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Writer's pictureMadeline Dillner

"Explore. Express. Repeat." & My Google Earth Project

A few years ago when I was just really getting into my art business, a friend and I were talking about our life goals, and he summed his up in 4 words (one of which I will change in case there are any kiddies reading this): "Do hugs, ride bikes!" (Hugs are legal where he lives.) I remember telling him I needed a catchy life goal like that, albeit one that included things *I* like. I thought about it for a few months, tossing out some ideas now and then ("Go places, paint them" and "Find Beauty, Display It" (mine)... "Explore to Express" (his)), but nothing stuck until: Explore. Express. Repeat.


It just makes sense.


The "Explore" is obvious. I've got a hankering for traveling and it SHOWS. And my exploration is not just geographical. I like to explore new hobbies and life paths as well. I've got certifications in AutoCAD, residential general contracting, ACE Personal Training, SCUBA diving, and probably a few others I've since lost interest in. I love to explore.


The "Express" has two meanings. I EXPRESS the emotions I felt in a place, and I do that through EXPRESSionistic art. (At least, that's the general consensus among my smarter art friends. I am "an expressionist and colorist who creates slightly abstracted landscapes and cityscapes." Thanks, smarter art friends!)


The "Repeat" is obvious as well. I'm never going to stop!


I loved it so much it made its way into my business logo


PART 1: EXPLORE

I would say I travel more than your average bear... as well as your average human. I'm lucky enough to be able to attend lots of conferences for work in lots of different places (pre-COVID, that is). My day job is super enjoyable and pays me well, and I have no kids or mortgage or car payment. (Felt like I should mention all that because it keeps it real of *how* I'm able to travel.) I save up for big trips. And before I saved up, I used to go into big ol' credit card debt lol. (I don't recommend that.)


I thanks my parents for instilling a love for traveling in me! They zapped me with the travel bug in high school by taking my sister and I on a 5-week road trip around Europe in an RV. It was incredible, and I was hooked.


Every time I travel to a new place--actually, every time I go anywhere--I always end up with some photos from the trip.

My cell phone takes great pictures, and lets me geotag all my photos. If a photo is especially paintable, when I get home I'll pull it into a folder called "00 INSPIRATION\00 TRAVEL ART" on my computer.


Right now, from all the trips I've taken since like 2012, I have over 1,000 inspirational reference photos in "00 TRAVEL ART". All geotagged. (Well, mostly. Sometimes I used my DSLR and I have to figure out the GPS coordinates by scooting around in Google Streetview. Or taking my best guess.)


I wasn't kidding



At the rate I'm currently going (thanks to my new weekday morning painting practice), I might be able to finish 100 paintings a year, max. At that rate, it'll take me 10 YEARS to paint everything that has already inspired me. But in those 10 years... I will have traveled to many, many more places (I sure hope, at least).


So, it's safe to say that I'll never get to paint everything I find beautiful.

But that's okay! There's so much fun in trying.


PART 2: EXPRESS

When I decide to paint a photo, I'll move it from the 00 INSPIRATION parent folder to 01 IN PROGRESS.





I'll look at all the pictures I took, and use the GPS coordinates to pull it up in Google Earth and take a look at Street View to get a better idea of what things were.




For example, in one of my recent paintings, there was a statue down the road that looked intriguing, and I wanted to learn more about it. And learn I did!