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The Constraints Collection

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I so enjoyed reading @mattietiegreen's blog post about living a double life as a working mama. Some days I'm a painter who has time to work out and shower 🙌. Some days I'm in the weeds with graphic design work, hustling hard and working through lunch in order to help pay the bills. And some days, I'm full-on Mom: re-heating my coffee six times because I don't have time to drink it, meal-planning for a toddler who only wants to eat mac and cheese, and singing aloud all of the weird jingles from Miles' electronic toys because I know them all by heart. Some of these versions of myself look more put together than others, but all of them are "me". And as Mattie said, there's room for all of 'em. ❤️
Big news, friends! We're embarking on our next big adventure in August...moving to Bend, OR! Dr. Beau scored his dream job in our dream city (and favorite vacation destination) and just before Christmas, we decided to accept the offer. I couldn't be more proud of him -- he's worked so hard for SO long and after 9 years of training, he's landed a role that's so perfectly suited for him. . We're thrilled, nervous, grateful, weepy about leaving our Portland family, and pretty much carrying every other emotion possible. But ultimately, it just feels right. Bend is basically Mecca for outdoorsy people who like craft beer, so how could it NOT be the right fit for us? 😉 . Cheers to big moves, lots of change, and even more adventure in 2019! . Any Bendites out there? I'd love to hear about the best neighborhoods, daycares, things to do, etc. ❤️ . 📸: first photo by the lovely @katiemichellephoto, and the rest are from our many trips to Bend over the past few years. Giddy about having all of this beauty in our backyard. 😍
The next set of paintings finally has a name! I'm calling it the Current Collection and each piece will be inspired by the movement and shapes of water. 🌊 To take it to a deeper level (because y'all know I like to do that 😜), I'm applying this theme to the different seasons of life that we walk through. There always seem to be underlying "currents" beneath the surface of our day-to-day -- periods of waiting, pulls of momentum, tumultuous seasons of change. 🌊 Growing up going to the beach, you learn that if you get caught in a rip tide, it's better to swim with the current rather than fight it. This year, I want to focus on leaning in to these underlying periods of change, joy, pain, waiting, etc., and discovering what each will have to teach me. 🌊 The Current Collection will launch on February 4th. Sign up for my email list and stay tuned here for more updates!
Slapped some skis on the bike trailer and hit the mountain with some friends. Oregon weekending at its finest! ❄️🏔👌
New favorite painting alert 🚨
I've always had trouble capturing in-progress shots of my artwork. Our house is dark and shadowy, especially during overcast Portland winters. I've never had a designated painting space, so I've been dragging unattractive bins of paint supplies out of the closet and spreading them out all over the kitchen table any time I want to paint. The way my space looks matters to me, so to be honest, the idea of living with a messy kitchen for a week or more while I work on paintings has always been my biggest barrier. . I'm constantly saying things like "In our next house...", or "When Beau graduates residency and we make more money...". BUT NOT ANYMORE. 💪 . Inspired by my dear @mattietiegreen, I've decided to make my current space work for me. I invested in an easel (my first ever!), and squeezed it into a tiny corner of our guest bedroom. It's not perfect, and you'll probably never see photos of me wearing fancy clothes while wistfully painting in my bright, airy studio and listening to impossibly cool hipster music. (It's usually pajamas and top 40, let's be honest). But I'm thrilled to be making literal, physical space for my art. I can't wait to see what comes of it!