If you've seen my Instagram lately, you might be wondering how I ended up spending a day in OKC with two Portuguese strangers.
It's a neat story. And it starts with this painting.
MY SIDE OF THE STORY:
Two weeks ago, as I was sipping boba tea and doing some work in a café in Norman, I got a call from a 405 area code. I get so many spam calls I don't often pick up for numbers I don't know. But this time, I decided on a hunch to pick up.
"Hello, Madeline? It's Maurice from the Gallery." Paseo Gallery One. He told me there were some Portuguese guys in there who liked my painting "Part II: Exploration" and wanted to talk to me.
"Can I give them your number?"
I said sure and went back to work... and instantly forgot the conversation (as one does when one has le ADHD).
When I left the café about an hour later, I checked my phone and saw I had a WhatsApp message. Confused, I opened it up:
"Hey Madeline, we are two Portuguese YouTubers who are crossing the US hitchhiking from New York to LA. We just found your work and love it!
Are you going to be around because we would love to hear your story and the history behind this painting. We are creating a documentary about our trip and this painting specifically resembles the exploration we are doing!"
So I immediately called Daniel and we chatted about the best time to meet. He gave me their YouTube and Instagram name (@andamente) so I could check them out. I said I would and that I'd get them a good time to hang out tomorrow once I got home and looked at my calendar.
I am bad at waiting, so immediately after we hung up and before I started my car, I checked out their channel. I quickly learned that Francisco and Daniel are YouTubers who travel the world making documentaries. (You can watch their videos here: https://youtube.com/@andamente) They've been everywhere, including India and Afghanistan. And now, as of October 31st, they are in the USA, hitchhiking their way across the country. New York to L.A. in 40 days. 💙
I was also delighted to learn that they seemed to be very kind, joyful, conscientious travelers -- exactly the kind of people I'd like to be friends with, and definitely two people I'd like to meet.
As I thought about the next day, I heard a familiar voice in my head. The same voice that pushed me into painting 1,650 original paintings for the Allied Arts Step Up Gift.
"Be extraaaaa," it said.
So on my drive home, I decided that, if they were down for it, I would take the day off and take them on a big ol' Oklahoma City adventure. As I covered the well-worn miles between Norman and Wynnewood, I started building an itinerary in my head.
I am a chronic overscheduler, so limiting it to just 1 or 2 places besides the gallery was SO hard. In fact, I tried to squeeze in a tour of Prairie Surf, OKC's filming studios that birthed Tulsa King, Twisters, and parts of Killers of the Flower Moon, but it mercifully fell through.
But,
I knew I wanted to take them to places where other people could talk about the cool parts of our state and history, because my ADHD makes me a terrible tour guide for anything involving facts. ("No thoughts, just vibes," is an annoyingly accurate representation.)
And
I knew I wanted the tour to be tied to my dual personalities: art and brownfields.
And finally,
I knew I had to take them to the First Americans Museum, because its INCREDIBLE. (And it's a brownfield site (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/47d9b1163c1e470396116ecb5c688574 ) win-win!)
By the time I got home, I had an itinerary.
I texted them:
"So one thing y'all dont know about me yet is I love planning road trips, events, parties etc. 😂 With that in mind... Would y'all be open to hanging out for most of the day tomorrow? Like 10-4? Itinerary to include a world-class museum, local food, and a possible tour of the Capitol art galleries....."
And they were IN!
The next day, after coffee at Holey Rollers in the Paseo, we took an 11am Capitol Tour, a 1pm First Americans Museum tour, got a late lunch at Goro Ramen in the Paseo, and ended the day at the Gallery.
We had a blast! 10/10, no notes, I absolutely would spend the entire day with them again. I'm so excited for the other lucky people who are going to get to know them in the upcoming days!
FRANCISCO & DANIEL'S SIDE OF THE STORY:
Why don't I let them tell it? They just uploaded their video of our day together to their YouTube channel! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H21tfI3lQgs
It was really sweet to see the parts leading up to them calling me, and looking at my work in the Paseo Gallery One. I don't know exactly what they're saying, but I think I got the gist. :)
THE MOST EXCITING PART:
After spending the day together, I learned the biggest reason the guys wanted to meet me: They loved my painting "Part II: Exploration" so much that they were hoping I'd let them use it for their hoodie design!! I said OF COURSE and then, being myself, offered to also design it for them.
And, well... ta-daaaa:
Pre-order it here:
FURTHER READING, A.K.A. INSTAGRAM FUNSIES:
Their reel preview on their Instagram:
My stories:
Happy Exploring to all y'all out there!
Especially my new friends, Francisco and Daniel!
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