 Last weekend, Ulan and I took off for a few days to Troutdale, where we stayed at McMenamin’s Edgefield location. For those of you who don’t live in the Pacific North West, chances are you may have never heard of McMenamin’s before. They have an eclectic mix of pubs, bars, historic hotels, and music venues throughout Oregon and Washington. Edgefield is my favorite location because it is only an hour drive from Silverton and makes the perfect getaway where you can fill your cup with inspiration, and there are endless things to paint.
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Slow and steady wins the race. How to beat procrastination and maintain consistent productivity.12/2/2018  We all have things we want make happen. It can be overwhelming and discouraging to try to manage all of life’s responsibilities while still making time to do the things we love. It is common to look at a really successful artists and think they must have been sprinkled with pixie dust at birth. You might think you could never be that good so why even try? However, the truth is that every great artist once had to learn how to draw, and to persevere. Once momentum is built, creating can seem effortless. However, we all fall off track from time to time and it can be difficult to get back on. I have learned some tricks over the years to overcome this, and I would like to share them with you here.
I had the opportunity to travel to Italy recently through the generosity of the Artist’s Network. Since the weather is turning, I decided to finally write about this trip, in order to revel in the memory of those warm summer days in the dream land that is Tuscany.
 I have been thinking a lot this morning about what it would be like to loose everything. My heart aches for the people who lost their homes due to fire recently. It is easy to take for granted the fact that I have a roof over my head and clothes on my back. Everything could so easily vanish in the blink of an eye. I cringe to think about all of the family heirlooms, the precious mementos and family photographs that were lost in the California wildfires.
It makes me look around at the things that matter the most to me, and the things I could live with out. It is amazing to think about how many things I have acquired in just 8 years. In 2010, I packed my youth up in boxes, stored it in my parent’s garage and left to travel cross country with nothing but camping gear and a few paint supplies. I had no intention of moving cross country, only to travel for the summer and come back to all of my things in a few months. I ended up settling in a furnished apartment in down town Seattle with a clean slate. Sure, my mother mailed a few of my things, but mostly all of my worldly possessions fit in a few bags and could be neatly tucked into the trunk of a tiny Mazda. |
