I moved into my 21-foot Winnebago Warrior late last fall. It's my third RV-home in 5 years. My first was a 16-foot Layton travel trailer, which I discovered I couldn't safely tow because of poor depth perception. I traded it for a 33-foot Bounder motorhome; a beast, but a roomy beast. I anticipated lengthy visits from Mom in 'Jersey, but she can no longer travel so I must go to her.
Third time's proving a charm. In my continuing effort to turn these sow's ears into silk purses, I began with my tiny bathroom. I figured if I could no longer
live in the tropics at least I could pretend while taking care of business.
 |
| 1992 Winnebago Warrior |
This post is not a detailed how-to but what is
possible. I taught myself to paint in my late '30s (now
59-and-holding, with arthritic hands), so first thing to do is get rid of the idea that you can't paint this-or-that. Sure you can. As any artist worth their salt will tell you, some of our best work comes out of "Oops!"
 |
El Muelle, la Parguera, PR
My first paid commission |
Following 9/11, earning a living as an artist in Puerto Rico required inventiveness, so I painted anything I could find on an island without second-hand shops to speak of. When the supermarket owner asked if I could paint a grapevine on the wall outside his new liquor department I said YES without having ever painted a grape. You get better at things.
 |
Ruff Life 2008
Took 9 years to
finally paint her hull |
Teaching also helped keep me afloat. My painting classes were centered around tried-and-true methods from my School of Hard Knocks, and I practiced on any surface I could find on 33-foot trawler
Ruff Life, my midlife crisis home. It wasn't until I ordered 10 books for $1.00 that I found three fabulous muralist/decorative artists and their Book Club entries:
