Stopped painting again

Posted by on May 21st, 2016  •  0 Comments  •  Full Article

My last painting was December 30th. I painted 5 days a week for the six months prior to that. Since December I’ve been using my spare time to study web programming. Someone quit at work last April and I was able to get back to full time hours. It’s been great to get normal paychecks for a while. In five days I will have my credit card payed off for the first time in several years.

So financially we are doing great. We might even save some money soon, assuming this 2009 Macbook doesn’t die. But I feel guilty about the painting. Working feels like the right thing to do right now, and climbing on the weekends is always fun. But life passes so quickly when I’m not painting. All I have to show from living like this is a few photos and bank statements. Oh, and a shelf full of empty packaging that used to hold new toys. Like my iPhone, which which I’m already bored, a new flashlight, a couple cams, a new battery powered drill…etc.

My back bedroom is literally covered with the paintings I did over the last couple years. All the walls, shelves and boxes are covered with unsold oil paintings. Each painting is a memory of a time when I knew I was doing exactly what I should be doing. It’s true that they aren’t very good, though I could probably sell a few at a craft fair if I wanted to spend my weekends standing around under a white tent. I love creating the art, but the selling part not so much.

Work is going well. I have some great students and they are rapidly downloading everything I know about web design. The teaching business is perplexing. When I start out with a new group of students it’s kind of like bringing a bucket of water to people in the drylands. By the time they move on, my bucket is empty. I fill my bucket by studying the latest trends in web design and preparing lessons. Then the cycle starts again.

But my paints are calling to me. Maybe I can do some still lifes soon. That would be fun.

I’m looking forward to some climbing. On my April break I finally got up Cruel Sister clean. It is a 10b red camalot sized crack that has been shutting me down for about 8 years. My daughter and my niece Pam were there and tried it after my lead. That was a super fun trip!