Day 8

It is day 8 and I am already behind by one painting, but hopefully will catch up today. I listened to the latest This American Life Podcast about a young man who decided to make a new start and become a Peace Pilgrim. He decided to give up everything and depend on the kindness of strangers. His idea was based on the life of Mildred Norman Ryder, who walked a pilgrimage of her own for almost 30 years. She said she would "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." In the podcast Daryl Watson speaks about his own pilgrimage that lasted 3 days before he called family and friends. He was on a search to find his purpose in life. 

I am wondering today, how it is possible to make a change in your daily life that becomes a habit. What does it mean to commit to something that you don't even know if you can sustain for a whole year? 

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These are some questions that I hope to find answers to as this journey begins.

Day 5

Today was day 5 of my painting a day project. I worked all day at our gallery and didn't get to my painting until 8 pm. Not good. I am better earlier in the day. Tomorrow will be more of the same, back at the gallery.

Here are my first two choices of food to create a painting about...

This might make you hungry!

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2013! Working toward a year long project of a painting a day.

Mini Business Cards

I am a total nerd when it comes to my business cards. I love moo.com where you can have as many images as you want to upload. Okay, they might have a maximum, but there is something satisfying about seeing little snippets of paintings that I have made all in one place. The cards are perfect for trading, giving to clients, or just dropping off at my gallery. I uploaded 50 paintings to their website and just received them in the mail today. It is like opening a birthday gift to myself, which is tomorrow by the way.

Q Gallery Opening Reception

A fun evening was held at the Q Gallery, as the artists opened their holiday exhibit.
 

Gallery Opening

The Q Gallery Artist's Cooperative opened our holiday show. Tons of new work from our little band of artists. It was a fun night! Since we live in a small town, we pretty much know everyone who attends...our groupies you might say. 


It was a lovely event, and the gallery looks so festive. Lots of hours hammering, climbing ladders, arranging, more hammering, and more climbing. It is worth it when the result is so festive. This panoramic was made on an iPhone by one of our photographers, John Hartman. I like the ghost of the woman at the left moving through the gallery. 


If you are in Stevens Point,Wisconsin, stop in to 1108 Main Street to see for yourself. I know, a shameless advertisement, but hey...it is the holiday season.

Sunset Kayak

My friend Vivian bought this little painting. We have a group of women who like to kayak around our state in rivers and lakes. This inspiration came from a sunset paddle that we did one afternoon in late August. The water was so beautiful, and we all felt that this was a little jewel of an evening with Fall coming and then Winter. If you aren't familiar with Sigurd Olson,
he was was an American author and environmentalist who wrote many books to advocate for the protection of wilderness, including Reflections from the North Country, my favorite.

"Beauty never stands alone, is so fragile it can be destroyed by a sound or a foreign thought. It may be infinitesimally small or encompass the universe itself."

Sigurd Olson