Life Lately
Friday, November 28, 2025
Summer came and went in record time this year here in the Blue Ridge Mountains and I couldn't even begin to explain where it went so quick!
I was extremely fortunate to sell several paintings to far off places and semi-locally this summer. My gallery spot in town stayed steady and I recently finished some cool renovations in there. Interior design is not my strong suit so I “bit the bullet” and asked my A.I. app for a bit of assistance. So far, it looks good.
I was even more fortunate to meet many of my paintings’ new owners. That is truly my favorite part of this entire process: getting to know and learn about truly amazing people from all over through the art the they love, like or appreciate! I know it sounds a bit “corny” but it’s 100% the truth! I have three painting commissions I’m currently working on which should all be completed by January 1st. For this, I am unbelievably thankful, since yesterday was Thanksgiving. (Still bloated here!)
A few more updates…
Friends & Family: My brother, James, recently completed his newest AirBnb building project here in the mountains, an incredible not-so-tiny-house situated on a private acre, complete with a 4-person suana, a cold plunge tub, hot tub, huge fire pit, outdoor movie theater, etc, etc.
The rest of the family are spread out all over and everyone is doing great!
Unfortunately, we lost a few of our local heroes this year, men and women who I have known through our local VFW where I serve as a volunteer cook once a month.
The Pinecrest Cabin: In between paintings, I done a lot work on my 110 year old log cabin’s overall restoration with the intention of renting it out, short-term. It had a ton of issues when I purchased it a few years ago I seemed to have managed to get things (slowly but surely) back on the right track, trying to keep things either as original or period-correct (1920’s) as possible. Not an easy task. I’ll be doing a lot of video on the remaining restoration on my instagram page very soon.
Travels: 2025 has been a slow year as far as my usual road-tripping is concerned. I’ve missed friends and the environment that stretches out west of me, especially Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada. As soon as I have the cabin to where I want it to be (preferably by March, 2026) I will head out there for a month or two, gather some art inspiration, visit with my pals and go from there. I was able to get down to South Florida this year, as well as Savannah, Georgia and a quick three-day business trip to Michigan. I have a new rig (van) that I haven’t put to the test yet, “Silver Silvia II”, a 2019 Dodge Pro-Ram. She needs some minor work and a new lithium battery but other than that, she’s good to go!
That about sums up everything for now. Life is very, very good and I have a crazy gut feeling 2026 will be life-altering in the best way imaginable. Be safe out there and remember that the overall odds of us being born are 400,000,000,000,000 to 1. Make it count. ~Bobby