A year Later: Mountains VS Beach

It has been a year since we moved to Asheville, and we are loving our new community.  I came across this post from last year, and thought you might enjoy it again.

We have just left the beaches of Florida and moved to the mountains of western North Carolina.   This is a preview of what our surroundings will look like in a few weeks...no blooms yet!

Everyone loves a touch of spring this time of the year....enjoy!

One afternoon I grabbed my camera and ran outside to capture the beautiful spring day and this is what I found.

I inherited a garden in front of our new home, and everything was coming alive at once...

Fiddleheads were popping up

Dogwood was blooming everywhere I
looked in both pink.....

and white blossoms.  Tulips, lilac and azalea were everywhere and the days were filled with the music of songbirds.

A drive to WaterRock Knob, off the Blue Ridge Parkway, showed less color at the higher elevation, but still beautiful to see.

For an Ohio girl, who has spent most of the last 50 years in Florida, it seemed all my memories of spring were spread out before my eyes.  Don't get me wrong, I truly love living in Florida, but when spring or fall calls, I head to the mountains.

Stay tuned, to see these images interpreted in oil.

Thanks for stopping by today.

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CAROL SCHIFF

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Small Landscape Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, "Deep Purple" 6x8" Oil

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I've got a thing for purples, lavenders, blues, blah, blah, blah.

detail

I was in the Land O' Trees, better known as western North Carolina, when I painted this.  In the summertime, I get green overload here.  Green mountains, green grass, green leaves.  You cannot escape green.   Maybe that is why doing a purple and blue landscape appealed to me.  More to come!

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Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Floral Landscape Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 8x8x1.5" Oil SOLD

Inspired by my recent stay in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

SOLD

This lovely garden was at Lake Junaluska, just five minutes from our home.  So sorry to say that it is the very area of western North Carolina that has been suffering from wildfires, burning for well over a month.  We left before they got too close, but we did have one day with heavy smoke in the air.

The area was very dry and had no rain for the two months I was there.  I am sad to say that most of the fires were purposely set.

What is happening to our country!

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

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MY PRINTS ON WOOD

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Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Fall In The Mountains

I have been in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina since early September.  Some of my painting buddies were with me earlier last month.

 We took a short trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Here we are a 7,000 feet.

The weather was beautiful and so was the view!

We visited several waterfalls and had a delicious picnic.

The trees had just a touch of color, at the time.

We made some new artist friends, who had this pear tree outside their studio.  Thank you for your hospitality Joe and Mari.

We visited the apple orchard and bought fresh cider.  I'm going back for those apple fritters!

Nothing beats the fresh fruits and vegetables, right out of the fields!

Denette made a new friend in Hendersonville.  We also had a fabulous lunch and shopping trip!!

We didn't have time to paint, but took photos everywhere.  Maybe you will recognize some of the paintings I will be posting in the future.

One day we drove around looking for interesting barns for future artworks.

There are so many beautiful scenes in our country.  We loved the farmlands as much as the mountains.

The perfect finish to our day, a glass of wine and good music, overlooking trees and a creek.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.

Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Beautiful flowers of North Carolina

Last month we were enjoying our condo in North Carolina, trying to get it ready for visits from family and friends.  It is so beautiful here during at least three of the four seasons.  I have not been here in winter and cannot speak to that, although I imagine the snow covered mountains would be a sight to behold.

On this trip, there are flowers blooming everywhere.  Each morning, I set out for a walk, with my trusty camera in hand.  Come along with me.......

A garden of hosta

Calla Lily

Rose abound!

Begonia

A cute little playhouse, or maybe a gardening shed?

Sit for a moment and enjoy the scenery.

Mountains surround the area,

Who knew day lilies grown wild?

I love purple flowers.  Do you know their name?

My goal is to interpret many of these scenes in oil in the coming months

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Daily Painting, "Apple on the Tree" 6x8", Oil Original, SOLD

My favorite place to be in the fall is North Carolina.  A few weeks ago we were visiting our favorite orchard there and found the trees full of gorgeous red apples.

SOLD

The orchard was over run with customers buying fresh apples, cider, jams and jellies, and my favorite..............fresh baked goods!  You have not lived until you have bitten into one of their fresh apple cider donuts or apple fritters or pies.  I was lucky to get out of there with only one sack of donuts in my arms.

As a kid in Ohio, fall brings memories of fallen leaves and hay rides.  After the hay rides we always had hot donuts and apple cider, so I love repeating this tasty treat every fall.

Even here in Florida, there is a tiny taste of fall in the air.A few days ago my friends and I met for lunch and SAT OUTSIDE instead of seeking out air conditioning.  Actually, I always think the October and November are the best kept secret in Florida.  Gorgeous weather and lots of outside activity.

Daily Farm Painting, "Valley View" 7x5" SOLD

Red barn, green grass, a little fishing pond.....what more could you ask for on a lazy summer day?

SOLD

This farm is down the road from us on Conley's Creek Road.  I must have painted it 30 or more times.  Each time, I think I have said everything I can, but then I find myself drawn to it again.  A different angle, or new time of day.....it pulls me in time after time.

Set in the valley, I pass it each time I leave my house.  It is the most picturesque spot I know.  Surrounded by mountains and with a curvy drive, the light effects are always spectacular.

Landscape, "Barn on Thomas Valley Road" 6x8" SOLD

When we are in the mountains of North Carolina, we pass this barn on our way to town.  It sits between the mountains on the shores of the Tuckaseegee River, on a beautiful little winding road.

I love the rural life style.  It reminds me of my childhood in Ohio.  I never lived on a farm, but my cousins did and I would visit often.  In these fast paced days of rushing from one spot to another, those lazy, hazy days of the past seem very attractive.  I am fortunate to get a taste of that life now and then.

Hope you find a peaceful moment or two in your day.

One another note, I was checking my stats to what  referring URL's send traffic to my blog and noticed that  many of my readers come from one specific blog.......www.CarolMarine.blogspot.com.  Carol was kind enough to include  me on her blog list several years ago.  I know you are all familiar with her work as she is "Queen of Art Blogs"  but she is also a wonderful kind woman.  So, thank you Carol!  If you have not been to her blog today, please stop bye.

Daily Landscape Painting, "Off the Parkway" 16x20

If you follow my blog, you know I spend lots of time in the mountains of North Carolina.  We have a little house just outside Smoky Mountains National Park.  We travel  back and forth between the mountains and the beaches of Florida several times a year.

NFS

This is not a new piece, but I realized that I have not posted it before.  I painted it several years ago and it hangs in our mountain house.  I was a less experienced artist at the time and I took some artistic license to achieve, what I thought, was an interesting composition.

Now, when I look at it, all I can see is the inconsistent light patterns.  I could easily "fix" it, and maybe someday I will.  But for the time being, it will stay the same.

I remember going to a museum to see a exhibit of VanGogh and Monet once.  None of the paintings were ones that I recognized.  They were all earlier works that somehow survived the years.  They were also less than perfect.

How do you treat your earlier works?  Do you ever re-work them?

On another note, yesterday the wonderful artist, Julie Ford Oliver ( who ironically was also blogging about reworking a painting) mentioned that she had taken word verification off her blog to make commenting easier.  I loved that idea and implemented it quickly.  Thanks, Julie!

Still Life Daily Painting "Country Style" 6x8 SOLD

This daily painting contains some of my favorite items from my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

SOLD

A vintage FiestaWare pitcher, a lantern given to me my a dear friend, a hydrangea from my garden, and an old  rusty iron star.

To me, it speaks of a slower way of life.  My blood pressure drops and I am happy spending my days reading novels and baking cookies.

When I come home to Florida, I am refreshed and ready for real life again.

Daily Painting, "White Fence, Red Barn", Oil 16x16

In the summer, I spend almost as much time in the mountains of the Carolina's as I do in Florida.  I am always struck by the beauty of the mountain farms.

Purchase here
495

Maybe its due to the fast paced life we all seem to lead these days.  Usually I have a problem sitting to read a book for more the five minutes.  But take me to the mountains and I can sit on my porch for hours, just drinking in the beauty of my surroundings.

I start the day with coffee, on my front porch, watching the wild turkeys come down from the mountain for breakfast.  This is usually followed by two or three hours of reading whatever novel has me captivated.  Many days I am still in my jams at noon.   Life is good!

Do you have a favorite place you go to just chill out?

You may have noticed that I added a sale page on the right sidebar.  Just click on the link to review all my works that are on sale.  Lots to choose from!

Daily Painting, "Oconoluftee Barn" 6x8, Oil SOLD

This is not an old barn.........it's a replica of an old barn!

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This barn can be found at the Oconoluftee Welcome Center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Cherokee NC..  They have a great museum and replica of a farm from the old days, complete with chickens and pigs!  

After walking through the farm, you can follow a path, next to the river and through the woods.  The feeling is that you are in the wilderness, they reality is that cars are whizzing by just a few hundred feet away.  

If you are lucky, you will hear the elk calling in the forest, or maybe even spy one or two in feeding in the meadow.

All together, a great way to spend the morning and absolutely free to anyone who cares to visit!

Daily Painting, "Blue Ridge Barn" 6x8"

During the hot summer months, we leave hot and humid Florida and head for the mountains of North Carolina.

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96

I am always attracted to the many shapes and character of the old barns that are found around every corner.
This one is located in the Smokey Mountain National Park, at the visitor center next to the Cherokee entrance.

It is not an original barn, but a replication that stands on the "pioneer farm" that is behind the center.

I cannot wait to get back in the cool and beautiful mountains this year.  Where do you go for summer vacation?