The Giant Introduction Thread Of Doomydoomdoom. (Or just introductions.)

[Charlie O’Shields]

So thrilled that Doodlewash is helping keep you motivated, Cristina! Yay! That’s the main goal here! hehe… the more we DO the better we get! 😃

[Trissa Nova]

Hi everyone.  I’m not sure whether folks still use the forums but I’ve just joined the site & thought I’d make an intro.  It would be great if other folks could post about themselves as well.  Even if you already did…some of the intros on the thread are from a while ago and so much has changed in the past couple years (to put it mildly).

I live in the USA in Minnesota, in the Frozen North!  I have a family of 4, with my oldest just starting her second semester at university. Our son will finish up his high school in spring of ’23 and is in the midst of making university decisions.  We have two dogs: a lab mix and a great pyrenees.  I own a small advertising agency.  We do the “numbers” (media buying) side of advertising, not the creative side.  Work takes a lot of time and I don’t paint as often as I’d like.

My husband & I are planning to retire in the next 2.5-3 years.  We will sell the house & most belongings, move into an RV trailer, and travel full time for at least a few years if all goes well.  Our bigger pickup should arrive next month and the trailer is on order for summer delivery so we have time with the setup in advance of moving in full time.

I was active in art in my teen years and received some recognition, but was advised by my parents that art wasn’t going to be my career so I shouldn’t focus on it.  They meant well, but I have only come back to it in the past year or so.  As I thought about hobbies I could develop for when we’re traveling…things that don’t take a lot of space…watercolor seemed perfect so I dug in.

Watercolor goals & things I struggle with:

• I have been known to focus on development of my “kit” more than painting itself.  i.e. Finding the perfect palette (which honestly I think I have done, for me anyway).  Building a plein air support board with mounts for all my accessories (despite that at least currently I don’t really paint outdoors), designing/sewing a cross-body bag that fits my supplies (only to have the supply list change somewhat).  I don’t think this is bad per se.  It is part of my personality.  But it does take away from painting time.
• I am trying to get down to a simplified set of colors.  I need to use fewer and understand them better.
• I have a tendency to kind of draw with my brush rather than use more loose or gestural marks that take better advantage of watercolor’s unique beauty.  And part of me wonders if I should just embrace this and develop more of a botanical practice.
• I’m trying to work on seeing what’s actually in front of me versus painting what I expect to see.

It is also my hope to develop some art-minded friends because I don’t really have people in my life with whom I can talk about these things.  My family is interested & supportive for sure, but nobody is interested in my questions about whether I have too many yellows in my split primary setup.

Looking forward to spending some time here with you all. – T

[Sandra Strait]

Hello Trissa! It’s wonderful to learn more about you! I can’t imagine traveling in an RV with those dogs! The Great Pyrenee would take up a great deal of the room! As someone who had two English Mastiffs at the same time, I know how they dominate the space, lol.

I was a featured artist here at Doodlewash back in 2017, and that covers most of my background. Things haven’t changed too much, except that I now review art supplies regularly at Doodlewash), but don’t do the link lists mentioned in my feature.

My husband is a couple of years away from retirement, but I spend my time with family and artwork. Notice I say artwork, not housework. ‘Nuff said about that.

My artistic focus still changes often. I’m using gouache more often, and playing occasionally with acrylic. Originally, I was drawn to watercolor because it is such a transparent medium.  I’ve found though, that my style isn’t one that embraces transparency.  Fortunately, my both watercolor and my style are flexible enough. I can use watercolor in more opaque ways, and occasionally have a fling with transparency. I’m still an awful cheat – visiting old loves such as zentangle, pen and ink and all those art styles I’ve flirted with and loved in the past.

 

[Trissa Nova]

Thanks for the link to your bio.  So interesting!  I love how your art interests weave through different media and subjects.  I also got a real laugh about you having different social media identities and being accused of stealing from yourself or folks realizing they already knew you.

Given my RV goals and my current time limitations, I am trying really hard to be focused on watercolor.  But I have small embroidery and needle felting kits also put together for when we’re on the road.  And I still haven’t given up on the idea of bringing some kind of sewing machine, despite that the RV trailer we bought is only 26′ and as you say, the dogs will require some significant space.  (as will my husband!) Making those “what we’ll bring” decisions is partly why we’ve purchased it in advance of taking the leap.

[Sandra Strait]

It sounds like you are planning wisely. Hubby and I will downsize, but probably opt for a condo. I’m not sure if we’ll stay in Oregon – definitely not the Portland area any longer, but we might head for Florida, since I have family there. Not sure we can take the heat, but given the 115 degree weather we had here last year, there may not be much difference!