Expansion.

"Intersecting"
6x6 Acrylic on Canvas
for sale on my Etsy.

I'm drinking the very best cup of coffee that I've had in some time. Dark brewed and Costa Rican. I love South American coffees for their dusty, earthy flavored qualities. If a coffee is good enough and brewed just right, I imagine particular colors swimming across my tongue. The flavor denoting the color. Today the color is burnt sienna with a tiny bit of orange and yellow thrown in. It has undertones in various shades of green.

I'm up early this morning 1) because Louis woke me up with loud yawns and hard snuggles and 2) because I think I'm a little bit excited for a camping trip up north. Our bags are packed and sitting next to the door just waiting for me to get off work tonight so that, directly afterward, we can begin our road trip. Save the moon, it will be dark when we arrive--completely dark, not just city pseudo dark.

I am grateful to have a place like this to go to. The only hard part is deciding what art supplies to bring. I'm entering the 4th week of doing a "painting a day" and am about 6 paintings behind. I can't believe it's already the fourth week! Despite my tardiness in a few paintings, I am a little bit amazed by myself for making it this far. It started our as a commitment but, like morning pages, it has become more of a habit than anything--and I like being in the habit of painting every day.

Yesterday morning I got up early with the dogs and went to sit out in the backyard while they played. I wrote in my journal about the need to continuously stretch my creative boundaries. I wrote about an 8 foot painting that I once did while living in a shack deep in the woods and how it was the first time that I truly experienced that indescribable thing that happens while in the act of painting. I painted with selfless abandonment and the product that came from it was, although not a "good" painting, a powerful one.

I wrote about the need to paint with that same sort of abandonment--without worrying if it will be any good or if it will sell or any of that. As I paint, I find myself learning about myself. It is the same way with writing and I suppose this is exactly why I paint and write.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to heading to the woods. Last night I started packing my painting supplies and quickly realized that my acrylics and canvases were out of the question. With a car full of camping gear and 2 large dogs--hahaha! No way. So, instead, I decided to be brave and pack my watercolor journal, watercolor paints, some paint brushes, and a few pens. Of course, I couldn't help myself and packed a box of oil pastels too. We'll see where these mediums lead me. Watercolor--I know nothing about it. Still, I look forward to sitting down at the end of the dock and seeing what will happen.

These days I feel a literal opening up occurring somewhere inside of me. In my mind? My body? In the space around me? Yes, all of those things. I'm going to attempt to make the best possible use of this expansion.

And swimming in a nice, clean lake...well, that's just an added perk.

See you next week! :)