The last month has been packed full of so many things. It's appropriate to reflect on the current affairs to everything else because on this day in 2012, I started plein air painting.
I'll start with the now. My husband is getting his PhD in science stuff. It's pretty incredible, and I always knew he would do something incredible with himself. I could do several posts about him, but that isn't for today. Today, I look back at the last 10 years. And through that I have seen so much change, grow, and be lost along the way. Hubby's part of the journey is incredible as he went back to college after a few failures to launch. He failed out of community college when we met. He was not in a good place then. Since, however, he decided to major in "THE HARDEST THING THERE IS!" Physics. But, Boise State University doesn't have a doctorate program for that, so he settled on Biomolecular Sciences. It's been a beautiful struggle, but watching him grow in confidence and skills has been really exciting and inspiring. Now, he's looking for that next step. Who knows where we will end up?! New York is a possibility. Eugene, Oregon? Portland, Oregon? I would love to be close to my best childhood friends there. Colorado? Michigan? I have a lot of anxiety about it all, but frankly I am also excited. I will have new places to explore and paint. What a gift my husband is granting me because I will also get to quit my day job.
I started a plein air class for beginners. The irony is that I have officially been doing it over the last 10 years, but I took a hiatus from doing it seriously when I was making comics. Also, I had started in oil paints, and now I do watercolor. Therefore, I am still a beginner. It was a great class so far, but all my pieces have been pretty weak. It's been frustrating but also good for growth. It tells me that I still have a long way to go. A humbling experience.
I also started a mentorship/job shadow for a senior project with a teen girl from my hometown. I absolutely loved spending time with her and wandering through my hometown with her on foot. It's so small, we could walk the whole thing several times. There is a new store there, which was crazy! I bought Kaid a few supplies for her own artistic endeavors and we talked about art and life over coffee. I remember being a surly but driven kiddo who didn't know where to put the energy. I was lucky to have a local artist let me shadow him when I was young but he was also a total creep. Strangely, he found me at Freak Alley when I was doing my painting there. He was with a beautiful lady and they were having a good time. I did learn a lot from him and helped him make some of the cool fixtures for a local coffee shop. Kaid is a textile artist and she draws too. She alters clothes and truly, she is brilliant. I can't wait to see where our relationship goes from here.
Like mentioned, there is a lot going on. I can feel my anxiety really ramping up and I am afraid that I will have to take a hiatus again from making art and focusing on life stuff. We will see.
Today, I wanted to make sure I went to paint at the place where it all began. Veteran's Memorial Park in Boise. It was raining and I did my best to combat it with an umbrella. It did not work out very well. I in fact gave it a few tries just for the practice of working in such a wet environment. While the piece did not turn out very well, much was learned.
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