Author Archives: janalynch

Getting down to Tiny living. It’s no joke.

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Well we moved 300 square foot worth of stuff that we’ve been living on over to the 420 sf efficiency yesterday. Mind you we lived just fine on just that stuff over the last 5 months.

Since April 20 I’ve been pairing down two completely packed floor to ceiling storage units. This efficiency apartment is where I worked to get it sorted.

My new efficiency apartment. Another round of pairing down must happen today.

What was left after this process was what I felt we should keep out of all the stuff we still owned. Mind you, we started this process last year in Ruidoso where I had a huge garage sale and we even sold all my furniture with the house.

If you’re going to do something like this you have to understand you can only wear one shirt at a time. You are extremely blessed if you have seven shirts so that you only have to do laundry once a week.

The rest of the stuff you have is just a heavy burden that keeps you from moving freely about the planet.

And trust me once you’ve been evicted from your life a few times you realize just how ridiculous it was to acquire all this shit in the first place.

This tiny live thang is no joke folks. You got to be ready to let it all go. It’s an emotional journey because you learn that no one wants your old memories.

My advice to the young? Live way below your means. It’s a blast to be able to move around your day financially free.

I recommend a storage for your seasonal stuff like ski wear, scuba gear, and suitcases. But only stuff you know 109% you will use again. (Store no memories)

My reward. And future home to my outdoor art studio.

I will not be selling my stuff this time. It all will go to a battered women’s shelter where there’s a new gal arriving almost daily, someone who was evicted from her life with only the shirt on her back and a child on her hip and one wrapped around her leg.

Selfishly I ask, when do I get to make art again?

I can feel my heart quake as I still have to build an outdoor studio space and still have to get 1200 sf of Art Cave stuff to fit into 300 sf in the cold storage. I will be donating extra supplies somewhere because again, I can only use one tube of white paint at a time. But truly I hope it fits. Lol I love my art stuff the very most.

FYI when this is all done I will still own too much stuff.

Gawd will this ever end?! lol

I’m beat.

My Art stuff in cold storage has to be organized into a workable studio.
Our summer river gear hanging on the outside.

Take a ride on the Grace Pipeline

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Cool things happen on the Grace Pipeline.

God answers my questions. For a direct connection with Him I’ve learned that you gotta jump inside the Grace Pipeline because in there He will answer prayer.

Today while in there I asked a question. As a side note: I should tell you I’m floating on the river again. It’s mine now, the Colorado river.

I asked, “Are the big red winged dragon flies the males, or the smaller blue ones?” Now of course, I could’ve Googled it for an answer but I didn’t have my phone so I asked the question in prayer.

Then a brown dragon fly landed on me, a female. FYI I’VE NEVER noticed a brown one ever. They know they’re safe with me. I love them and I’m convinced I’m an animal whisperer.

So she landed. And then a male (a blue dragon fly) landed on top of her. Soon his legs are on my knee, and she’s about 3/4 his overall size. And FYI in case you’re wondering, her Vaa-Jay-Jay (my made-up word to maintain a PG rating here) is on her shoulder blades…I’m relating it to humans here, sorta.

I think I’ll paint this scene one day.

They stayed about five minutes. He didn’t move, but I’d say she obviously liked it. She kept rubbing her head.

Their eyes are huge, and I will exaggerate that in my painting.

Then they left, and then I cried.

I cried because I realized that God, who is in His Heaven with his incredible sense of humor, heard me immediately. And as a blessing he answered my silly-ass prayer.

Just ask me if you wanna learn how to ride the Grace Pipeline. It’s easy and I’m a pro now. Lol.

This photo I found online later. My pair stayed way straighter while sitting on me.

I’m a bit jelly of the male. Why is it the males in nature are most always so much prettier than the females? I’m so sorry boys, if the world told you guys that you are bad…It is a lie.

You do not have to be in church to be with God. But just like it is with anyone else, you have to learn His mind (His Word) to feel His presence so you can learn to enjoy Him.

Great weekend coming up May 6, 2022

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I just received and approved the product I ordered for the upcoming juried bird show. I have some product going to both the shows I’m involved in next weekend.

Some product will be with me on May 6th when I paint LIVE on First Friday at Neighbor’s Kitchen and Yard. I’m taking some products to advertise the bird show that happens First Saturday May 7th at Lost Pines Art Center.

Join me at ether or both events.

I received heavy denim cosmetic and pencil bags, silk scarfs, tea towels and hand signed paper prints, all with my bird images on them.

Trying to stage photos in tiny living is freaking hard. Lol. So please come see me in person at these events. It’s going to be a great weekend next week. Come join me!

Hand signed paper prints with plastic sleeve and backing $20
Waiting for this moment to be free – Tea towel with cabinet pull strap. $28
Always Root For The Little Gal – Tea towel with cabinet pull strap. $28
Always Root for the Little Gal -silk Scarf 16×16 inches.
$30 exclusively at Lost Pine Art Center
Always Root for the Little Gal – Heavy zipper – heavy denim Pencil bag $25

Waiting for the moment to be Free – Heavy zipper, heavy denim evening or cosmetic bag $25

Tubing the Colorado River in Bastrop

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So we learn a lot about our Colorado river.

We left one car at the Colorado River Refuge and one at Fisherman’s Park, and then we dropped our little tube rig in the river.

We learned that drifting in plastic tubes will take at least eight hours to go six miles, which is going from Fisherman’s Park to the Colorado River Refuge in the Tahitian Village where our other car was waiting.

Thank God for our AirBnB host Andy for letting us pull out of the river early at the Zen River House. We were done after five hours of drifting exceptionally since we only brought enough beer for two hours of drifting. Lol

But even getting out early was fun. Andy took our our dumb asses and all our tubing rig to our car in his groovy Polaris. (That will cost my husband like $20k because now I want one lol)

What a fun adventure! Thank you Andy for helping us.

When we try it again we will just put in here at the Harmony House and float to the Refuge. That’s more up our alley as that will only take two to three hours to go two miles.

So there you have it guys. That is how slow the river flows around these parts.

I’m shocked we don’t see more tiny sail boats to capture the power of the winds that we have around here on some days.

AirBnB check out the Harmony House. It’s a rare find and it’s so much fun!

But she’s mine for 14 more days.

Creating in tiny spaces is interesting

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I’m excited! I got my climate controlled storage unit for all my art related stuff today, so I’m setting up a little place for my art production.

I won’t work in there, but it’s a place where I can put inventory and unfinished projects to be completed etc. And it’s where I have all my paints that cannot live in hot spaces.

Making art in tiny living has its challenges, but having a little help like a climate controlled storage will make it easier.

I was juried into a group show that will be featuring birds, which is being offered since Bastrop was voted a Bird City. Trying to prepare for that in tiny living can be challenging.

Come play May 6 where I’ll be painting live at Nieghbor’s. On this painting I’ve titled it “Will we let our history fall into the River?”

The painting below is a painting that was made by a group of my artists in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s do something like this on May 6th!

Be sure to wear your paint clothes. I’m starting a group paint on May 6 that we can work on together. It’s going to be a birds-eye view of our river, I’m thinking. What will you add to this new piece?

This is the group that painted the art shown above. My talented brother Wyley Lynch, who was a very talented musician, used it on one of his CD album covers.

Buggy Bastrop

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What’s not to love?!

Every day it seems I get a bug bite that will itch for days, especially when I play on the river. An itchy bug bite on skin that’s been in the sun is especially interesting.

You be buggy Bastrop, but that’s a blessing for all our bug eating wildlife. You’ve got the most beautiful wildlife here!

But get this. A blue dragon fly, I guess that’s what it was, landed on my hand and ate a bug right there on my hand. I saw that bug go from living to dead in a considerable amount of time…it was a slow death. I had the privilege of seeing the entire event. (Sorry no photo as I was floating on the river)

Thank you my little blue friend for sharing that expeience with me. I didn’t know what you ate till now. I hope collectively you guys eat a ton of bugs.

A variable damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) feasting on a chironomid. Credit: Tuomas Kankaanpää

It’s official. We are River Ratz

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Well, it’s official. We are River Ratz now. We played on the Colorado river yesterday for our 28th anniversary.

So here goes River Ratz lesson #1: Learn to hold your raft in place on a moving river.

Note to self: buy a boat anchor.

You only need a 25 lb round bottom anchor and you’ll be able to hold still on a moving river. You need three floats. One float for each fat person plus the two skinny Italian greyhounds, and one for a cooler full of beer. Score!

I’ve got to buy another float for the beer now. Lol.

Our floating devices waiting us to figure out the anchor situation. lol

On our next day off we’re going to put a car down-river at the refuse, but then drop in back at the Zen River House (our AirBnB) and then float back down to our car at the refuse. We’ll drop anchor there and hang out. Lol

Jana and Kevin 4/24/22 – 28 year anniversary

Monster High Painting is Complete.

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This is finally complete and Nicole Sligar has first right to refusal. Although it doesn’t look like it, it’s a flat canvas with a cutout window area. It’s 28″x28″x2″ in acrylic and loads of cute 3D objects added.

It’s called Monster High Doll House. It’s a one-off item (meaning we can not ever make prints of it) as I will not own the rights to Monster High once it’s sold.

The price is $1500 plus insurance to ship it, plus the cost of shipping.

® 2022 Jana’s painted Artist. All rights reserved worldwide.
® 2022 Jana’s painted Artist. All rights reserved worldwide.

God brings me beautiful moments often

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These moments for me are respites; they are breaks from a crazy, busy world. Sometimes I think I’m an animal whisperer.

This little horned toad just jumped into my lap
This wild raccoon I named Baby Rose just hanging out with me.
Deer watching me create. It makes my day.
Lady and Siisi Grace and a deer friend at the PaintedArtist Ruidoso.
Friends.
A little bird just landed on me and I got like 10 minutes with this baby ’til she said, “farewell, time to get off to the business of being a bird.”

From birds that land on my hand and stay a bit, to deer that leisurely hang with me for a while, we are drawn together.

Today I was blessed by a visit from a gorgeous moth as I was heading into town to get the greatest BBQ I’ve ever put in my mouth. It was so good I dream about this stuff. I got it at Billy’s Pit BBQ here in Bastrop. Seriously, that’s just how good it is!

This beauty has an eight inch wing span with a furry body.

God brought me an extremely special gift today. We had a nice long visit, well, at least in moth time. I got to view this beauty up close and personal for about a minute, and then just like that, he was off.

Thank you Lord!