On April 6 at 8:46am, I put our newest steed, a sharp 2011 Chevy Express 2500 into drive and eased out of our parking spot. Our little 13' Scamp was in tow and this was the first mile of nearly 20,000 that my wife, son and I will drive on our Art Adventure 2016. It was a very exciting moment for this family. After four months of holing up for the winter, painting like a madman and preparing for the slate of art shows we've lined up, it was finally time to put the pedal to the metal and hit the road!
My wife, Ashley and I have always been on the go. Ever since we met back in college at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota, it was evident that we would be chasing each other all over the globe. Shortly after graduating, Ashley got an opportunity to live and work in the beautiful Alps of Southern Germany in a charming little town with a long name, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. She jumped on the opportunity and five months later, after working two jobs and saving every penny, I gave chase. I moved to Munich, which is an hour to the north and found a job giving bike tours of the historic Bavarian city.
Eventually, Ashley joined me in Munich where we both began teaching English to German businessmen and women. It was a job that paid the bills but also gave us the flexibility we needed to travel all over Europe, taking in the rich and varied cultures that have existed there for millennia. It was eye-opening, to say the least. During this time I continued to work on my art, honing in on my style and certain techniques that I'm still using today. It was an important growth period for this budding artist.
Oktoberfest 2009| Muenchen, Deutschland
After two years hopping around, we decided that it was time to move back to the States, get married and start a family of our own. Having traveled almost nonstop for two years, you would expect that the travel bug had run its course but, as we sat on the plane over the Atlantic, we both began to wonder about all of the places in our home country that we'd never visited.
Fast forward six years and we've again built a life where can continue to travel and explore, this time in the good ole' US of A. We love a good road trip and our Art Adventure 2016 will take us through 15+ states. It not only provides a chance for us to satisfy our wanderlust but it also gives me the chance to connect to history buffs and fans of my art all over the country.
So this year, come and meet me at one of the nearly 20 shows we'll be a part of in states including Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Utah, Colorado, Michigan and California. Check out our calendar for dates and locations, and continue to keep an eye on it because we're still adding destinations.
So if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say howdy. I'd love to talk art and history and tell you some of my favorite stories that I've gathered. Until then, stay tuned...