February Wrapped 2026- Monthly Art Check In

Welcome back to my monthly blog post, my February Wrapped! February was one for the books; mostly in my personal life, not my art career, though. The Instagram account has 370 followers as of today, 10 short of my first checkpoint in reaching my 500-follower goal. I was very inactive with posting this month, but I am looking forward to creating a better schedule for March. I am still working on my large-scale acrylic piece during my weekly art class. It should be finished after 2 (3??) more sessions, and I'm so excited to see how it looks hung up. It has been giving me a bit of a struggle with perspective, but I still love it. The commission I spoke of in my previous blog has not come to fruition yet, as I am still waiting on reference photos and price confirmation. The Albertan Dream piece is still scheduled to be featured in the Canmore Avalon show home, though it has been pushed back to mid-March. It will be sold via an online auction organized through Avalon, which is super exciting. If anyone is interested in that particular piece, I would love for you to participate, and I will share the link when the auction is open. The starting bid will be $215, I believe. I have also finished writing my artist's bio, which will be featured alongside it. I may also share a copy on my Instagram account for you all to see. Not much for actual painting this month, but I'll get back to it!

In my personal life, February has been extremely busy. At the beginning of the month, I celebrated two of my friends' 18th birthdays, which was very exciting and a lot of fun. This year, with my age all entering adulthood, there are a lot of unknowns and new responsibilities, but also a feeling of freedom and anticipation for what is to come. I presented my 4H presentation on that very topic the first weekend of February. Thanks to my teammates and our hard work, we placed 2nd and will be moving forward to Districts in the beginning of March. It was a very fun day, and I am so proud of how we did. I also celebrated 2 years with my boyfriend at the beginning of February, which was very special to me. It has always meant the world to me to have his support with this little business. My family and I also travelled to Thailand for 2 weeks, partially during Reading Week off from school. It was the most amazing experience getting to experience both natural beauty and an interesting and unique culture. We started in Phuket, then moved around Southern Thailand, visiting Phi Phi Islands, Railey Beach, Patong, Khao Sok National Park, and Bangkok. Some of the more notable experiences included a longboat tour of Phi Phi island, where we went snorkelling, sightseeing, and visited Maya and Monkey Beach, a few hikes to see beautiful viewpoints, floating bungalows in the National Park, where we saw lots of wildlife and went caving, visiting elephants, touring the impressive Thai temples, a river dinner cruise, and a rooftop dinner in Bangkok for my mom's birthday. The beaches were stunning, the food was delicious, and I made an effort to watch the sunrise and sunset as often as I could. Despite some difficulties with travel illness (mostly my difficulties), we had an amazing time. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that my family and I are incredibly blessed to have been able to experience. Returning home proved to have some difficulties, but I threw myself back into routine to ensure I was staying on top of work and everything else. I celebrated another of my two friends' (twins)18th birthday, right at the end of the month. It was very fun to get everyone together again, and we all had a great time. The hockey season is coming to an end at the beginning of March, so I watched a few games of both my brother and boyfriend in February. My boyfriends graduating game was particularly exciting and bittersweet, of course. Now, that's all for February!

Before I let you go, here are some notes going into March to feel a bit more creative and get a bit more out of your days.

• Grow something! Spring is just starting (even though in Alberta, it still feels far out), so what better way to welcome it than to bring some life into your space? Anything from a small basil plant to potted flowers or an indoor tree.

• Clean out one area - Spring cleaning on the micro level. Just pick one space you are around every day (car, bedside table, desk, bathroom drawer) and pull everything out, organize, and get rid of unnecessary clutter.

• Journal - Try to get a journal just to write your thoughts down. You don't have to write about your whole day, just little thoughts to keep track of your brain on paper. It is a great way to stretch your brain and think your thoughts, not what everyone around you is saying.

• Intentionally go outside - Even when the weather's dreary or freezing cold, stepping outside wakes you up and makes you feel alive. It can be easy to go about your day, only going outside to do chores or walk to your car, but this month, challenge yourself to go for a walk or take your coffee outside and really notice the feeling of being outdoors.

• Acts of kindness- Compliment someone you don't know very well, share a really good recipe with your friend, let someone in a rush go front of you in line, wave at babies with their parents, and smile at everyone. Why not? Life is a blessing, and you should spread joy simply because you get to live it.

Thank you for tuning in if you have got this far! I will try to post one of these at the end of each month to keep everyone updated. Let me know if you have any other ideas for what I should write about in these blogs (my dms and email are open!)