life.....

Life is sooo short! you better do what you want to do, better yet do what you were born to do! otherwise your unhappiness is your own damn falt.

OREGON

Oregon

enter OREGON!!

CATCHIN A RIDE ACROSS THE MUCH TO BIG OF BRIDGE FOR THE BIKE....

washington

washington

washington

this was a great off the beaten path campsite we found in Washington

still here

I am still in Portland and still lovin it! I believe I am where I am meant to be in this season of of my life! I am extremely grateful for so much! God has provided for me, I can not deny it. I don't know how everything has happened how it has in the time frame it has!? I am producing incredibly strong work! And I am making strong friendships of positive influence!

camp in washington

the roughest day of cyclin...

breakfast

yummmmy!!

leavin Seattle pic!

I will be great. I have what it takes.

Ever since I can recall, I have yearned with a passion to go big! To create. To create beyond myself and my abilities! I am still on that journey of developing, growin, learning, and moving towards my dreams and visions from 4yrs old on! I have made progress but I am nowhere near where I am going.....

did i mention how much i love painting!?

I can gaze into a piece of wood that I found by a dumpster, sanded, primed, and really look at this chunk of scrape wood panel for hours upon hous! There is nothing else in this life on this entire planet I would rather be doin than spendin my days in front of blank canvases and scrap wood panels, seeing off white surfaces filled with potential to contain a masterpeice...

i want to say something.

What is a life that does not leave a legacy? That is a question that haunts my being every day of my life. I paint. I create art. That is what I do, that is what I know. There is a constant struggle and wall I face every time I aproach the easil. How do I create a painting that goes beyond decor to timeless, with meaning that speaks to viewers with substance? Purpose? Meaning? And utimately leaving a legacy that impacts a life in a way that nothing else could have done...live in such a manner as to inspire an individual at the bottom to arise to the top of the world, enable someone to look into clouds of endless possibilities!

my heart is made of oil paint.

I made do my first week of painting in Portland with acrylic paints. Then I finally got my box of oils!!! I started reworking an acrylic abstract paintin of 3 nude women around a window with some plants. The moment my senses picked up the aromas of oil commin from the pallete I was home again, at ease, dare I say "in love"?. To make that first connection starting from my heart to hand,to brush,to paint,to canvas... Is just as it would be for one to touch their soulmate after a long time of being apart! I may be a single 26yr ol lonely bachelor at times, but my moments of extasy in the studio outway any circumstances I have outside my painting walls! To love is to live. To live is to love...

life...

Everyday is a new. I am happy to be alive! I am grateful for the food, friends, and family I have. Livin in portland is the most wonderful change I have ever made! Bein in the city was for sure the right choice compared to small towns and suburbs in the middle of nowhere land for an artist like myself! I am workin on half a dozen abstract/contemporary paintings at the moment, and goin to get supplies to prep about 20-30 new canvases and panels...

NEW ART STUDIO!!!

things are goin mighty smooth in the big town of Portland! I found a great place on the NW part close to everything. Im only 2 blocks from a dog park and I just started painting within the past couple days! I am inspired, motivated, and excited about producing in this new city!! I will try to begin gettin back in the habbit of bloggin.. I am constantly meeting unique people and experiencing new adventures! Just because im not livin off a bicycle does not mean my life has become more boring! stay tuned and I will begin fillin ya in on some great stories unfolding in the amazing green city of Portland, OR!!!!!

one thing after another!!

I decided we would hang out for 3-4 days check out the local scene and then be on our way.. BUT, one day after another goes by of new discoveries in a "RAD town"!! Makin it oh so hard to move on. After finally meetin up with my ol friend "Frenchy" Eric John Kaiser that I met 3 yrs ago across the street from my art studio in Cottage Grove, OR. We came up with the idea to collaborate at a show! He is an amazing french musician that came here from Paris a few years ago! So we are workin on setin up for me to do large paintings on stage while he performs.. Long story short, I was fallin for this city and after opportunities presented and contacts made I decided to stay in Portland and hopefully call it home..

PORTLAND!!!

Hey everybody! Sorry I havnt been updatin what's goin on. So much has been happening the past couple weeks and my blackberry charger broke..anyways shortly after my last blog like a few days or so?.. I was still makin progress down 101 to Cali when I made friends at camp one night that envited me to hang out in Portland the next day! After loadin the rig in their subaru we were headin back up the way I just peddled and out east inland! PORTLAND here we come!!

can i get a tan?

After a hundred and fortythree times of runnin full throttle into the waves for the ball,Rad is finally passed out in the shade of the trailer, while I am restin against the panniers gettin some much needed warmth from the sun drenched sand..I am happy to be here, to look out to the horizon of the pacific ocean filled with a world of wonder and endless possibilities! It brings a sence of serenity that can only be found when one pauses their 85 mph pace of life to simply breath, to breath an air that has been scented by thousands of years of life at sea..."life can be different when you look at it from a differnt pace"...

Oregon!

As i was climbing a monsterous hill yesterday, a guy comes runnin towards me from the top! He asked me if i needed a ride? i paused and said "hell ya! where ya headed?" so we loaded my rig in the back of his pickup and headed towards Astoria! We crossed the narley bridge and found the Goonies house to take a pic and went for seafood and beer! great ride, awesome dude and i am extremely grateful for the 60-70 mile ride to the ocean! thanks Nick, and good luck on doin a trip yourself! stay in touch my friend!...

i think i can. i think i can. i can!!

Its a gorgeous hot day in southern washington and I just spent the last couple hours climbin some pretty nasty hills! I let Rad have a shot at helpin a couple times and he did great, so that helped a lot! But we both were gettin hot and desperately needed a good ol shade tree, snack, and water break! Rad is now passed out for a bit and I am coolin off myself.. Life is good ! And even better when you get over the hills...!

grateful...

I don't know if my body is feelin this way from just the peddlin or the combination of just the life on a bike with a dog, the HILLS!, the everything? For a while I was able to have Rad runnin alongside the bike at times, but he has been stubborn lately with not keepin his line, crossin over in front of my wheel, and so I have to pull him all the time now unless I'm pushin the rig. And then he gets to whining when he gets in the trailer cause he wants to run! Can I just pull some of my hair out right now! I feel like a frustrated single parent with a toddler!! Anyways now that I got that out of my system!, lookin back a few days ago when we had to get the motel for a night, I got a taste of what we all take for granted everyday of our lives! Iam truely making the most of this season, and I know when I am done with this specific bike trip I will never be the same! I anticipate the comforts I will have when I hopefully find a place in the Santa Cruz, CA area in a couple few months... That's what stirrin in me for the near future anyway.? I'm longin for some beach life, mild weather, seafood, surfin, sunsets on the ocean, a chill art studio, and of coarse a beach cruiser! Ok, ok matt wake up that's enough daydreamin for this mornin, now you must get back to the reality of now and find the joys hidden just past the dirt, aching muscles, whineing puppy, oh and the legendary brutal hills waitin for me and my 250 lb. Rig just ahead!! Today is your life, and if you don't make the most of what you have no control over, your life is a mere raft with no sail or rutter, the coarse of your life will be controlled by random infuences and circumstances, few by your choosing and most not. Change what can get you down into what will make you stronger!

comes with the territory

Body and mind are fatigued. Find it hard to crawl out of tent this morning. Leggs feel about 40-50%...fortunately I got some help in montesano the other day when officer Shane stopped to visit, I was runnin supper low on funds and food, so he sent me up to the police station for a voucher to get some groceries and they also gave me a sack of their own food to help! Thank you Shane and Cindi!

worst riding conditions yet!!!

Yesterday was brutal! I only did about 18 miles for the day but 13 of those were hills with rain! Tons of rain! It started out with a light shower so I thought it would pass shortly and anything that got damp would dry out in notime at all.. Boy was I wrong! So after my genious idea of letting the riding clothes I had on and a lot of other gear get wet, then I covered eveything, but it didn't help much at that point! Of coarse I endured and pushed through, conquering one hill after anothet with my 250+ lb. Rig! But as the rain continued to pour and the temp droped, Rad wined and shivered! My legs were about done and I relized I wouldn be able to get my gear dry at camp to keep warm through the night! I came to the realization that I was goin to have to do what I have always oposed when it comes to traveling!, I got a motel... Super 8 motel in Shelton WA off 101! I tell you what! That was the most luxurious motel experience of my life! Did you know they have hot water? Towels, a bed, oh and even tv! Rad and I slept like kings last night!...

Seattle Adventures

fish market

the giant gum wall!

the pig bus! absolutely the most amazing pork sandwich and veggie chips ever!

First time on a Ferry

campsites in WA

mac and cheeze with vienna suasage!!

Rad got some too!

painting in Washington...

just gettin started!

Rad on the beach!