2016 STATS:
Painting Created 41
Paintings Sold 34
Gallery Shows 3 [ 1 Solo, 2 Group ]
Art Festivals 18
Babies Created 1
States Traveled To 20
Miles Driven 18,742
Nights Scamped 41
Memories Made Infinite
I love life on the road. It has a certain wonderful simplicity about it. Often, the day's objective is to simply get from here to there while taking in the scenery. I've grown to love windshield time, mainly because that's when my amazing wife Ashley and I get to hang out. We listen to podcasts, talk about the world and our desire to experience it and generally just rock out. We're a couple of nomads and the wandering life suits us well.
Last year was by far my most productive year ever (41 paintings!) and it was been a dream come true to create and share art for a living. Thank you all for contributing to that livelihood, whether you bought an original painting or print or just liked a photo on Instagram. Your encouragement, interest and positivity give me the courage to create each and every day. Looking back through the pics, I feel blessed beyond what I deserve and it fills my heart with gratitude. Here are a few of our favorite pics from last year's art adventure, and be sure to read below about the exciting new moves that 2017 will bring.
The surprise | February | Laporte, CO
Lead the way son | Who Knows, USA
Beach daze | April | Galveston, TX
Ivan turned 3! | April | Grapevine, TX
Wichita CityArts Gallery Show | April | Wichita, KS
Throwin' a vase | May | Richardson, TX
Ivan's first ever roadside pee | May | Middle of Nowhere, KS
Big screen at the Twins game | June | Minneapolis, MN
Our happy place | Who Knows, USA
Chicago dogs | June | Chicago, IL
Temple Square | June | Salt Lake City, UT
Festival snuggles | July | Denver, CO
Michigan berry pickin' | July | Fennville,, MI
Lake Michigan sunset | July | Weko Beach/Bridgman, MI
Tree climbin' | August | Fort Collins, CO
Go Broncos! | August | Denver, CO
The Golden Gate Bridge | September | Sausalito/San Francisco, CA
Redwoods | September | Muir Woods/Mill Valley, CA
"He burped!" | October | Loveland, CO
Robin, Batman & Super Pregnant | October | Fort Collins, CO
The birth of Orin Jo | November | Fort Collins, CO
This winter has been the second period in my life that I've had months of dedicated creation time and it has once again transformed me. To create is to live and I feel the life that God has given me coursing through my veins, pulsing in my brain and churning in my heart. As I like to say, I'm really cranking and have already completed 12 new paintings in 2017!
Most of these pieces are part of an exciting new body of work that has been taking root in the garden of my mind for some time now. Next month's newsletter will delve deep into this new series titled Tall Tales, but I will tell you faithful readers that it's western, it's unexpected and it's full of color! Check out the Tall Tales page for more snippets from this latest series. They will be debuting at my second ever solo exhibition slated for the month of March at the Yuma Art Center in Yuma, AZ. My family and I will be there on March 4 for the opening reception, if you're in the neighborhood, stop on by.
Studio paint | Yesterday | Fort Collins, CO
As for The Jobs of Yesteryear, the series that many of you know me by, I will be creating a fresh slate of Jobs in the next few months and will bring them with me on the road to an art festival near you. Stay tuned as our festival schedule shapes up for 2017.
If you read the 2016 stats, you noticed that I made more than art last year. Little Orin Jo makes the Voorhees family four-strong (Tyler, Ashley, Ivan and Orin) and if you want more personal stories from our art adventure complete with but not limited to cute kid pics, Ashley has started a new Instagram account @thefourhees.
2016 was weird and hard and wonderful and triumphant. But my favorite year is always the one on the horizon, so I hope that your 2017 bears delicious fruit and that you're seizing each day with gratitude and gusto. CHAAAARRRGE!
Gluhwein | December | Fort Collins, CO