Inching Forward in Destiny: Serendipity Saturday

This weekend, I started the canvas layouts for painting the Angel of Grief. I use the plural because I plan on doing two canvases of the painting simultaneously. I have always wanted to do this to compare and contrast the efforts and to see if one comes out "better" or pleasantly different than another.  This is my opportunity to achieve this milestone in my Journey.

I had so many other things to do this weekend that the layouts almost didn't get done. So instead, a few other things didn't get done that were on my to-do list. I had really set out to paint but only got the layout accomplished. But I feel pretty good pushing forward to at least gain what I did.

One of the opportunities that came up to keep me from just painting this weekend was unanticipated and occurred during yard sale Saturday. I always try to run a casual circuit around three local towns to see what's out there. I usually come home with something.  Hence Serendipity Saturday. It's my favorite form of shopping since I never know what I will see and the prices are better than I can find in the American Retail Acquisition and Procurement Experience (A-RAPE).  It helps me stretch my dollars.

Some of the stuff you find in yard sales, they don't make anymore. I find it relaxing to select antique or vintage items to use in a still life painting. Buying books or craft supplies or tools. It's sort of a way to build my "redneck" 401K pension plan because I envision using this stuff in my Artistic Endeavor and Creative Pursuit in retirement years. Or if I have to sell the stuff later, I can probably get my money back out of it. But I have mentioned before that I don't anticipate waiting to do art until I retire. I am drawing and painting now even while I am working. This is a part of my Daily Walk.

This weekend I probably snagged my "best buy of the summer". There is usually one yard sale purchase each summer for which I am especially fortunate. I met a friendly, middle-aged couple, Tom and Deb, selling three double units of artist flat file drawers. So, three bases and six five-drawer units that are stackable on the bases.

Internet Fair Use - Artist Flat File Drawers

He works as a contractor at cleaning out homes and businesses. To some degree, he acts as a "picker".  He finds useful stuff to sell or re-purpose. Anyway, he found these units and was willing to sell them to me. I think it was destiny. Sometimes the stuff he cleans out is trash, sometimes junk, sometimes useful for re-purposing, and sometimes of resale value. He even mentioned that sometimes he doesn't even get paid...those unscrupulous businesses and people!

These drawer units will help me organize the many prints and ephemera I hold as artistic inspiration. Also, they would work well as a storage unit for art supplies or tools. They worked with me some on the pricing and it took more than one trip in the van to get them home. I was only going to buy four of the six units but realized I might regret not getting them all. I have so much in prints and ephemera. I was so pleased. It's not a purchase I would have made in a retail store because of the expense.  Although for me to look at an art supply catalog would always induce my Pavlovian salivation response when viewing the flat file units. I think I have traded the sin of catalog envy with the sin of collecting stuff.

I enjoyed meeting Tom and Deb. We had some interesting and enjoyable dialog throughout the transaction. It was a pleasure to meet them. After I completed the purchase, Deb indicated that other folks had stopped by to purchase the units while I was getting ready to transport them. So I ended up in the right place at the right time.

Now I have a new project on my to-do list to organize and arrange my future.