Late last Summer, I sold my motorhome and my Jeep … and bought a large SUV (GMC Yukon XL).
My thought was to set the Yukon up to be able to “camp” 1-2 nights on the way to somewhere where I would stay in an Airbnb/VRBO.
I took out all but the driver and passenger seats to accommodate a bed setup as well as battery bank, 12v frig/freezer and a few other mod cons necessary for Emmett, Oscar and me to overnight it!
The mattress is a tri-fold so currently I have it set up as a lounge kind of seat and it makes for a great setup when I am out and about Plein Air painting (see the video below!).
Meanwhile, on nice days, I leave it open and let Oscar and Emmett get used to the setup and going in and out.
It is working very well for me as a day camper … we’ll see about actual camping at some point!
The video … a short look at the day setup and a few painting outings:
I have been working on a video for weeks … par for the course in my YouTube creator adventure!
Re PleinAirpril Fail: I struggled after a strong first week start and never regained my momentum. Nothing horrendous, just life and I allowed some distractions to push me off course.
Ultimately, it is history and I still learned and am still painting and even a fair amount of Plein Air painting from my “Mobile Art SUV” – that is the video that is pending … hopefully tomorrow!
Meanwhile, it has been typical Montana Spring: warm, hot-ish, cold, rainy, graupel and mountain snow. All good, especially the rain and mountain snow as we are still playing catch up as far as snow/runoff/water.
Today, I was working on finishing up the video when I needed to download some things and my connection was slow so I headed for a spot with better speed.
On the way home … on the road home:
It was a bit more dramatic than the photos show. Still … lovely color and light and contrast!
Memorial Day weekend is upcoming. Typically it snows or is cold and rainy Memorial Day weekend, but current forecast is for sunny and mid-70 to mid-80 F … woo-hoo!! We will see.
Shortly after posting my Spring with Emmett and Oscar post, it started snowing … no wintry mix, actual snow. And NOAA issued a Special Weather Statement: heavy snow showers in the Flathead Valley until 2:30 p.m.
I had been documenting my art journey on Instagram … specifically my watercolor and sketching.
Some of my art story I have told on this blog … just a few posts back (the PleinAirpril posts), but the real start was mid-November 2023.
After PleinAirpril, I took a break and then it seemed like there was one home/rv project after another and I didn’t paint much until December when I started one of my favorite YouTube artists daily Advent Calendar painting. Since then I have been painting and drawing nearly every day.
There have been several art challenges with the 100 in a year theme. I started one for 100 3×3 inch paintings in a year and finished 27 so far:
1-9 …
10-18
19-27
No masterpieces :) !! But some I liked, all I enjoyed creating and learning something new along the way. The minis are fun as they are generally quick to complete … still layers and drying time, but also the variety of techniques tends to be fewer so they give me a chance to practice in a simpler way than when doing something larger.
I have been alternating between painting on cut sheets of paper and the cute mini-sketchbooks I found. All are done on 100% cotton, cold-press watercolor paper.
Recently, I watched the below video. In addition to another 100 small paintings, Leslie Stroz starts (at 1:00) with “What happens to your brain when you make art”. She shares scientific studies that show some positive things that happen when you make art … art including any creative endeavor. I found it is all true for me.
While the other challenges tended to be specific in size and format, Leslie encouraged any artist participating to choose their own size, medium, subject matter … what each artist prefers.
I will continue with the 3×3. But I have some of the mini-paper and a tin like what she is using.
So, I am doing this second challenge in the super-mini size which is 1.25×2 inches.
My first 4:
#2 (lower left), I tried ink and wash.
Lots to learn in scaling down!
I will paint larger along with these minis and hopefully some Plein Air as well. I have my SUV (traded Jeep for a large SUV) set up to allow me to sit and paint from inside as well as make a hot drink and enjoy a snack while waiting for layers to dry.
When I was working my “day job” from my home office with all of the home distractions, I worked from a schedule with general time slots for working, getting outside, baking, etc. Since retiring from that work, I have kept with a schedule … more flexible, but a plan for the day. As the news swirls, I set myself 1-1.5 hours to read or watch news and send letters/emails to my government reps. I have time slots for photography, videography, writing, chores, playing and walking outside with Emmett and Oscar, painting and drawing … my days are full but balanced.
I usually paint in the evening and find it is very helpful to me in turning off the noise of the day. After painting as I clean up, turn out lights, take Emmett out in the fresh air … I find I am prepared for my night rest and sleep.
Hope anyone reading also has a creative activity that they love as well as opportunity to get outside!
