Complementing my Garden with Chickens by Dona Warner

 

Last Fall I decided that I wanted to raise chickens. Not knowing anything about chickens; I did my research and I took the plunge. From their arrival as day old chicks, I coddled and pampered them, feared for them through a blustery winter when a hungry fox stalked their coop. They survived the harsh snows and when the weather finally warmed up, every opportunity to range free was a festive affair. Running wild, spreading their wings, never really taking flight, but clearly jumping for joy! The garden is their paradise. They move about the yard scratching, exposing and consuming slumbering insects and worms. During the summer months the vegetable garden is off limits, for fear that they would steal our harvest. Now that Fall has arrived and I have lost my steam, the gate is open and they are allowed to take full advantage of the bounty.
I had my doubts about being able to actually raise chickens in a small town. The critical days after the baby chicks arrived in the mail were so stressful. They are so cute, but equally fragile. I was the “mother hen”, checking in on them constantly. I am not particularly comfortable with birds. I am more of a cat or dog person, so this was new territory. Chickens are not cuddly creatures. They are skittish and yet when food is offered, the come a running from the far reaches of the yard!
The bonus, of course, is the very best eggs that you will ever experience. Marigold orange yolk that stand tall and fresh, still warm from the nest. The comfort of having chickens roaming the yard has become an evening and weekend ritual for our family. Watching the gorgeous Golden Wyandotte emerge from the garden, followed in tow by the three quirky bantam Brahmas and the sturdy Barred Plymouth Rock, give a distinctive contrast of color, texture and vitality to the landscape that is so surprising and curious. I cannot imagine the garden without this wonderful flock!

What a poser!

Thanksgiving

Persimmon © 2011 by Linda Warner Constantino - Watercolor

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love cooking and setting the table and getting things ready. I also like that it is about getting together without a lot of stress. Though it can be stressful if the turkey does not come out right! I have quite a harvest of meyer lemons this year so I made meyer lemon and cranberry relish and an apple, meyer lemon and cranberry galette along with the other traditional foods.
The center piece on my table in the photo is made from pomegranates, persimmons, bay leaves, and eucalyptus. leaves.  I am most attracted to the persimmons and I discovered that they grow locally. One of the models in my portrait class brought me some with the branches and leaves still on them. You never find them this way in the grocery store. Of course, I had to paint one of them! To capture all the subtle colors in the skin took several washes.

My Studio - Kind of Clean

Another view of my studio as you enter it. It has two north facing skylights so there is always lots of light . 

This is the area where I do my watercolors. Two drafting tables and a flat file.

I always love seeing artists' studios. I took some photos of mine recently because I cleaned it and thought I would share them with you.  I have it set up for working on my watercolor botanicals. I have some commission work to do in oils and that space is set up behind the screen. I am still working on refining that space but I think I have my watercolors set up in a way that works for me. I put my botanical books on top of my flat file so I can just reach over for them for reference or inspiration. I am left-handed and it was difficult to find a table that had a slanted section and enough area on the left to put my palette and brushes. I have improvised here and there but I love finding new ways to make things work. I have put a second drafting table to the right of my main table. I just need to sprawl sometimes. I create quite a mess when working on a project and then I clean it all up again afterwards. It has become a bit of a ritual.

My palette set up. Way too many brushes. Is that possible?

I am big on porcelain palettes when working in the studio. I just like how the brush feels on the porcelain. I used a large porcelain palette for a while but I switched to a couple of small palettes with lids that function as mixing areas. The big palette contains my core colors and the smaller ones contain more specialized colors that I use less often.
I worked in an art supply store when I first got out of college and developed a love of art tools of any kind. I guess I have a little fantasy about how I am am just one art tool away from true greatness and I just have to keep looking until I find it.

Adorable Rosa Bianca Eggplant

Rosa Bianca Eggplant - © 2011 by Linda Warner Constantino

The color and shape of this little eggplant compelled me to paint it for a botanical illustration project. I am used to painting landscapes outside–en plein air but, painting vegetables was a bit different.  I sat outside and sketched it to get a feel for it, but it was so hot and I seem to have an infestation of relentless, biting ants in my garden that forced me inside. The heat here in South Carolina can be particularly brutal in the summer. I took some photos and this is really the first time I have worked from a photo for a botanical illustration, though I did pick the actual eggplant in order to paint it from life.

Speaking of outdoor plant painting adventures. I recently read about a botanical artist named Margaret Mee who was British and moved to Brazil and bravely went up the Amazon to paint as many species as she could. Some had never been seen and some were in danger of disappearing. She sensed the fragility of the rain forest and was driven to document as many plants as she could. She apparently had some adventures and unexpected encounters on her excursions back in the 1950s. From what I have read she sounds like she was quite a character and definitely a woman before her time. I am sure she had far more than ants with which to contend.There is a book containing her diaries and sketches called Margaret Mee's Amazon: Diaries of an Artist Explorer.

Beauty and Hotness

Copyright © 2011 by Linda Warner Constantino

I have spent some time painting from life in my vegetable garden this summer. The heat and relentless ants have made it challenging. Before I could paint this sunflower in its classic beauty, it was already past its prime. I could not bear to pull it up and became captivated with how it changed as it progressed through its end stages and found an elegance that I tried to capture in this study. The curling of the petals and the leaves had visual rhythm and dignity to them. Beauty redefined.

Inspiration and Incubation

A cabin in the mountains of North Carolina

Summer is the time of year that spend some time painting for me. I explore and find new inspirations. I watch the gardens grow and change and love regular trips to the local nurseries and farmers markets. I was recently up in the mountains of North Carolina for my wedding anniversary, where we have been many times but I was still struck by its natural beauty.  It was not a painting trip but I loved soaking in all on the colors, shapes and textures of my natural surroundings.  We never miss a trip to the Farmers Market up by Asheville. The watermelons were delicious and I love the design of them. Trend color inside!

Watermelons at the Farmers Market Near Asheville, NC

Ahh! Summer Begins at the Hilton Head Island Farmers Market

Fresh Veggies at the Hilton Head Island Farmers Market

Summer is finally here and its my time to recharge and spend long stretches of time painting without interruptions. I paint for pleasure but will also will be working on developing collections with my partner and sister Dona.
I found a trip to the Hilton Head Farmers market on Friday mornings to be filled with inspiration. I love all the fresh organic vegetables. I am drawn to their shapes, colors and textures. It is also nice to see the farmers proud of what they produced. Each week there are different kinds of produce to choose from. I purchase with an eye for both painting and eating:)  There is such a positive energy going there and I always seem to meet new and interesting people and pick up some growing and cooking tips.
This is my friend Pamela Ovens who started the Hilton Head Farmers Market this past spring. She does such and great job and loves the how positive and affirming it is for the community. Hilton Head is going local!

Pamela Ovens

 Linda Warner Constantino

We are just coming off debuting Linadona Botanica™ at the Surtex Show in NYC and as we unpack our bags, we feel it was a great first experience. We received a lot of encouraging feedback from the attendees, and some strong interest from the industry press.
It was a learning experience and we left with some significant leads and valuable information to help us going forth. Pulling together the “ambiance” of our booth was challenging, but paid off by drawing in a few more visitors who just liked the feel of our presentation.
While many of the exhibitors felt the show traffic was lighter than past events, the introductions we made seem substantial and promising. The community of artists exhibiting is full of warm, generous people, some that we have met in the past and new friendships forged from the shared first time experience of putting ourselves out there under the “big top” of the Javits Center.
We had four days of running on adrenaline, you have to be well organized to set up and break down your booth. If you aren’t careful they will roll you up with the carpet when the show is over! On a parting note; a key piece of advice to other new art licensing artists – bring plenty of Command™ strips, you just can never have enough!!

 Dona Warner

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to Linadona Botanica's blog. We are two sisters, Dona Warner and Linda Warner Constantino, who share a love for art, gardening, and the home. Our passions fueled the development of our art licensing business that we will be debuting at the Surtex Show in New York from May 15- 17 at the Jacob Javits Center in booth #657.

We are very excited about our collection of botanical illustrations that have been designed for the art licensing markets of stationery, home, garden, kitchen and gift markets.