I’m surprised I missed work

As a landscape painter living and working off-grid in Arizona, I’ve learned that being a full-time working artist is about returning, again and again, to my work. Even beyond income, I didn’t realize how much I needed this until spending too much time away.

When I’m away from painting, like any work I feel the elation that comes with vacation. But after too long I start to feel untethered. This happened to me recently.

Last month and an eternity ago, Wes and I realized we both need projects. This was mid-holiday season gallivant. We half-joked we were on tour. I’m sure you’ve been there: marathon family time, then pile in all of the friends you rarely get to see, and suddenly you can’t remember the last “normal day” or dinner you had. By week two of our six-week tour, we reveled in the routine-feeling act of simply going to the gym. We craved work.

Back on the land, I got right to the easel. I completed this painting, “Sunset on the Playa” (16″x16″, $600) recently as part of an ongoing effort to create a series of Northern Nevada landscape paintings that highlight the beauty and austerity I love so much.

Why we needed projects

Yes, earning money is important. But having nearly three years now of seasonal/gig/unpredictable employment under our belts, we’d (finally) figured out how to cleverly save for travel and leaner income months. What we realized in December was not just about paid employment. It was bigger than that. We wanted to focus, create, and contribute. It felt like we were adrift.

I missed my easel. I missed the simplicity of days out on our 30-acre off-grid land. I missed painting landscapes often inspired by areas in the desert southwest and Alaska, and how long languid sunny days can fill with everything else: cooking, running, writing, phone calls, managing our off-grid-ness (solar troubleshooting, adding water to the Airstream), consulting. There is a deliberateness to the way I construct my day to day life. It’s a mix of enjoying the moments: smelling the creosote in the air, observing birds and plants, and taking in sunrises and sets. And, it’s about discipline/perseverance.

Returning to painting

Now that I’m back on our property, life has, of course, followed me here. I won’t say it’s idyllic. But it has damn good moments. And unlike being “on tour” where I was constantly appearing, meeting, showing up, and yes absolutely enjoying, here I am focusing. I have my week’s worth of tasks outlined on my list. They range from a bunch of checkboxes reading “paint”, to “add commission to calendar”, “blog” (hi!), “meditate”, “run”, to a range of consulting tasks. I structure my days based on when I have the most energy (morning), typically spent on exercise and creative projects whether that be painting or consulting tasks like designing an agenda.

A recent sunset on our off-grid property in Northern Arizona. I love it, and feel both inspired and focused when I’m out here.

I have the blessing and curse of being task and accomplishment driven, which means I constantly feel like I get to about a third of what I’d liked to have done on any given day. I know I’m not alone in that.

But I’m so happy to at least be in a position right now, this month, to do my best to do the most I can. I’m working on some big paintings and commission projects, which I’ll be sharing back here in the coming weeks!