rather limited by the surrounding trees.  When I walk through the overhanging oaks, pines and bushes at the edge of the prairies and emerge into their vast open spaces, it almost feels like a theater curtain parts in front of me, teasing my imagination in wonder at what lies beyond the vast expanse of sky in all directions.  The open view pushes my thoughts from the close up to the distant.  I like to look at the change of color in each part of the sky, to watch the birds winging their flight above and to see the clouds skirting by as they do their dance from the wispy to the billowing, becoming small in the perspective of distance. As I was walking in Paynes Prairie late one afternoon, watching the shadow of jet trails on the thin veil of clouds I turned and saw this beautiful sun dog!  Below my photo I have cut and pasted what I learned about them from Wikipedia.

"Sundogs are made commonly of plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds or, during very cold weather, by ice crystals called diamond dust drifting in the air at low levels. These crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. If the crystals are randomly oriented, a complete ring around the sun is seen — a halo. But often, as the crystals sink through the air they become vertically aligned, so sunlight is refracted horizontally — in this case, sundogs are seen.
As the sun rises higher, the rays passing through the crystals are increasingly skewed from the horizontal plane. Their angle of deviation increases and the sundogs move further from the sun. However, they always stay at the same elevation as the sun.
Sundogs are red-colored at the side nearest the sun. Farther out the colors grade through oranges to blue. However, the colors overlap considerably and so are muted, never pure or saturated. The colors of the sundog finally merge into the white of the parhelic circle (if the latter is visible)." ~ Wikipedia

Mary Jane Volkmann

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

Chicken Run


"Chicken Run"
24" x 30"
Acrylic

   Having painting in and around Paynes Prairie a number of time, I was taken by the amount of small farms, houses and even business that line the prairie rim. I wondered how much of a problem the local wildlife has caused for these residence. Rats, mice, racoons, snakes, fox and even coyotes, I'm sure must rely on a home or business garbage cans.
   We all know the importance of not feeding wildlife, but having a chicken coop makes for a tempting meal for the Florida Red Fox. "Chicken Run" is my latest acrylic painting for Six Artist Six Prairies.

Scott Hiestand

After the Storm

After the Storm

Paynes Prairie

This is a palette knife painting. One of the things I am most interested in as a painter is light and atmosphere or what artsy people call aerial perspective. I have studied both of these for many years and continue to. The prairies offer the vistas which make aerial perspective very apparent to the viewer. I find the gradual shift of colors from warm close to me, to cool in the distance, very interesting and beautiful.

Linda Blondheim

Clearing the mind and sharpening the senses...

Painting in nature gives me the quietude I need to clear the clutter from my head so I can immerse myself in the incredible world around me, appreciating the fascinating diversity of flora, fauna, colors and design.  As I settle in, I become aware of the smell of the grass and the pine needles baking in the sand.  My ears start tuning in to the music of nature: the call of the birds, the rustle of a critter in the bushes, the cicadas and grunts of alligators. As I focus in on the subject I am painting I become keenly aware of changes around me. I keep a camera handy to record the unexpected and the beautiful. I remember a precious moment of one hot day in particular.  I had my easel up against a bush to try and catch a bit of the shade when suddenly a little bird landed on a twig which was caught on the top corner of my easel.  Knowing the bird would never stand still for me to reach for my camera, I caught my breath and held my brush in mid-air so I could memorize the moment.  I identified it later as a blue-gray gnatcatcher, a bird I had never seen before!  Obviously it flew away, so I cannot share a picture with you, but here is another one I took in Paynes Prairie.  Is this bird enjoying life, or what!?!

Mary Jane Volkmann

Observing in the prairies

Today I was looking back at the pictures I have taken during my walks and painting sessions in Paynes Prairie over the years and changing seasons, remembering how much I have seen and observed, often just by standing still and looking. I came across this lucky shot. Note the guy in the middle with the fish in his mouth! Well, I assume it's a guy... can anyone enlighten me? Ah, so much still to learn!

Mary Jane Volkmann

Prairie Sunset

Prairie Sunset

Prairies go through wet and dry seasons and can change dramatically with the ebb and flow of waterways. There is nothing like a sunset thrown in to enhance their beauty.

La Chua Trail leads to Alachua Sink and the center of the prairie marsh and wetlands. Abundant wildlife including alligators and migratory sandhill cranes. Platform at trail’s end provides panoramic views. 3 miles round-trip.
Directions: Take SE 15th Street past Boulware Springs Park. Before road takes a hard turn to the left look for the brown park signs on a spur road to the right - Camp Ranch Rd. - From Friends of Paynes Prairie

Linda Blondheim

A look back at a special moment....

When we moved to the lush, green, tree-canopied scenery of Florida from the wide open spaces of Namibia nine years ago, I found myself longing for a vista. One morning not long after the move I grabbed my paints and drove to the lookout tower at Paynes Prairie. It was windy and misty, but the colors and the feeling of space were revitalizing to me. This was what I painted in that short moment. I have returned often and will continue to do so ~ paints in hand!

Mary Jane Volkmann