August 29th, 2021.
We have two weeks and one day to finish Teardrop 2.0 before we leave. If I could go back and shake myself vigorously, I would. I thought painting both sides would be quick and easy, but I was wrong.
Let's start at the beginning, with my brilliant ideas.
It took Sam and I months to decide on what we wanted to paint on the sides of the Teardrop. Initially, we talked with our friend David and had him draw up some designs for us. He gave us so many options, and we loved all of them. But I could not, for the life of me, figure out the right colors to use that would do his designs justice. So, it was back to the drawing board.
Stumped and indecisive, Sam and I looked to the first Teardrop (Teardrop 1.0) for inspiration. We painted it in 2017 based off of Los Alamos, NM. The design was meant to showcase our hometown’s characteristic mesas on one side and the Omega Bridge on the other. At the time, I used a really simple method that allowed me to start and finish painting each scene in less than a day.
The idea of a special place was nice and all, but I really liked the idea of finishing in less than 12 hours. Spoiler alert: that absolutely did not happen.
This is Teardrop 1.0. What kind of changes do you think we made to 2.0?
After some discussion, we decided we wanted to do something similar and show off another area special to us. This time, though, we wanted to add more detail. Eventually, we decided to use some photos that I had taken in Black Rock Desert. Thankfully, I recently shot an arsenal of nice landscapes from the previous summer, so we had a lot to choose from.
These are the references we decided on, as well as the canvas I would paint them on:
Inspiration from the first Teardrop gave never truly wore off. I ended up using a similar color blocking technique. On top of those colors I made sure to add variations in color and texture to really make each layer pop.
It’s funny, because writing that makes it sound like I went into painting this with a plan with perfect execution. In reality, each layer gave me its own flavor of panic. Are these the right colors? Is this enough detail, or is it too little? Will the paint covering my skin ever come off? If it weren’t for Sam’s constant, “WOW! This looks great!” I would have drowned in a puddle of primary colors.
Once, Sam’s dad came up to me and said, “Gosh, I wish I could be so talented.” The imposter syndrome inside of me scoffed, because really anyone could do this . . . right? Sometimes I think back on what he said, and it makes me smile.
Thankfully, the timelapse I took doesn’t show these occasional moments of panic. Oddly enough, my sped up painting process almost looks . . . confident. Ahh, the magic of editing.
Painting the first side took around 3 - 4 days. Close to 24 hours of my life were spent painting only half of the Teardrop. Of course, as an artist filled with self-doubt, there are still areas I’m not happy with. For one rare moment of my life, my exhaustion overtook my perfectionism.
Instead of focusing on the imperfections, however, I’d like to mention how proud I am of myself for adapting to such an intense experience. I’m not sure how many of you have painted with acrylic latex paint, but this stuff dries SO FAST -- the colors would make my life harder the longer I had them out. Since I painstakingly mixed each color myself, they felt like my children. I birthed them onto my palette, and the more they aged the more cranky they got. Once they finally settled onto the walls, though, I think I understood what it meant to be a proud parent :’)
Now it’s time for the other side!
By this point in time, I’m already way behind my very optimistic schedule. I told myself that the other side would be a walk in the park! No, once again, I was wrong. Now that I knew what I was doing with the paint, the work became ambitious and arduous. At one point, the self doubt became nearly crippling; I was convinced that this side was destined to be the “bad” side of the Teardrop.
Well, I’m happy to say that, once again, I was wrong.
If you look close enough, you can see how I learned from one side to another. And, let’s face it, I learned a bit from Bob Ross, too.
A huge shoutout to those who sat in the comfy camp chairs behind me and watched as I painted. Sometimes, Sam and his dad would take a break from working on the Teardrop and talk amongst themselves about what parts of the painting they liked. Other times, my and Sam’s mom sat back and gossiped, giving my brain something other than those dang bushes to think about. Eventually, after countless hours, I was able to stand up, look back, and say I was done. My body will recover, but the seat upon which I sat will never be the same.
September 13th is when this adventure officially starts. But what is an adventure without a prologue? In this chapter, I can really only speak for myself and my job as “the artist;” the real work, however, is everything Sam and his dad have been doing for over a year. Sure, I helped with aesthetics, but this Teardrop isn’t just some pretty thing you pass on the highway. This is our home for the next year.
Everyone dreams of building their own home. Ours just has wheels.
NEXT WEEK
Colorado.
There, we’ll be touring the Native ruins at Mesa Verde,
sand surfing at the Great Sand Dunes.
and spending our first night in the new Teardrop!
Oh boy, it’s really happening, isn’t it?
My favorite part of your time lapse (besides the dope paintings themselves obvi) was the Vaquita cameo. What a handsome boy. I’m excited to hear about what it’s like to finally live in that sick work of art!! 🤠
Ahhhh! I loved this first post Kes! I'm so excited to keep up with you this way and I LOVED the timelapse. Both sides of Teardrop 2.0 look amazing. You should be so proud.