Introducing oil painter Linda Blondheim

Oil painter Linda Blondheim was the featured artist for March 2009 on Cow Art and More. Linda is well known throughout the southeast United States for her landscape paintings, including those of rural Florida farmland and cattle. Linda recently opened her own small gallery space and enjoys meeting with customers and art enthusiasts.

Why do you paint?

It's in my soul. I started painting at eight years old and never stopped.

How did you get started?

I started an art club for the neighborhood kids when I was nine. We painted together one day a week. I also had a horse club which crossed over into horse art. We were all horse crazy at that age.

What is your technique?

I paint with oils, acrylics and gouache. I am representational expressionist, in that I don't copy nature but rather invent it in my on style.

Where did you learn your technique?

I have a BFA (bachelor of fine arts) in Fine Art and advanced study. I studied with Joe Testa Secca in undergraduate school and with Bruce Marsh, in graduate school, both fine painters. After I finished school I self studied for many years and I still do.

How did you decide what to paint?

I became very interested in the Southern Landscape about 20 years ago. I started painting on location then and continue to work both on location with a small paint box and in the studio for larger format work. My fascination with the landscape goes on endlessly. I also enjoy Bovines and Canines as subjects.

How long does it take you to paint a painting?

Small paintings are done alla prima, from start to finish in one session, usually from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Large format paintings can take from 1-3 weeks.

Do you ever have goof ups or work you don't like?

All the time. Those are the most instructive. I consider painting to be an ongoing study, never a finished skill set.

What else would you like people to know about your work that they may not know already?

My work is thematic in approach. I will explore themes and subjects for long periods, because intense study of a subject reveals its soul. I also base many of my paintings on particular studies of technique. This is the way we grow as a painter.

I love the land, animals, people, cooking and culture of my beloved South. I am particularly indebted to the farmers, ranchers and land conservationists who allow me to paint on their private lands.

What advice to you have for aspiring painters?

There is no substitute for easel time. Work hard, study hard. Do many practice paintings, Study areas of painting like values, color mixing,composition in small studies. That will improve your painting.

Studio visit with Linda Blondheim

I am very fortunate to work with a very talented group of artists across the country. I wish I had the time and opportunity to visit with all of them, but it is just about impossible. However, I am only a few miles from oil painter Linda Blondheim. I was able to spend a lovely afternoon with her in her studio just north of Gainesville, Florida. She, and her French Bulldog Henry, treated me to an afternoon of art and business talk. In addition to the cow art oil paintings she does for Cow Art and More, Linda is widely recognized as one of the premier landscape painters of the southeastern United States. She has an expanded portfolio of her work on www.lindablondheim.com. Linda is kind enough to receive visitors on appointment. She also participates in outdoor painting events across the state.

Picture credit: Linda's French Bulldog, Henry, waits for his newest friend to sit next to him on the futon

Linda Blondheim gives insight into her work

What else would you like people to know about your work that they may not know already?

My work is thematic in approach. I will explore themes and subjects for long periods, because intense study of a subject reveals its soul. I also base many of my paintings on particular studies of technique. This is the way we grow as a painter.

I love the land, animals, people, cooking and culture of my beloved South. I am particularly indebted to the farmers, ranchers and land conservationists who allow me to paint on their private lands.

Picture credit: "Wood Farm", 18 inches by 24 inches, oil on canvas

Click here to see more information about this painting

Linda Blondheim shares advice

What advice to you have for aspiring painters?

There is no substitute for easel time. Work hard, study hard. Do many practice paintings, Study areas of painting like values, color mixing,composition in small studies. That will improve your painting.

Picture credit: "Wacahoota Cattle Ranch", oil on canvas, 18 inches by 24 inches

Click here to read more about this painting

Linda Blondheim talks more about her painting

Do you ever have goof ups or work you don't like?

All the time. Those are the most instructive. I consider painting to be an ongoing study, never a finished skill set.

Picture credit: "North Florida Cattle Ranch", oil on birch panel, 20 inches by 24 inches

Click here to go to Cow Art and More to purchase this painting

Linda Blondheim explains her painting skills

How long does it take you to paint a painting?

Small paintings are done alla prima, from start to finish in one session, usually from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Large format paintings can take from 1-3 weeks.

Picture credit: A 5 stages board showing how Linda does a painting from start to finish

Friday's website of interest to art enthusiasts

Today's website of interest is the blog maintained by this month's featured artist, Linda Blondheim. Not only does Linda paint and manage a studio, she finds time to coach and inspire other artists to improve their work. Linda posts regularly about her work, both analyzing and critiquing, while offering hints and tips for other painters. One of the best part is that she includes one of her favorite recipes at the end. Furthermore, Linda has years of insight into the business of art and is generous with sharing that information also.

Her blog can be found at lindablondheimartnotes.blogspot.com

Picture credit: "Henry", Linda Blondheim's faithful Boston Terrier and studio companion

Linda Blondheim reveals how she picks her subjects

How did you decide what to paint?

I became very interested in the Southern Landscape about 20 years ago. I started painting on location then and continue to work both on location with a small paint box and in the studio for larger format work. My fascination with the landscape goes on endlessly. I also enjoy Bovines and Canines as subjects.

Picture credit: Linda painting on location

Click here to go to the Cow Art and More website to see Linda's work

Linda Blondheim discusses her education

Where did you learn your technique?

I have a BFA (bachelor of fine arts) in Fine Art and advanced study. I studied with Joe Testa Secca in undergraduate school and with Bruce Marsh, in graduate school, both fine painters. After I finished school I self studied for many years and I still do.

Picture credit: Linda painting on location

Linda Blondheim talks about her technique

What is your technique?

I paint with oils, acrylics and gouache. I am representational expressionist, in that I don't copy nature but rather invent it in my on style.

Picture credit: "Wood Farm", oil on canvas, 18 inches by 24 inches, framed

Click here to go the website to purchase this painting

Linda talks about how she got started

How did you get started?

I started an art club for the neighborhood kids when I was nine. We painted together one day a week. I also had a horse club which crossed over into horse art. We were all horse crazy at that age.

Picture credit: "Florida Cattle Ranch", oil on birch panel, 24 inches by 30 inches

Go to the Cow Art and More website to purchase this painting

Linda Blondheim's conversation begins

Why do you paint?

It's in my soul. I started painting at eight years old and never stopped.

Linda Blondheim featured artist for March

Oil painter Linda Blondheim is the featured artist for the month on Cow Art and More. Linda is well known throughout the southeast United States for her landscape paintings. Linda does not create prints of her work, so her paintings truly are one-of-a-kind. Look for postings about Linda and her art all this month.

For the month of March only, purchase any of Linda's paintings and receive free shipping. Go to our specials page to see her work.

Valerie at class!

Valerie has included a picture of herself taking one of Linda Blondheim's classes!

Continuing the conversation with Valerie

Where did you learn your technique?

(My first) teacher Dale, actually a potter rather than a painter, was pitching in for someone else. Dale pretty much let us splash paint around as we saw fit, and, in that process, I discovered that I always chose bright colors and created “primitive” images (probably because I couldn’t draw worth a hoot). Dale concluded that what I was doing looked somewhat similar to paintings from his friend Mike Segal (Cedar Key), so Dale brought in one of Mike’s pieces and suggested that I try to emulate it. That’s how the bright colors/primitive images part began. A class member brought in a photocopy of a stick-figured cow, saying she thought it looked like the subject matter I seemed to like to paint. Thus, the cows started mooing to me.

In more recent years, I’ve become friends with Mike and his wife Marvi. Although he probably internally cringes when I re-tell him the Dale/Mike/bright colors/primitive story and claim that he’s my (unauthorized) mentor, Mike is always very patient (well, as patient as Mike can stand to be) and has encouraged the development of my style. We end up in some of the same art shows, such as Thornbrook and Tioga. He wins the prizes and the big bucks, of course, while I look longingly in his booth’s direction, thinking, someday . . . .

After the beginning painters class, I took a couple of acrylic painting lessons with Elizabeth Barakah Hodges, another character in her own right. One time, I had the privilege of being her sole student for an evening. She introduced me to using collage with acrylic and, so, opened up another avenue for me.

I found out about Linda Pence’s watercolor classes, and thought that maybe I should learn a softer touch. It didn’t work. Even in the painting exercises, my work was always “Bold” and “Graphic” instead of subtle and delicate. Pence, being very wise and also quite flexible, didn’t try to change my bold color/primitive style. She just tried to sneak in some lessons on basic stroke work, mixing colors, thinking about composition, and stuff like that—you know, more the fine-tuning kinds of things.

We’ve become friends, and whenever I can, I take her workshops, sneaking in my acrylics among the watercolorists. Everyone is always friendly—in fact, when my son (only 33) died in June 2008—these wonderful people were the ones who made me an art sympathy card, and who donated money to the Artisans’ Guild where, after he had moved to Gainesville in 2007, he had shown/sold his exquisite Damascus-steel knives and jewelry.

Somewhere along the way, I also had the good fortune of hooking up with landscape artist extraordinaire Linda Blondheim. Going to her once-a-month open studio workshops has boosted my self-esteem as well as my skills. As with Pence, Blondheim has never tried to eradicate my style. She simply wanders around the studio, spending quality time with each (sometimes only two to five people) student, studying the painting in progress, asking questions, and making suggestions. Occasionally she hires me to write press releases for her, too.

Friendships with Blondheim and with her students in these studio visits have also helped me in my grief journey. To honor my son (who attended a couple of the open studio sessions with me and, although color blind, painted a respectable still life that Blondheim generously varnished and framed for me after his death), I’ve been writing and illustrating a children’s book on organ donation/transplantation. A couple of months ago, two of the studio artists listened as I sobbed my way through reading the draft and showing the images. Both offered excellent advice for continuation of my project and helped me feel comfortable after having shown my grief so openly.

Picture credit: "Loov-zies" , watercolor on paper

Welcome Linda Blondheim!

Cow Art and More is pleased to welcome oil painter Linda Blondheim and her work. Linda calls Gainesville, Florida, home and spends her time painting the landscapes of the Southeast. For Cow Art and More, Linda will be offering several of her original oil paintings involving cows in the scenery. These paintings are quite exclusive as Linda does not offer prints of her work. The owner will truly be purchasing a one of a kind! Linda is well known through the Southeast through her museum and gallery exhibitions in addition to her painting classes she offers. To read more about Linda, click here.