When VANLIFE and MURAL ART meet! 🎯 Alaska to Argentina Skoolie Vlog

Each Art We Variate mural has a story. We have splashed color on walls across eight states and two countries. So far, the mural at Rancho El Camino was unique because, well, this mural didn't involve a wall at all. This mural is particularly different and special because it is on... Now, before we tell the story, we have to back up. We had just finished the workshop at La Semilla and spent a week at Playa La Pastora. Now it was time to move on to the next. Only this time, only one of us was in the bus. I'm in Cabo San Lucas and Cora is back in Todos Santos. She's in an amazing Airbnb editing away. She's editing a few videos. I'm doing a loop around the bottom of Baja California Sur. I arrived here in Cabo San Lucas last night. I went out for a walk to see the sunset and I met this guy named Cosmo. He works for a tour operator here and we were talking for about half an hour and talked about what he does and all the tours. And I told him about the Art We Variate project. We talked a little bit about that. He saw the bus from the distance because I'm parked like just a couple of hundred feet from the beach where the tour stand is. And after half an hour of talking, he offered me a free tour around the Arco. So I'm so excited to go and check it out. I'm ready to go with my camera. Got the drone. So I'm going to get some awesome footage. With a successful photo shoot and edited video under our belt, we rendezvoused at the very tip of Baja and headed onwards together. Little did we know, we were about to be gifted with one of the most amazing views of the journey so far. The next day, we made our way to our destination with one final stop. We are in La Paz. We are on our way to paint our second mural in Baja California Sur. And right now, we are parked at a very, very familiar place. This place brings a lot of memories. Good and bad. So this mural that we're about to do is unique compared to all the other murals that we've done so far. And we feel, personally, we are particularly qualified for this one. Absolutely. But we won't tell you what that means just yet. So we got to go get some paint. Go get some paint. Let's go get some paint. And the next day, we were finally en route to our next mural. And you're about to find out why this one is so unique. This mural is particularly different and special because it is on a van. And we feel we are uniquely qualified to paint something like this because, well, we painted something like this. But wait. Back up. Why are we painting a van and a ranch way out in Baja? Rancho El Camino is a faith-based organization just outside La Paz. They do a great deal of work in their area, providing a deep well of leadership and growth opportunities and experiences for children, teens, and families in their community. This van was the workhorse for many years, bringing thousands of people to and from the ranch. Now, it will live here, right at the entrance, welcoming visitors with bright colors, celebrating El Camino's mission and the ranch way of life. Today is day one of this next mural project. Today, we have two volunteers helping us with a tough job, which is sanding. We have David and Patty. They're visiting and volunteering with the project. Throughout the day, we're going to be getting other volunteers to help us with this process, which is not much fun. And then, we're going to prime it. And hopefully, tomorrow, on day two, we're going to start applying color. It's like going back to bus conversion day. We had to remove a lot of goo from this recall from the bus. Now, it's all just goo gone. Left over from the windows. And it's also really, really, really hot, just like in Florida. Alright, so we just finished sanding the van. Now, it's ready to be washed. Remove all the dust and the grease. And we are going to prime it today, so that tomorrow, it'll be ready for color. Alright, so we are just about to start priming the van. So, this is day two. We were supposed to prime yesterday, but we had a late start. So, we didn't know that most of the staff and kids that come here to the ranch, they leave at 2 p.m. If they come back, they usually come back at 6 p.m. If not, they just come back the next day. We couldn't finish it yesterday, because also, it gets really, really, really, really hot. Right now, it's like 4.30, and it's still pretty hot. So, we couldn't prime it yesterday at noon, because it was too hot. And also, it needed a few extra areas to do sanding. But, we sanded, and we washed it. And now, we are going to apply a couple coats of primer. And tomorrow, we're going to start adding color. Hey, babe, what day is it today? Today is day two. What is also today? Oh, today is moving into the fourth level of my life. I'm just turning 40. Happy birthday. Thank you. This process took us right back to the bus conversion days. All of that hard work that goes in before you ever get to start playing with color. It's a good metaphor for life, maybe. Sometimes, there's just a lot of legwork, and boring sanding, scraping, taping, and priming, before you get to the really good part. The part where you get to start splashing color. Alright, this is day three, and we are finally ready to start painting. So, we have a lot of little kits. I already drew the outline. And what I'm going to do right now is to paint just around the outline, so they can basically fill it in, so that we can finish this a little faster. And then, inside the van, the kids are going to have complete creative freedom, so they can express themselves. That's going to be nice for them. I don't have to be telling them what to do. And I think they're going to enjoy that very much. So, from this line up is the sky. Oh, that's a nice color. So, I'm just going to do this very quick outline. Outlining where the sky is going to go. Finally, let the color splashing begin. As the crew continued painting, daily life on the ranch continued all around us. It was beautiful to see the work they do, and to feel the pace and flavor of ranch life. You might have noticed that Jose always designs his murals in a very stylized way, with sections of even color, rather than lots of shading. That's for two reasons. First, he's an abstract painter and tends towards stylization. But also, because we want the murals to be all-inclusive, where anyone of any age can take part. We do the line work, and then the mural becomes like a giant paint-by-numbers, where everyone can take part and feel that pride and ownership in the mural. Alright, so when I was a little girl, I was horse crazy. I loved horses. My greatest dream was to have a horse. I did riding lessons for many years, and then when that got too expensive, I traded all my time for riding lessons, and I just love horses. It's kind of a pipe dream that I still have, to one day have a horse. Someday, when we have our little place in Nicaragua, I'll have my own horse. So I got the opportunity to ride while we're here. It's been like 15, 16, maybe 17 years since I've been on a horse. So I'm super excited to get this chance to ride a little bit. Just get some horse time. Make sure you're turning your shoulders, and really opening up that arm. Kind of tried. You were actually working at it. It's a new thing, isn't it? This was really special for me. And I'm so grateful to my new friend Erica for taking the time to take me out riding. As the mural was taking shape, we were also super lucky to have friends come and join us at Rancho El Camino. Bea, Joel, and Lucas are all traveling nomads as well, each in their own way. Bea in her van, Lucas in his Tacoma, and Joel on his motorbike with little Manolo. Que rica la ensalada. Super rico. For a brief time, we formed a little group, sharing meals, stories, and getting lots of work done as well. There's something bittersweet about forming bonds like this. Because you feel such camaraderie, and becoming close is so easy. But you also know the chances of all these paths meeting up again are very, very, very slim. So you just enjoy the time you have together, and live it up while you have it. ...Chile, especially because I've read some books about Magallanes and Darwin. Meanwhile at the van, the last stage of the process was beginning. With the background finished, it was now time for more detailed work to begin. So today we are adding details to the cacti that we painted around. So we have some nopales as well. We have a cowboy and a horse. And something very special was going on inside the van as well. Art with Area murals are designed ahead of time, pre-approved by the recipient, and we usually stick to that design pretty closely. We loved that this mural also had a space inside for complete creative freedom. There's always a huge difference between the first few days of a mural and the last few days. At the beginning, color goes up fast. Huge sections of color fill in. Near the end, it's all about the details. The one downside of time lapses is that they make everything look like really quick work, when it's actually quite the opposite. Although it's long, meticulous work, it's still so relaxing. Especially when it's combined with good conversation with a good friend. The last few days of the mural were filled with all those final details and finishing touches. And inside the van, a creative bomb had gone off. Wow, it is so beautiful to see what happens when you give a group of bright young minds some paint and a blank canvas. And finally, this mural had one final special thing in store. In the first discussions about the mural design, the Camino crew had brought up the idea of somehow incorporating one of the ranch's founders in the design. And to do it in a fun, comical, creative way to reflect his spark and character. And since he was out of town at the time, it would be a complete surprise for him. Well, we could paint his face on the hood, suggested Jose. The reactions were priceless. And so, his face is painted on the hood of the van, along with his favorite phrase, Hallelujita, hermanito. Hallelujah, brother. They told us later that he absolutely loved it when he saw it. And then just like that, it was a wrap. But actually, the fun wasn't done just yet. We also did another songwriting workshop. And just like at La Semilla, this group decided to write a bilingual song. Wow. It doesn't sound bad. Do you want to do it again? Ok, make a ball, and this time, pass it. It's hard to describe how fun and exciting it is to take part in helping a group of young people write a song in their two languages. Maybe because it's taken so many years for me to learn Spanish, I appreciate how remarkable it is that they have two languages that they can blend and weave so beautifully together. So, I have a question for you. Is it easy or difficult to write a song? A little difficult. More or less. It depends, right? Yes, perfect. Well, I'm very proud of you. Yes? Thank you for the opportunity. You did a good job. Ready? I'm not alone, because I'm always with you. I find myself with no ego. I won't give up. And in the end, it all comes down to love. We'll have happy days and sometimes, still together we go. When I'm with you, I don't feel stronger. I don't even fear death. Because you're in my mind. And in my soul. I won't give up. You're always by my side. And you'll live with love and peace. I won't give up. You're always by my side. I won't give up. You're always by my side. Y vivirás con amor y paz No me rendiré, no me rendiré I won't give up, I won't give up A mi lado siempre estás And in the end, it all comes down to love It's a video. It's filmed. Thank you. It's still going. Okay, so, entonces, how do you do that? One, two, three. Each Art With Aria mural has a story. This one was unique, both taking us back to our past and fulfilling our present. The team at El Camino welcomed us to their amazing corner of the earth with open arms. And we're so grateful we could be part of immortalizing something so special for this beautiful community. Next time on Art With Aria. After Rancho El Camino, we thought we'd be heading straight north back to the U.S. for our next mural project. But the bus had different plans. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to give us a like. Subscribe to our channel. Send us a comment below. And for exclusive content and a behind-the-scenes view of the Art With Aria journey, join us on Patreon. See you over on Patreon.