Information dump! It really feels like there’s so much going on right now but somehow none of it is overwhelming which is just amazing. Art decisions, life decisions, and everything in between that’s driving, leading, and motivating me to make some impactful changes in my life.
“Start Small” My First Painting Collection
This collection will have a total of 8 paintings in it and will be released on April 25th. It will feature 4 animal and 4 plant paintings showcasing the small beginnings of all life on the farm or homestead. I’ve already completed 4 out of the 8 paintings, though I’ve been experimenting with a new style of painting that I’m really falling in love with so I may end up re-painting at least one of them.
This one is “Far From Fruiting” – 5″x7″ on canvas. This is the painting I may end up redoing. There are so many details that I love about this painting like the dirt handprint on the side of the pot and the haphazard background that I thought I had botched for good but managed to turn into something quite lovely. But, I really want to see how it would look in the style I experimented with in the next two paintings. I also think it will help with cohesion among the paintings in this collection.
This one is “Glass Leaves” – 6″x8″ on canvas board. While this is not a part of the collection, this is the style of painting that I’ve been experimenting with and has inspired the next painting. I love the blocks of color and how they overlap and complement each other. I love how I get to experiment with colors in this style and really free myself up for expression. The execution is so relaxing and meditative, I could layer forever until I look one more time and suddenly it’s done. This painting feels very free and fun to me, and freedom is one of the core values I picked for my art business that really resonates with me.
This one is “Trellises to Climb” – 5″x7″ on canvas. This piece is definitely a little moodier with the darker colors of the dirt and even the cloudy grey feeling of the sky. Painting the dirt in this piece really sold this style for me. Being able to throw the bold blues and reds and light purples into the dirt gave this such a lively feeling. It makes me want to dig up a handful just to watch it fall back through my fingers. The basic shapes allow me to focus more on color combinations than detail and I’m really enjoying that side of painting. I love paintings that give the impression of small details with no effort which I’m still getting the hang of, but I think it’s coming along great.
I have one other painting done which I do not have a picture of right now. They will all be posted on my Instagram and Facebook before the collection releases so everyone can browse through them. I will also add them as a collection to my gallery here on April 25th when they are released.
Camper Hunting
Last Sunday, David and I went camper hunting. Nothing serious, just a casual perusing of the inventory from a seller near me. We. Fell. In. Love.
We took a look at the Class C campers first since that would be the most practical for us as our goals up to this point have been to travel across the US in one. 95% of the campers on site already had a sale pending on them (this place was packed with people) so we only got to take a look inside of one or two. The very first one we popped into seemed like a dream. It was quite small, no extra seating, and just had the little kitchen area, a teeny bathroom, and the bed in the back. It would be a squeeze to live there full time but it would be completely doable and we aren’t looking for anything fancy. Or so we thought.
We then meandered over to the Destination Trailers.
It was love at first sight. The 2021 Forest River RV Cedar Creek Cottage 40CDL. It was so spacious in the front with windows everywhere. The kitchen was big enough for me to do all the cooking I could want. The bed was a king size so David and I wouldn’t be competing for space. It had a loft which felt like a private getaway and we both agreed we would be stowing away up there all the time to relax. The only thing not absolutely perfect was the ceiling clearance in the shower. David’s head brushed the ceiling, but it did have a shower seat so he was happy enough with that.
We went inside a few other luxury destination trailers but none felt nearly as much like a home as the Cedar Creek Cottage. It was even cheaper than the class C that we looked at (I assume because of the engine).
And so we began to plan 🙂
Seeing Our First Property
Yes! David and I are officially hunting for a home. We found a plot of land close to where David’s new job will be that is THIRTY FOUR ACRES. We are going to see it on Sunday! You might be thinking, “what could you possibly need 34 acres for?” At this point, who even knows what we’ll use it for, but we for sure will love every square inch of it. I picture at least one acre for our orchards, another for the wheat field, another several for rotational grazing of the animals, one for a garden large enough to feed the whole town, and another for the greenhouse and animal enclosures.
One or two problems currently exist with this land. There are most likely more that we haven’t been told yet, but we’ll hear that on Sunday. The first is that from my understanding, it is not zoned to build a house on. However, they do say it can be rezoned to fit those goals (I just have no idea how hard that process will be). The other is that the utilities are not set up yet. Regardless of if we wanted to build a house on the land or park our luxury trailer, it needs to be set up with utilities.
The other little tidbit about the land is that not all of it is buildable, but with 34 acres even if 5 of them are buildable that’s still a win.
Definitely some things to work through. Some of you with more experience in land owning and development might be shaking your head saying “it’s not worth it for a first buy, or ANY buy.” You could be right, but what if it worked out? What if the very first property that David and I buy turns into the last property that we buy? What if over the years we turn those 34 acres into the homestead of our dreams? I’m don’t expect anything overnight by far, but even 5-10 years of work to reach a dream is so worth it.
I’ve learned from this art course that I’m in that progress is quiet and slow. It’s one of the most recurrent mantras and one that I’m really listening to.
Speaking of Courses
This is week two of Making Art Work and it’s all about marketing organically. I have to say that so far this course does not offer a lot of truly concrete information that I feel I can immediately put to use. The workbooks are good exercises and the mantras are helpful with mindset and maintaining it, but the material seems to be mostly abstract. I hope that as the course goes on there is more material that I feel I can act on verses just soak in.
I also just took my Hunter’s Education course last night. It was a 3 hour zoom call that I was truly dreading and thinking I would have to find some way to stay awake through since I had already completed the study guide and knew all of the information in it well. When I joined the call I was surprised at how engaging and informative it was. The big topics were hunting ethics, rules and regulations around game and the hunting seasons, and safety. It was clear that the people leading the class were knowledgeable, they were very patient, they want us to be good hunters, and they put a lot of time into developing a class that is successful in teaching new hunters what they need to know. I have a field day to attend on March 26th that I’m really looking forward to. I like shocking all of the guys that are regular shooters with how well I can aim even as a beginner. I’ve only shot twice in my life with a real gun but I’m pretty good at it (full brag). It’s an empowering feeling being able to shoot well, even if I am fairly afraid of guns. When I took the Basic Firearms Safety course I couldn’t shoot while anyone else was shooting because I would jump so badly any time a shot went off. I’ll definitely be taking an archery course when it’s safe to do so. I’ve always wanted to shoot a bow and I would much prefer it to guns.
I hope that by the end of this year I can look back at this post and see all of the thing I was working on and know next year I’ll be able to get even more done 🙂
