EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNALApril 8, 1999
Calle Conde de Barajas, Seville
My Favorite Day of the Year
Today Richard turns twenty-seven. He awakes feeling no different,
except for a craving for thin-crust pizza and an urge to conquer the World. He sits at the
laptop as always and punches out a business plan. The longer we are away, the clearer it
becomes that we can do whatever it is we want to do in life from almost anywhere. We work
hard to keep our life self-directed and free, and at the same time there are tremendous
dreams to be realized. It is a sensitive balance to live the dream each day and to also
work hard towards the development of it and its infinite potential.
My father once told me he was a workaholic. He is a man who rises at 5,
starts work at 5:30 and pushes the brush until 10 o’clock at night. He lives for his
work and his work is his life. His work happens to be Art, which incorporates nicely with
children and family and emotional intelligence. His work is play, exploration,
side-projects, bird watching, invention, dinghy rowing, dog walking, travel, photography,
road trips, discussion, filmmaking and interaction with his family and friends. His work
is also years of developing his craftsmanship and perseverance and productivity. His work
is getting up everyday and pushing the brush. He makes time for travel and new
experiences. His work habits have rubbed off as a necessary cornerstone in the life of a
successful artist. He sets the example of Love something? Serve it.
Rich and I seem to be developing an unshakable symbiosis. It is an
ever-challenging experience for me to work with another because as a painter I have grown
accustomed to working alone and having complete control over how the finished product
turns out. Artists are a lonely breed. Creative people love their own company and painters
work best alone, on what is theirs alone. And yet, Rich is my ultimate partner. He is my
only possible partner. He is a perfect collaborator for anything he or I can dream of
tackling. Firstly, it is the ultimate exercise to travel with your beloved. Traveling
poses all kinds of different challenges, decisions and unexpected pressures that provide
insight and experience to any couple. Travel is constant change. Constant change while
sticking with another human being is the ultimate test of dependability and trust. I think
having children must have a similar effect.
On top of this, our projects while on the road present the added
urgency of creation, building and publishing. It is quite a task and we are meeting it
head-on with a learning curve and an improved understanding every day. Right now it seems
most important to explore all ideas, and not consider any one of them impossible because
of our nomadic situation. We have chosen to live like this and live is what we will do.
The paintings, the writing, the experiments, the learning. Kahlil Gibran said, "Work
is love made visible." Love is in plentiful supply. Work comes naturally and the
result is a life that gets stronger with every moment.
