I did three paint outs this spring, including Wekiva Springs Paint Out, Walt Disney World Epcot, and The Invitational Winter Park Paint Out. They were all three excellent and outstanding. The artists were treated royally at all three events.

My next paint out is The Crescent Beach Paint Out in Crescent Beach Florida sponsored by Island Fine Art HERE

Stay tuned for information on this paint out scheduled for October 2008.










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Annie Pais peeks out of the wet room in Evinston



This is the tent where dry paintings were hung in Evinston.



Trish Beckham painted many of the beautiful vegetables in the Wood Swink Store.



Wet room for the paintings in Evinston.



This is Florida's oldest working post office.



One of my paintings from the Wood Farm in Evinston.

The Heart of Florida Paint Out has come and gone. It was a great experience. There were 42 artists painting in three main locations so there were several that I never really saw until the opening on Friday night.

Stewart Thomas and Annie Pais ran a very professional paint out. There were over 400 paintings at the sale. I don't really know how many paintings were sold in total, but I sold five. Three from the wet rooms and two from the opening.

There was fresh hot food offered each day from one of the churches in Evinston. I enjoyed BBQ, Fried Chicken, collards, field peas, corn, squash and corn bread each day for lunch.

The Wood family offered hay rides each day around the town and farms, with great information about the history of the old town. They were the highlight of the paint out for me. I went twice.

We were allowed to paint on the large cattle farms in Evinston, which was wonderful. The farms backed up to Orange Lake and had many tall graceful palms, silos, old buildings,beautiful sleek cattle, and huge Live Oaks to paint. The painters could also paint at the Orange Lake overlook and the little town of McIntosh. I spent most of my time in Evinston at the farms and the Wood Swink Store. My special thanks to the people of Evinston for their generous support and encouragement to me personally and to the other artists.

There were several dinners and parties offered to the artists throughout the week, including parties at Gary Borse's farm, Jean and Ty Tyson's Cracker farm on the prairie, and at Ellie Blair's home in Gainesville. Thanks to all of them for their kindness in including me.

The Epcot Center International Flower and Garden Festival Paint Out was it's usual huge success. We were treated like royalty by the Disney cast members and stayed at the beautiful Boardwalk Hotel. This event is the highlight of our year of paint outs. Spetacular in every way. From the fireworks and gourmet banquet to the VIP guest lounge, it was luxury all the way. It comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

Sales were pretty good too!!

I got some more news today about the Heart of Florida Paint Out. They will have two Wet Rooms for the paint out this year. A wet room is a gallery where wet framed paintings can be purchased each day. The artists bring in their paintings each day so that viewers have new selections each day. It's very exciting for both the patrons and the artists. There will be paintings for sale right away on April 11th. The paintings sell each day as they are completed rather than having to wait for a week. The paintings of Evinston will go to the Wood Swink Post Office for viewing and the Orange Lake McIntosh paintings will go in the Wet Room in the old Citrus Shop at the Orange Lake overlook. This will be so convenient and great for everyone. At the end of the paint out there will be a big gala at the Thomas Center in Gainesville. The paintings that don't sell during the paint out will be taken there and hung for the big party. I have been told this is the best paint out in Florida for sales by all of my friends, so I am excited.

More on this paint out to come.

Heart of Florida Paint Out

Stay tuned for photos and stories about the Top Paint Out in Florida. The Heart of Florida paint out stays true to the tradition of great Florida painters, featuring many of Florida's most beloved and excellent painters, including Eleanor Blair, Trish Beckham, Linda Blondheim, Morgan Samuel Price, Elisabeth Ferber, Kevin McNamara, Mitch Kolbe, Tom Sadler, Sally Evans, Mary Jane Volkmann, Jackie Schindehette, Gary Borse,Charles Dickinson,Cynthia Edmonds, Elaine Hahn, Chuck Manning, Larry Moore, Gene Rantz and many others. See the complete list of painters on their web site.

It is an impressive list. More importantly, they are Florida painters. Who knows our beloved state as well as it's own painters? No need to bring in painters from other states. We know and love Florida as no one else could!!

This is the paint out of the year in Florida. It is well run, very professional and easy to get to. The scenery is beautiful and this year's paint out includes two wet rooms for easy purchase of your favorite painter's work. The Artist Alliance of North Florida will be giving you the opportunity to follow along with the paint out artists from your office by reading the daily blog on their web site. HERE

Each artist will be well represented by a professional staff. You will have the opportunity to meet these wonderful artists and follow their paths through Evinston, McIntosh and the Orange Lake overlook.

Come on out from April 11- 18, 2008 and watch Florida's best in action.

Report on Wekiva Paint Out 2008





Trish and Anne get ready for breakfast.




Scott is ready for the woods in cammo.




Peter, Barbara, and Jackie hang out in our favorite place, by the coffee machine.




Mitch catching the early morning Light.




Martin tries to wake up. The parkings lot wa a favorite gathering spot for all of us.




Leslie and Elisabeth




Kevin is from Dublin Ireland and has a charming Irish lilt.




Gene read us some wonderful stories around the campfire one night.


This year was really great. Leslie Long was our fearless leader along with the Friends of Wekiva who were so helpful to the artists. The weather turned very ugly at the end, but we all had a lovely time. I painted 15 paintings this year so I was well pleased with my production for the seven day event.

We were well fed by Leslie and her committee with meals from Publix Markets,Porkies BBQ, Subway and others. Thanks to Jane Yeackle for doing much of the kitchen duty this year and for the fabulous salads she created.

This years artists included Trish Beckham, Ellie Blair, Linda Blondheim, Robert Bridenbaugh,Cristophe Cardot,Peter Carolin,Grayon Conroy, Charles Dickinson, Cynthia Edmonds, Sally Evans, Elisabeth Ferber, Martin Figlinski, MJ Gandee, Anne Gilroy, Karen Harrod,Scott Heistand, Brenda Hofreiter, Mitch Kolbe, Kevin Mcnamara, Bernie Martin, Larry Moore, Susan Oller, Berto Ortega, Barbara Perrotti, Peter Pettigrew, Morgan Samuel Price, Gene Rantz, Tom Sadler, Jackie Schindehette, Sally Shisler and John Yeackle.

The show was amazing as always. So many top Florida painters together that it was dizzying to see the beautiful paintings, each better than the last.





Elisabeth out with her camera.


The best part of Wekiva is living in that lush beautiful environment with many other top painters. The time we spend together is precious and each year friendships and bonds grow stronger. There is a wonderful lack of competitiveness at this paint out, so unlike others. Many kind comments are made about each other's work and encouragement is given at every turn. There is no oneupsmanship and no favoritism shown to any artist. Jackie, Elisabeth and I stay in the Infirmary together. We work together to make sure campers who are locked out, get back into their cabins and handle any emergency which may occur if Leslie has gone home. We have the all important job of making sure the coffee is started each morning and looking after the place. It is just a wonderful environment, lacking in any ugly backstabbing or promoter biases. None of that occurs here, which is a welcome relief.




Berto played his guitar for us around the campfire. It was wonderful.





Tree's behind Scott's cabin
12x16 inches
oil on panel


I've never been to paint out where more opportunity exists to study nature and trees. There are so many wild animals, birds and trees in the park, it is heavenly.



The only hard part is leaving. I look forward to next year already.