Jan 16

Jan 16 #Commute No. 2

I just want to say right off the bat that I'm so glad I started this series. After working on illustrations like this, it's so refreshing and relaxing for me to sit down at the computer and just mess around with brushes and color in Photoshop while rocking out to music or a podcast. It's like a vacation for my artistic brain, which just makes my desire to work on my regular illustrations stronger, and probably makes them better as a result.

For this month's commute painting I chose an Instagram pic from last January. At this time last year we were partway through the Winter of the Polar Vortex, when 23°F felt warm to me (???) and we had snow and ice on the ground from December to March. Ugh. This winter, even though we've had some very chilly days recently, feels like a treat in comparison. That being said, I am soooo ready for spring and summer.

Lately I've been getting into the Tone It Up workouts. In other words, I'm prepping my body for beach season NOW. With the wedding and honeymoon last year I ended up missing most of my family's beach week, so I've been craving it hardcore. To make things worse, a lot of the TIU workouts are filmed on the beach. So between my cravings for warmer weather and beach vacations along with doing these workout videos, I'm realizing I need to move to southern California. Like, NOW. I just want to live near LA or whatever, get up early for a run on the beach every morning, and then pop into a chic coffee shop while wearing some fancy Lululemon workout gear (my favorite, when I can save up for it). *sigh*

But alas, I live in Central Pennsylvania. Maybe one day ... Happy winter, everyone!

Below you can see my painting next to the Instagram pic it's inspired by: