Moving from the known to the unknown.
Moving from the known to the unknown
As I sit and write this, I take a deep breath and feel a more open chest than I had a few months ago. I'm on week 7 of living in Taos and the fresh air, natural beauty, big windows in my house, seeing the moon each night, quirky & friendly neighbors—I can say it sets my soul at ease.
I can also say I've rode waves of fear and doubt these weeks as well. Austin is where I grew my business from nothing, where I developed my style and practice. What does it mean to leave that kind of place? And carry my business forward into something new?
This moment has me, at 33, thinking of me at 19, two years deep on the pre-pharmacy path (can you believe it?) and then I changed my major to art. Everyone around me, family, the art advisor, other college admins I consulted, all said not to do it. "Know what your hobby is."
That moment of leaving academia, full of grades and tests I excelled at by studying and memorizing, then moving into art, where everything is subjective and creativity is elusive, was a shock to my system. There weren't "right" answers anymore.
I moved from the known to the unknown then, the first time I rebelled and did what was right for me. And this move to Taos, to a new way of life, feels like that same unknown. The choice I made at 19 was based on faith and deep intuition, and it was exactly what I needed then. And now I'm stepping into the dark again with deep faith I'll find more of what I'm looking for.
A new painting in progress
It is 20"x30" and will be an oil painting of a bridge I photographed while driving in Louisiana a few years ago.
This painting is part of my Roadtrip Series, a body of work I thought 2020 was going to be dedicated to—HA! More like British Baking Show marathons and re-reading Harry Potter to calm my nervous system, and making angry art about the government.
If you see little X's in the drawing, that's the sky sections.
A few things worth sharing
Video: David Hockney shows his sketchbook
"Be prolific. B-E-Prolific!" is the cheer in my head when I see the astounding output of great artists.
From the studio wall: I read this Käthe Kollwitz quote in a book of her personal journals and I keep it on the studio wall as a reminder.
Art: A Käthe Kollwitz self-portrait (she's the artist I quoted above). The line she drew as her arm, it nearly knocks me over. It's a line only someone who has been drawing for decades can draw.
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