#so ive just started y2 summer

[moshaeu]

an older vaniper wip that i’m bringing out because i needed something to post for fom rambling purposes LMAOO

[paintcloset]

Plus Weeks, Week 1, Summer Y2

Dear Paint Closet Tumblr Blog,

This week I would say I was very succesfull at hanging out with my friends as much as possible. This week I though a lot about a lot of things.

Wednseday

On Wednesday we had the kick off, and I reformulated my plus plan and shadowed Otto and Ollie in the fabric station while they worked on the looms.

We did a group trip to the art store, I bough the cheapest canvas frames they had to start learning how to streatch canvases.

In the evening I came over to where Otto and Ollie live, which is actually the same building that I lived first year here! Otto is living in the same exact apartment I used to live in. It felt a little strange the first few times I came over cus it was like woah! I used to live here! But then I got over it because it felt like it really became associated as their place.

Otto has befriended 6 cats in that area, and that evening I met 3 of them. They're doing a project on them which I think is pretty cool. Otto also named all of them, Pallet (white and dark gray), Tuft (brown) and Jerry (orange) are the ones I got to meet. He said Jerry is his favorite. Pallet drooled all over our hands when we were trying to feed him treats. On this day it was also discovered that Pallet and Tuft are good friends :D

After meeting the cats we walked all the way to Noordereiland to go on a big slide. On that walk I stateg thinking about how fleeting everything is. How I didnt know these two people just a few months ago, and now I cant imagine never meeting them. This feeling, I've been trying to observe and potentially catch this week, to put down on paper.

Thursday

I FINALLY went to my studio for the first time. I vlogged it, god knows when I'll edit that but I did film it.

That day in the studio I did some very general cleaning and rearranging so that I can start working. As a warm up, I drew Otto with Jerry, when I felt like I couldnt recognize Otto in the pencil sketch I moved on to a different task.

I strechted a canvas for the first time! Entirely guided by basic things that I remember and slight help from a youtube tutorial. Then I primed it bright green and started laying out a sketch for the painting based on a sketch from my sketchbook. I did a light wash of skin colors on it with acrylic. I want to do this piece in oil but I was getting tired and hungry at that point so I just wanted to do a quick wash and go home.

Friday

Friday didnt go as planned and it kinda threw me off my loop. Ive been going to bed late and waking up late. The biggest problem with that is every other evening we make plans to hang out with Ollie and Otto. So if I need something done, it needs to be done in the morning. In the morning when i'm not awake yet. On friday I wanted to go to the studio before we went to the cinema. Since I only started paitning a little the day before, I really wanted to start painting FR FR on friday. The issue with that is I dont like going to the studio for just 1-2 hours, I find it the most useful if im able to be there for 4-6 hours, in that time frame I can work in a relaxed matter that feels the most productive.

I had also been putting off bringing a piece of wood that was part of my ikea shelf to cut down. I thought Id have enough time to cut down that piece AND go to the studio. But I didnt!

Here's me with my wood tho. At school I ran into an aquiantace from 3rd year of photography and he made me remember I should start making my out period plan... Something to start writing about next week.

After coming home from school with the wood I realized I definitly dont have enough time for the studio. So i went and bought a watermelon and invited over Ollie and Otto to eat some before we went to watch the live action of How To Train Your Dragon.

Friday made me start think about priorities. I really want to work but I dont seem to prioritize it and therefore I end up not doing it. Why is that?

Saturday

Saturday we planed to go to the Brienord Lake. Otto did an elective that was basically entirely done on that island and he wanted to take us to the Lake there.

The thing is, turns out my studio is really close to this lake, so I though, oh yes I can go work before I meet them at the lake! And thats how my second day of wanting to go to the studio and not going, went.. It felt like my biggest enemy was not waking up early.

But alas. I realized yeah, im up too late. So i got up and had breakfast near Nordplein market, by the water. I realized I like this city a lot more after moving, I fit right in the North. I was sitting by the water thinking how I didnt feel like I want to leave anymore. In less that a month I was capable of turning my life around with my own two hands, to the point that I didnt feel the need to look forward to moving back home. The feeling of wanting to leave turned into wanting to show my friends how I'm living now.

This is a weird feeling that I dont know how to name. I felt like by re-arranging a rug in the present to suit me better now, I have pulled it out underneath the feet of future me. I've sabotaged myself out of having a quick escape after graduation. I'm starting to feel like this could be home. It could be home if I'm willing to go through the pain of making it one.

I put this feeling aside and headed to the lake to meet my friends.

We basically spent all day there, swiming, tanning, talking, drinking.

I started remembering Otto is leaving in about a week from now, and Ollie will follow a week after that. Even though our time is limited, I'm incredibly gratful to have met these two. I don't think I can pin down everything I feel into words right now and I don't feel the need to.

This is where I come back to the fleeting nature of things. This limitation of time made me appreciate my new friends more, which by extention has also made appriciate my old friends more as well. In reality, all of our time together is incredibly fleeting, you just never realize it because it's not often that you have a specifically imposed time fram on you, like an exchange period, like the last half year of highschool, like summer break, like a weekend getaway, like a few spared hours together, like a 20 minute phone call.

Sunday

Today is Sunday. Today I'm sitting at my laptop, writing this post. I'm remembering all the things i've done and thought about this week. I'm planning to go to my studio soon, I've got no plans for the eveing so I can stay there until late.

Today I'm thinking about priorities. I'm thinking about how I need to reevaluate my priorities in order to get where I want to be. Right now I know I'm prioritizing time with friends but I would like to shift around the time I use to also spent time working on my art. I need more time on it because I havent had the time to prioritize my making in the last month due to moving. I want to make more, not because I feel guitly that I havent, but because I feel like I'm gonna pop like a cork from a champagne bottle soon if I dont let it out gently. May this shifting doesn't happen next week, maybe it happens later, that's okay. I just know it's something that needs to happen.

Everytime I'm in my studio I get excited again and again to make. It makes me remember why I study what I study, why I do what I do. Because I genuinly enjoy it and it brings me great fulfilment to do so.

This coming week, I'd like to continue hanging out with my friends, but I'd also like to reshift and reprioritize my making. How do i make that happen? Fuck if I know, I'll just play it by ear.

See you next week,

Arlo