Tag Archives: work life balance

Stretching Myself

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After years of fighting self-doubt and working toward a healthy work/life balance, I hit my stride in my art studio. This summer I found myself painting almost daily and feeling more confident in my ideas and imagery. And there’s something that happens when you achieve a goal: you immediately set a bigger one. For me, this came in the form of the largest painting I’ve ever made and an experimental, interactive art piece.

The big painting was inspired by my recent trip to Caprock Canyons State Park. It’s a landscape of the canyons on three canvases, totaling 30″x70″ in size. It took weeks to complete and will be the highlight of my upcoming Iconic Texas art show. A few years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of painting something so big, but now I want to go even bigger! I’m incredibly proud of myself and the progress I’ve made since I decided to try making art full-time.

A photo I took while hiking at Caprock Canyons.
Drawing the outlines of the image.
Painting in my studio.
The finished painting: Caprock Canyons, acrylic on canvas, 30″x70″

So, I went bigger. And I also went weirder!

I’ve been experimenting with black light paint and ways to create interactive or installation art for events. And one night, my friend Laura and I were chatting and came up with “black light paint-by-number” as a potential party activity.

I immediately fell in love with this concept and asked my friend Chase if I could use one of his drawings as imagery – he sent me a crab/fish monster! Perfect for the neon colors in black light paint and the upcoming spooky Halloween season. So, I planned out the painting and rounded up the supplies and did a test run outside my friend’s house.

It was a hit! I’m excited to refine the process and have it available as a fun activity for future events.

Drawing by Chase Gordon @hotdogdiet
Resizing and painting the outlines on canvas.
The painting glowing under black light.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Neill-Cochran House Museum for Austin Museum Day! It was a beautiful afternoon of art and music and it was wonderful to meet so many new people.

I’ve been busy filling my shop with art prints, mugs, and a shirt that celebrates Austin’s Barton Creek Greenbelt (my favorite place to hike). Head over to my shop page to see what’s new. And if there’s something that you want to see (like sticker packs), please leave a comment below. Thanks!

Finding A New Normal

Over the last eight months, I forgot what it was like to have a routine. The winter holidays turned into a breakup, then a move, then a world-wide pandemic. (Wow, that escalated quickly!)

I’ve been living in survival mode for a while and needed a vacation. So, I took a week off to relax. There aren’t a lot of entertainment or travel options right now, but I challenged myself to try to get out and experience something new each day.

It was a difficult challenge, and I did spend some serious time on my sofa watching movies, but it turned out to be a helpful motivator. Check out all the cool stuff I found:

Turkey Creek Trail in Emma Long Metro Park…
…my new favorite hiking trail!
Thunderstorm clouds rolling across the Texas Hill Country.
I played around with watercolor painting, a medium that I’m fairly new at.
I realized that I can tube in the river along a beach that’s only a 20-minute walk from my home. The water was perfect!

After relaxing for a week, I was excited to get back to work. One of the big projects I’d been putting off was writing a mission statement and 2-5 year plan. The time off cleared my head enough for me to answer all the tough questions and now I have a printed statement (manifesto?) up at my desk, a constant reminder of my goals.

The questions I tackled:

What are my values?
What habits do I want to cultivate?
Who am I?
What do I want?
What is preventing me from getting it?
Who do I want to meet?
What gift(s) am I offering them?

This turned out to be an especially helpful exercise when I realized that I wanted to make a new daily routine for myself. When I saw on paper that I wanted to do yoga regularly, I was reminded to add it to my schedule. There are bigger goals too, like getting my art into galleries in other states. It seems like such a long-term goal that I simply wasn’t including it in my schedule, but I’ve broken it down into smaller parts, making it easier to begin.

It’s only been a week on this new schedule, but I’m already sleeping better and feeling more grounded and healthy. And I’m so glad I started doing yoga again; I can’t believe how tight my legs are!

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WHAT’S KEEPING ME BUSY

Doing free online yoga classes every morning with Yoga With Adriene.

Listening to Why You Should Quit The News and Surviving The Looming Mental Health Crisis by Mark Manson.

Looking at the fun, sexy, feminist art of Robin Eisenberg.

Cooking Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili.

Re-watching The Fabric Of The Cosmos series on NOVA and trying to wrap my head around space-time. (Wish me luck!)

Adding art prints to my new online shop.