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A few years ago, on the heels of being slammed by two hurricanes in North Florida, I had a great idea: “Let’s get a place in North Carolina to spend summers,” I told my husband, Richard. It seemed to make sense, given that my daughter had been blown out of her residence in Key West by Hurricane Irma and had relocated to North Carolina, near Asheville. “Stacy could be our House Manager!” I added enthusiastically.

Long story short: For the second year in a row, we are now in North Carolina.

So here is the challenge: How do I keep up with art supplies in both locations? Believe me, I’m trying. I actually wrote down a list of paints, paper, canvases, etc. in my NC studio before we returned to Florida last November. And miracle of miracles, I found it about a week before we left for NC. I reviewed it carefully. Then I crammed what was needed into our car’s trunk between luggage and behind a giant mirror Richard managed to squeeze onto the back floorboard so the dogs could amuse themselves during the drive by watching their reflections.*

Now that I’m in NC, I’ve found that my notes were lacking, to say the least. Some paints I listed were in tiny tubes, and of course those were the colors I immediately needed. And paper? I forgot to detail that I needed several types that are not here. And then the canvas issues. I had used a number of sizes that I forgot to delete from my list. Frames? Oh, that was the worst! I forgot that I’d stored some in the garage, so they weren’t on the list. And, like the canvases, I had used some that were still on my list. 

Richard keeps reminding me that we are not on some island in the middle of the ocean. There are certainly art supplies in Asheville! But with my impaired sense of direction — even with a GPS — replenishing my supplies is challenging.

Of course, there are always the online markets — Amazon,  Jerrysartarama and Blicks. But we have a “container” problem. Our neighborhood has no trash collection. Weird, huh? There is a giant trash compactor for everyone to use, but you aren’t allowed to throw cardboard boxes in it. The penalty for noncompliance is death by firing squad — or by hanging if they are out of bullets. We are supposed to drive our boxes to a landfill about 5 miles away. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather watch my boxes disappear in a trash-collector truck than witness what they are doing to our environment first-hand. 

I could go on with this fascinating topic, but It’s time to finalize my art supply list so I can go shopping. And I’m sure you have better things to do with your time. 

Have a great summer wherever you are!

Gotta Gogh!

Paula

* Not really. They just sleep in their cages. I needed the mirror here, and I was sick of storing it in Ponte Vedra. Richard managed to haul it up the stairs to the studio without having a heart attack. What a bonus!