Wishing All A Wonderful Thanksgiving

As I plan my Thanksgiving meal and think about both of my sons and their families joining Harry and me for the day I am truly grateful.  I am fortunate to have dear friends and family filling my life with joy.

I send warm thoughts your way as we all give thanks for what we have and the love that surrounds us.

Three New Ornament Designs

My first attempt to paint a Christmas Ornament was when I created an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree that represented the State of Florida.

As a result, my series titled "Florida Native Birds" was born.  This year I have added two new images to my original series: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Kingfisher.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird 

Although the Humming Bird migrates through Florida I decided to include it in the collection because it is seen in so many parts of the state.  

Quoting from Field Guide to the Birds by Roger Tory Peterson,

 "They are the smallest of all birds; iridescent, with long needle-like bills for sipping nectar from flowers.  The wing-motion is so rapid that the wings look like blurry gauze.  Ruby-Throats are metallic green above; males with glowing red throats; females with white throats.  Range: Breeds from Gulf of St. Lawrence and Saskatchewan to Gulf of Mexico; winters from Florida south." 

Kingfisher

Again from Peterson:

"Hovering on rapidly beating wings in one spot above the water in readiness for the plunge, or flying with peculiar uneven wing-beats, rattling as it goes, the Kingfisher is easily learned by the novice. Perched, it is big headed and big billed, larger than a Robin, blue-gray above, with a ragged crest and one (male) or two (female) broad breast-bands."


My brother and his wife are Florida natives (like me) but spend part of the year in South Dakota. They have shared stories with me about the abundance of Ring-Necked Pheasants in that area, their graceful flight and beautiful plumage.  So, I am beginning another series starting with the Ring-necked Pheasant, but have yet to come up with a title.  If you have a suggestion please let me know.

Ring-Necked Pheasant

Peterson:  "A large chicken-like or game-cock-like bird with a long, sweeping pointed tail.  The male is highly colored with a white neck-ring.  Established in farming country mainly north of Mason and Dixon Line and north only as far as deep snows will allow."

All three new ornaments are available along with: Roseate Spoonbill, White Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tom Turkey, White Ibis and Sandhill Crane.

Christmas Ornaments-Time to order

I hate to say it but.........time to order Christmas ornaments!  Last year got crazy close to Christmas so I thought I would get started early in order to get them all finished on time.

Go to my web site to see the collection.   Www.jackieschindehette.net

No Fine Art Festivals This Year

I have had a wonderful time participating in Fine Art Festivles these last 20 years from the great Coconut Grove festival in south Florida,  Chain of Parks in Tallahassee, Under the Oaks in Vero Beach and Gasperilla in Tampa to name a few.

So, I have decided to take a break from festivals this year.  Anyone expecting to see me and my work at a particular show can see new paintings and fine art giclee reproductions on my web site or contact me to arrange a visit to my studio in Ocala. 

You cam also follow my blog to see all that is new and what I am up to. You may be surprised cause change is in the wind!

Third Group of Five "Cedar Key Sunset"

This third set of five miniature oil paintings was inspired by a trip I took to Cedar Key.  I stayed longer than planned and was treated to a wonderful display of evening color flooding the marsh.

If you have not been to Cedar Key on the North West side of Florida put it on your bucket list.  This little fishing village is right on the water and filled with quaint shops and restaurants serving fabulous seafood.

Number 2, Set of 5 "Cloud Burst"

"Cloud Burst"

With all the rain we have been having in Ocala I had to include a rainy day in my Collection of 50 for the law firm.  This is Number 2, Set of 5 from that collection.

Rainey and foggy days are fun to paint because they are so low key.  The chroma must be kept in close range as well as the value.

The First Set of Five

This first set of five original oil paintings from the 50 collection is titled "Everglades Sawgrass".  These scenes are indelibly burned into my memory from the many times I drove across Alligator Alley from Miami to Naples and back again.

Painting in groups of five allowed me to focus on the type of landscape as a group.  I could also use most of the same paint mixtures in each of the five, so I did not have to mix new paint for the next painting, which kept me from wasting paint.  And all oil painters know how expensive that can be.

50 Paintings Commissioned

50 Miniature Paintings

It is great to be contacted...totally out of the blue....for a commission.  A Miami law firm emailed to say they found my web site, liked my work and commissioned 50 miniature paintings to be given as gifts to their clients.

Thank goodness I had a couple of months to work on the collection!  No two paintings were to be exactly the same!  Even though the paintings are 4"x6" I got drawn into each one as if it was a much larger work so this became a bigger challenge than I anticipated.

Painting images were chosen by the Firm from my web site that they wantedwww.jackieschindehette.net represented in the miniature collection.  I used the content in those paintings to compose 5 paintings each...no two paintings alike.

The above photo is the total collection.  Yep, count them...there are fifty, 4"x6" original oil paintings shown.

The Law Firm has received the collection and love the paintings.  And I have received my check.

All is good!

Keep watching my blog .... I will be posting all the paintings in their 5 count groups.

Getting Ready For A Show

Normally my studio is somewhat organized.  We all know....at least us artists know.....that our studio is never 100% organized.  This photo shows how my studio looks most of the time when I am painting on my normal schedule.

I go into overdrive getting ready for a show, painting all day and into the evenings, everything gets forgotten except the painting on the easel.  When not actually painting I am planning the next painting. So, that is when all goes to &%$#$.

I am currently in that state of mind.  I have to deliver a collection to the A.E. Backus Museum no later than January 10.  This is a very special show honoring my friend and mentor Beanie Backus:  "Tribute To Backus  with a Focus on the Indian River Lagoon".    

As a result this is how my studio looks now.  Give it one more week and it will be hard to walk around in there.  Sure do wish I had a studio fairy to come in a clean it all up.  But the, I wouldn't be able to find anything!!   Oh well,  it will get back to normal after I deliver the collection.