living life on the road

A lot of people question what my life looks like as an artist that lives full time on the road. By now “Van-Life” is really not unheard of, many people do it. However most of them travel for a few months, maybe a year and live off of their savings and then return to the comfort of their home (or at least home country). Or the work digitally. Well, doing this full time as an artist… let’s just say, I’ve never met or heard of a person doing this. I’m sure there are people out there but it’s definitely not the norm.

I get questions like… How do you afford it? Is living out of a van tiring? How do you stay connected with friends and family? Do you miss having a stable home? How do you not go crazy constantly moving around? What will you do once you get older? etc. etc.

I know to some this is going to seem crazy and outrageous, but….

Sometimes you think the reality you’re currently living is the only way to go until someone opens up the curtains and you can see a completely new way of living.

For me that has been my sister, mostly. She said “Goodbye“ to Germany and her life when she was only 21 years old, with no plan of a job, or income, or security, or friends group etc. etc. and since then has been a world traveller confining to no rules. And somehow she is much much happier that way.

Which, according to what we have been told all our lives, doesn’t make sense, right?

Honestly, it does. I have long since questioned the 9-5, full-time, work your butt off until you’re 65 years old, build a home, have children - kind of lifestyle. It never really was for me. But I got lucky, because within this set lifestyle I found a job that I loved, so I rolled with it. Until I didn’t anymore.

I want to inspire some of you to choose a road less travelled in your life to provide you with time and locational freedom that some of you seem to desire or at least are very much interested in. Just like my sister has done for me. It is a life of exploration.

NOTE: I realise I’m lucky since I grew up in Germany, with a supporting family. I wasn’t born into a rich family, I looked after myself mostly, I worked “shitty” jobs (I’m thankful for each of them), I learned to save, I learned how to invest in myself, I had the drive to live a free life and that’s why I’m here now. But I also know that my situation is of privilege.

If you don’t want to think about work 24/7 like I do now, or have to grind really hard to ensure you can eat next month like I have to, then this kind of lifestyle is just not for you. (Of course there’s the possibility that you already have an online business or a job that allows you to work remotely from anywhere in the world. If you do, what are you waiting for?)

This life can be really hard to figure out and it’s not for everyone, but for those that want it, keep reading…

First and foremost, yes, sometimes this lifestyle makes you crazy. It’s often uncomfortable. It comes in waves of endless beauty and in periods of utter frustration.

I think one thing, that is really really important, when you live like this (meaning traveling and working at the same time), is to have discipline. To work, to eat healthy, to not blow your money on stupid stuff, to keep learning skills and new languages and most importantly to be okay with the fact, that you have to do it all by yourself. At least in the beginning. Every skill you need for your business and your new life, you have to learn by yourself.

You also need to learn to be flexible. Depending on what your interest are, you might do one thing one day, and a totally different thing another. You might be stuck in situations you cannot control. You might be forced to leave and start over in a totally different location. This lifestyle challenges you. I believe it gives you the highest highs, but also the lowest lows. You learn so much about yourself and where your limits are.

I mostly make money with my art, which means that my physical location doesn’t dictate my income, although I am not as flexible as I would be if I could work online. Oil Painting and traveling don’t go so well together, but.. I strongly believe, if there’s a will, there’s a way. And so far I always found a way to make it work.

Before we left Germany I was able to save a bit of money (not much), but it was enough, that I could fall back on this money in case I wasn’t able to find jobs in the new country I was going to live in. Or in case I need it for investments. At this point I didn’t know that I would get into arts and thought I had to get a office job at a call center or something. But well, thankfully I didn’t. I still definitely recommend saving up some money. It’s a no brainer, that it will give you much more flexibility.

Anyway, the moment I realised that I liked painting, or visual art in general, I learned how to paint with oils, and how to sell my art, how to connect via social media. I still have a long way to go, but it’s a start and for the most part, I am very happy with my choices.

In the beginning we travelled really fast, meaning, we were at a new place every two or three days, never staying at one place more than a week, but we quickly learned that this kind of traveling wasn’t for us and didn’t serve our interests or our professional lives. So we decided to travel a lot slower, staying at a place for a couple of months, connecting to the locals, getting to know how it is really like to live in a certain country. For me it is much easier to connect to galleries and other local artists.

That’s the beauty of this kind of lifestyle. There really are no rules other than the ones you make for yourself. Whether you change locations every two days, every three weeks or every six months really doesn’t matter. There really are no limits to what you can do. If you make the jump from a “normal“ life, you might as well jump into exactly what you want. You can intentionally design a life, your life can be 100 percent custom to what you want it to be. The purpose of this life is that you can design it to your own needs. We’ve met actors who transform their van into small stages, musicians, hair stylists, digital nomads etc. etc.

We don’t often know where we’ll be ahead of time. There are no plans, no appointments, we can choose to leave and find a new adventure just like that every single day.

During the warmer months (March to October) we usually just live in our van, which gives us the most locational flexibility. In the winter months we find an AirBnb or stay with friends that have spare rooms. This way living out of a van doesn’t get tiring. Sometimes it can be a bit stressful or complicated or frustrating. But for the most part we love it and we have a break of van-life in the winter months. I highly recommend this to everyone. When it’s cold and wet outside and you are stuck in the van 24/7, it really isn’t the nicest way to live. However even though this lifestyle is sometimes tiring, I don’t imagine myself living in one spot for years at a time. I want a lot of change in my life to keep me wide eyed and excited for life.

Most of my friends and also my family understand that I’m not a ‘normal’ friend you can catch up with every week over dinner, but instead the friend they see once a year. But I make an effort to be there whenever there’s an important thing happening. Also, since I started to travel, I have a huge appreciation for social media, which makes staying connected so much easier.

Traveling will push you to seek adventure and not get comfortable, you will be more open minded towards other peoples cultures and lives. It opens up your views on the world immensely. Suddenly the world becomes so much bigger and brighter and the possibilities of the world seem endless and you realize what a tight reality you used to live in. You learn to live with less material stuff and value experiences that much more.

Anyway, what I’m trying to do is to give you another way of thinking, another opportunity for life and encouragement to seek another way than what is the norm. If this seems like too much for you, don’t beat yourself up for it because this type of a life is not for everyone. You might think moving this much and being away from friends and family is a nightmare. That’s your truth and you need to stand by your truth.

But if you want to make the jump, then welcome to the 1% of people who don’t want to march to the beat of societies drum. Celebrate your freedom. Right now you are at the start again, you need to build your foundations again and again. The world doesn’t owe you anything and because you start out a new life, where you are in control of your time, you need to spend your time wisely. But know that when you run with freedom, the paradigm shifts.

I guess that’s it from me. A little insight into my life and into a unique reality that not many people live. So far I’ve never spoken or heard of another oil painter that travels full time. But honestly, I believe that everyone should be able to live their wildest dreams and find their highest potential. Which means, I had to find a way to combine traveling with painting. The beginning was uncomfortable, scary, but over time it got easier.