Art Plunge

 Just a short blog today. I'm hoping to spend most of my day here- wrapping up this painting once and for all. Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my Dad's passing (pictured in my studio) and it will be nice to complete another piece of art on this day. Another contribution to the world remembering I am an extension of him still. "We" are finishing the painting, together. In years past I would spend the day crying, purposely wallowing through the memories, songs and photos. It has never been a good day for me. But over the years time changes you and the grief becomes like another part of you. Always there, a new facet of who you are. Accepted. I quickly went through my Facebook memories today and was glad I had deleted a lot of mourning posts to never revisit. I really didn't need reminders of the pain. It's with me every day after all. Here I am ten years later, feeling like it was just yesterday and also a lifetime ago. Life is funny like that. I'll d...

  It took me ordering mini tacos from Jack in the Box and realizing the blueberries I set out for my morning shake never made it into my shake...to connect the dots that staying on Facebook for a week had been a mistake. Call it an accidental experiment.  One bad habit slowly snowballs into others. The 8 weeks of workouts, good eating with plenty of salads every day, the focus and priority....it was easy to just not care. To not do the walks that day and the next day, to not cook, to not food prep. I had no focus, I lingered long on Facebook and wasted time. When off of it little bits of conversation lingered in my head like annoying sound bytes, agitation was there every day waiting for me. It's a mental thing. I had let one bad habit crawl back in... couldn't the others come back too? Nope. I deactivated and pulled my focus back to where it needs to be. Back on me, my health, my productivity, my finances, my house, my work, my art, my friends and family, my cats, my goals. N...

  Just a shortie blog to update... This piece is almost complete! I'm nearing the end of it and need to shoot it, go get it scanned and ready for prints and send photos to gallery for inventory. But first I need to finish it 😂  Today it's back to worky work. I had to do a freelance job yesterday and wasn't able to paint much and now back to work and won't be able to paint much. There's never enough time. I've missed one workout and am having to redo my schedule this week to slide it in but I'm back to it today. My body needed me to rest and chill as it took care of some things and I needed less Cortisol in my body so I let it rest, sleep, skip a workout and took two days off walking. Now it's back to salads and the grind. Respect Rest, it's actually more beneficial than the workout sometimes.  Super busy in the beehive with work and art and minding my life. Facebook took my Notes feature away so all my blogging will be here. Yes, I even tried to get...

 Another busy week in the books and another zen achievement made. Maybe it's that 2020 has been so full of punches nothing phases me anymore or maybe a whole lifetime of lessons of getting kicked in the teeth have been my master but when Unemployment cut my funds down to a mere $34 (not sure where they came up with that figure) I actually didn't spiral into any kind of feelings but acceptance and resolve. It is what it is.   As a part time worker whose main income is as a self employed artist who hasn't fully recovered the usual income to sustain me- I relied on the relief I was getting to survive the pandemic chaos. I am super grateful to have my part time gig right now and some projects to help float me... And hasn't it always been this way? I was proud of myself for not letting myself get tossed into despair, depression and stress. I'm weathering the punches just fine. Zen achievement unlocked. I'll look into a different relief source and keep doing what I do...

 I finally started a new painting! This is epic for me because aside from finishing up my Monarch butterfly piece and a small abstract....I haven't done any art through this whole pandemic. 😬  I have been posting some time lapse videos and photos on my Instagram page @galleryrodriguez and @djtigerbee so you can see this little devil come to life. While I was in the hospital I was visited by a few muses and this albino crocodile was one. Not sure why and still sifting through its symbology but had to release him onto canvas- as you do with Muses.  I'm working on getting my lighting set up in my studio, installing a video editing app on my phone and doing some PROPER little time lapse videos. It's all upgrade life over here of late. So there you have it...a REAL ART POST ON MY ART BLOG! Amazing right? This is me finally tying up that last bit of business I've been neglecting...my ART. Been working on home and organization, got the car cleaned up and tuned up and now need...

  Well it's official. I am addicted. Luckily to nothing horrible. It was bound to happen. I'm addicted to the morning walk...the endorphins...the serotonin...the "me" time....the solitude....the music pumping in my ears...the nature I see and feeling like I control my day.  I'm usually up before the sun and getting as much mileage as my body allows. Sometimes it's more than others but it's always good. I'm going to add in more sprints here and there as "burst" exercises are better for me than long running sessions.  Yes, even on the weekends I'm out doing it. There is no sleeping in and admittedly I woke up at 2:30am and started having my morning coffee in preparation... Even though I will wait till much later to go out. That's how I know it's an addiction.  Currently on Week 6 and haven't missed a workout or even postponed it. I showed up for myself and made myself a priority every morning. I am proud of that and so much LESS...

I thought this week would be mellow in the work department but there's actually a LOT to do and I'm being asked if I can do this or that... Initial reaction "aaaghh, how am I supposed to do all this and get two paintings done for my virtual show?" Then I remembered this quote and everything seems a little better.  Initial reaction is always a little stressed and I have to sit with it. I stopped responding to questions immediately and take some time to turn them over, to ask all the right questions and not short change myself. I will not overburden myself. I'm also super thankful for the work because in a time like now so many people need work and I'm a "lucky" one.  I pushed through and did my workout yesterday! Super proud of that! Because my coworker brought pizza and cupcakes and I committed both sins 😳😂 Dammit, I am not a saint. But resolved today... Going to get my walk in this morning and keep my eye on salads today. Pretty much my life at wo...

No walk today! I actually woke up sleepy, tired and out of it. Thank you Texas allergies! So I'm listening to my body... Slept a little later than usual and am still planning on doing my Metabolic Renewal workout for the day. I haven't missed one yet! It's also work work day at the jobby so I'm not going to beat myself up-its kinda miraculous I do all this stuff before work. I'll be out walking again tomorrow. It's super important to listen to your body when it's talking to you. This is my morning breakfast every day except one day on the weekend (usually Sunday) I will have eggs and whatever else. A proper breakfast. But I really do love my breakfast shakes and getting my greens in without really tasting them- win win! I've been slowly on track taking care of business and I called the hospital yesterday after seeing an email I owed $20,000 +  What the?! The guy on the other end of the phone said that all my cases were closed with them. My recent Covid s...

My level of disengagement with stupid stuff is strong this year. I've even gotten super relaxed on the hashtag bullshido on Instagram. Don't care about building my followers, don't care about "engagement" and new content creation and all the other marketing bullshit that is forced upon you as an artist trying to survive online. Sorry I just don't care right now- I'm living my best life. Not seeking out galleries or putting others on a pedestal as if they are more important, hard working or special than me. Not social climbing or trying to make connections and network. Not trying to get interviewed, spotlighted or gain votes. Not pressured to entertain my "followers" like a fake star or be "on" for "my public" . Wow we let a lot of bullshit take up our time and bully our lives around. I can think of no more boring thing than spending time "curating" my Instagram to all have the color white as a prominent background an...

What started as me deciding to spend 30 minutes picking out clothes to donate from my closet .. Turned into about 2 hours of folding t shirts, jeans and deciding winter was far enough away that all sweaters and coats could be packed away. My closet was a walk-in diaster. My cat had lived in it all winter, knocked stuff down, slept on it, fuzzed up clothes and built forts. No lie.  I had been living in the same two pairs of jeans and 5 shirts off my bedroom floor (closet #2 😂). First things first, all the T shirts from OLD JOBS were the first to get put in donation pile. I don't need memories of "that place" and they were all too small, waaay too large or tan/beige/grey ..all the wrong unhappy colors that just say JOB when you look at them. Bye! So that happened yesterday. Major project that still needs work but for now it is peaceful enough to my brain to leave it alone. I have two large loads of laundry to do because my clothes look like...well like a cat has been sleep...

It's the beginning of August and the beginning of another weekend. I took this photo to remind me that a month ago I was hiding in pants and sleeves. Then I decided to accept my body, embrace it as my work in progress and love it at every stage of it's journey. Tank tops and shorts in the summer... Feels so much nicer to love yourself. This weekend calls for productivity projects around the house and more work to do. A digital design project awaits, a friends lanterns need to be painted and a blank canvas awaits in my studio. But first things first, a leisurely cup of coffee (my second) and then morning mileage.  I feel my body slimming slowly every day and feel my muscles toning up. It's a great feeling to FEEL progress internally. I look forward to the miles, the shakes, the workouts... There's no dread and I do allow myself treats. Just having my body working normally and not hindered by endometriosis is miraculous.  I woke up full of energy for life and even a pull ...