The big adventure

    That is what Gabe said to me when i arrived in China. "So starts the big adventure." It was meant to mean the time that he would be showing me and the rest of the family around China, his wedding, the hike up Emei shan. But he was talking about much more than that. He was talking about being married, returning to the U.S. to find work and a home to welcome his wife into. He was talking about a new existence. An uncertain existence where he would have to be serious in his decisions. Not the self absorbed writer guy living in squalor part that he had been playing up until now. for me I was returning to a short school bus that I had to get out of storage in a friends driveway. But first find a way to access my remaining monies, and make the buses stickers up to date. Which may be simple task to some, but since I have no actual address, and being in Portland should go through DEQ, things could get complicated.
      But in reality I was done with Portland. I had been killed with kindness. I t may sound weird but there is only so much you can hear, "I wish I could paint like you.", or "That is so amazing, your a great painter." But no one wants to buy. So, since I plein air paint and am working out in the city, I receive compliments all day. And then again at first and last Thursdays. But I am broke. really broke. No money coming in.  In my head I am thinking, "You don't wish you could do this, art is pretty and makes the world seem like a wonderful place, but no one wants to pay for it, no one will take the dive, the commitment to believe in what they love. To be passionate." I guess that is what makes me an artist. That importance in creation. I have to continue to fight for meaning in this world. To fight for love. But not in this town. Portland you have cracked my spirit, and I do not believe in making it here any more. I could live here and sell somewhere else, but i will not attempt to sell to Portlanders.
      So I am moving to Seattle. I am telling everyone I am just going up there to check it out, and I am. The thing is, doing what I do, the summer months are essential. I need to get a body of salable work locked down before the winter retreat. I was going to say hibernation, which is in many ways what winter is for me as an artist. Studio time. And I need to prepare for that time, like a squirrel collecting nuts. Only I am making connections. I am trying to find a place to park the bus that will be safe, and also allow me some inside space to use as painting studio. And cheap too. There are lots of things to consider and Portland was not yielding.
       So the big adventure was on for both of us. We were having to go through a number of changes and transitions in preparation for a new life we would work hard to build for ourselves and loved ones. Game on.