Rob came home from his overseas gig at the beginning of Dec. 2020, so 2021 was the first full year of him being home we’ve had in a while. It’s been busy! Here’s the Wild Ozark 2021 Year in Review.
I know a lot of folks would probably like to sweep 2021 out the western gates as soon as possible. It’s been very stressful for a lot of people I know, and very hard for those who lost loved ones or lost jobs. Thankfully, it hasn’t been a bad year for us. We’ve stayed busy and I learned a lot of new things, got better at painting, and made more money with my art than I did ever before.
From a business perspective, the art part of Wild Ozark did the best it’s ever done. I didn’t market the ginseng side of the business this year, so it’s not surprising that there weren’t many sales.
Paintings
I managed to do 15 paintings, which exceeded my goal. When I set goals, I only thought of how many I’d like to paint but I didn’t even consider how many I’d like to sell. I wanted to paint at least 12.
Seven paintings sold during this year in review! That’s encouraging. I painted the largest painting I’ve ever done in the first one of the year (Whisper). That was a challenge and I want to do more large ones. But some of the ones I did this year were small, and they were quick to sell. Here’s my 2021 Year in Review art gallery:
The Things We Did in 2021
While Rob was working in Qatar, he’d ordered a rock crusher for me. Before I could begin using it, though, it needed a motor, pulley, table, and wiring. So he put all that together and fabricated a table for it in January. With this awesome piece of equipment, it meant I could crush a lot more rocks in a lot less time. I count this as one of the top business improvements this year.
Also during the first quarter, we ordered the battery for our solar array. Working toward our energy independence has been the main focus of the year for Rob. That’s a huge project and it’s still ongoing.
Mostly all I’ve done all year long is pick up rocks, make paint, and paint paintings. There was some travel in there, though. I went to Louisiana in June, then again in August. Then we both went to Florida, Colorado, and Texas in August, September, and December. Rob hadn’t seen any of his family in a few years, so it was good to be able to do that.
For the first time in a few years, I planted a garden. And spent quite a bit of time making some stone steps into the hill by the garden. That was a project I really enjoyed.
Unfortunately, I forgot to ask anyone to water the blueberry bushes while we were gone in August, and I think most of those died. The tomatoes did great, but didn’t taste very good. So next year I’ll have to try a different variety. Still, it was good to grow some things again.
The Crypto World
Somewhere near the end of October, I started learning about NFT art. This has turned out to be a bottomless rabbit hole and I’m still in it. In fact, I’m even very enthusiastic about this new art form. As of today, I’ve minted 4 works and am getting ready to do the 5th one in the morning, as the first of my NFT’s of 2022. I’ve been using my existing art but adding more to it with Photoshop. I’m really enjoying the process, but it doesn’t replace the actual painting of art. It just extends the kind of art that I’m doing. I’m going to keep doing this in 2022.
You can see the NFT projects, and all of my paintings, at my online art portfolio: https://www.madisonwoods.art. I’m most excited about the most recent one I did using the Weesatche House as the base layer. It won’t get minted for another week or so.
Summary of 2021 Year in Review
Overall, it’s been a great year.
Covid hasn’t changed a lot of our habits, except that we do wear masks when out and about. Both of us were vaccinated, but I don’t think that’s a pass on taking precautions. We’re naturally cloistered here in our woodland sanctuary, so we don’t get out and mingle in the Covid world much. During our travels, we minimized the crowded places we went to as much as possible. I lost a friend, very quickly.
Diana Ross, who bought the Owl painting, fell to Covid and died within a couple of weeks. Almost all of my kids and grandkids have had it and recovered. While I do believe we will just have to learn to live in a world where Covid thrives, I’m not inclined to go out of my way to try and catch it. Being a hermit isn’t any different than the way I’ve lived since quitting my full-time job and coming home to work. And I like it, so we’re good.
Rob and I got to spend all of our time together this year. I painted and he worked in his shop a lot, and I showed and sold artwork. Life in general has been good for us. I hope it’s been good for you, too. Here’s to even more growth and abundance in 2022!
How did your year go?