I'm so close to retirement from public school teaching. So close to being free to paint every day. So close to being free to enter more plein air contests. Yet I still have to finish up at my middle school English teaching job. People at work ask me, "Aren't you so happy that you're so close?" I smile. But I remember that I still have to show up to school, be professional, and get my job done. I can't explain it, but even though, yes, I'm happy to be so close to the end, and even though every day done is one more day closer to painting full-time, EVERY DAY is harder than the last. At the same time, I am trying to take most of my unused personal days that I've earned over the years. It feels weird to be absent so often, which is probably why I didn't take all my days as I earned them, and I ended up, as of last January, with over 42 personal days earned. But I'm taking a chunk of those days, including spending three days last week in Galveston.
Last week was my birthday and my stepmother had, coincidentally, scheduled a vacation in Galveston for herself and a few of her friends. She encouraged me to come. I mostly didn't think about work at all. (I did have to send a couple of emails to colleagues about tutoring groups before standardized testing happens.) But mostly, I was a tourist, eating out, going on walks on the beach, visiting historic mansions, and painting. Yes, I took my paints.
Galveston is imminently paintable. There's a painting around every corner. Cargo ships. Oil tankers. Tall ships. Shrimpers. Beach cottages. Sunrises. Sunsets. Sand dunes. The Strand. People fishing. Pets. Beautiful foliage. How great it would be to live here for part of the year each year, in the off-season, to paint and enjoy the beach in relative peace.
There are two painting contests in Galveston each year: Brushes-by-the-Beach, and Plein Air Southwest. Brushes-by-the-Beach is an open contest, sponsored by G. Lee Gallery, that happens in the late fall. Plein Air Southwest is a juried contest, sponsored by the Outdoor Painters Society, that happens in the spring. Both are on my radar for next year. I might even participate in Brushes-by-the-Beach this fall in 2019. We'll see if I can get lodging within my budget.
I'm just craving the company of other artists. While I was in Galveston, I accidentally ran into two artists I'd painted with in Marble Falls at "Paint the Town," and it was great to see them. It was fun to walk around the downtown district with them during the Art Walk on April 27th. As a teacher, I had good relationships with colleagues, and I was part of their tribe for 25 fulfilling years. However, there's more in life for me to do. I have goals for my future that don't include teaching (or even subbing) in the Texas public schools. And I want to be on island time, even if I'm not actually on an island. I want to be on island time, even if I'm actually on the ranch, in Burnet county. But I'm still waiting to get on island time, and it's the hardest thing in the world to know there are artist friends of mine who are right now painting on the beach on island time and I'm not there.
So I'll go to work tomorrow at the crack of dawn and continue counting down the days to my own personal island time. Sigh.
Peace,
Judi
Last week was my birthday and my stepmother had, coincidentally, scheduled a vacation in Galveston for herself and a few of her friends. She encouraged me to come. I mostly didn't think about work at all. (I did have to send a couple of emails to colleagues about tutoring groups before standardized testing happens.) But mostly, I was a tourist, eating out, going on walks on the beach, visiting historic mansions, and painting. Yes, I took my paints.
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| 1513 33rd Street |
Galveston is imminently paintable. There's a painting around every corner. Cargo ships. Oil tankers. Tall ships. Shrimpers. Beach cottages. Sunrises. Sunsets. Sand dunes. The Strand. People fishing. Pets. Beautiful foliage. How great it would be to live here for part of the year each year, in the off-season, to paint and enjoy the beach in relative peace.
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| 2405 33rd Street |
I'm just craving the company of other artists. While I was in Galveston, I accidentally ran into two artists I'd painted with in Marble Falls at "Paint the Town," and it was great to see them. It was fun to walk around the downtown district with them during the Art Walk on April 27th. As a teacher, I had good relationships with colleagues, and I was part of their tribe for 25 fulfilling years. However, there's more in life for me to do. I have goals for my future that don't include teaching (or even subbing) in the Texas public schools. And I want to be on island time, even if I'm not actually on an island. I want to be on island time, even if I'm actually on the ranch, in Burnet county. But I'm still waiting to get on island time, and it's the hardest thing in the world to know there are artist friends of mine who are right now painting on the beach on island time and I'm not there.
So I'll go to work tomorrow at the crack of dawn and continue counting down the days to my own personal island time. Sigh.
Peace,
Judi
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