This month I started thinking about goats.

Next year is the Year of the Goat, and the year I was born. One superstition claims that only one in ten children born under its sign will live happy lives — a belief that has literally shifted birth rates in China. As someone who's always been drawn to myth and folklore, I've struggled with my relationship to it.

I turned to other cultures and found more stories: the ritual scapegoat sent into the wilderness carrying the burdens of others, and Amalthea, whose broken horn became the Cornucopia—a vessel of abundance.

She emerged from this, tangled in the red thread of fate. I think of her as an idol for those moments when someone else's version of your story no longer feels true: A reminder that we can refuse to become the story written about us, and keep writing our own.

The zodiac got one thing right: she's stubborn.

A dip into Sculpture

These pieces came from a handbuilding workshop I took here in Miami. After reading how Matisse used sculpture to feed his painting, and vice versa, I wanted to try my hand at it as well, and I've found it to be a beautiful addition to my practice.

That, and it's really fun. I hope to keep doing more.

Where the work is right now

​Volume III at Arrae Gallery in Coconut grove, has been extended and will remain open until Labor day. Three of my paintings are on view alongside work from an incredible group of artists. If you're in Miami, I'd love for you to stop by.

Around the studio

A few snapshots from this month's studio shuffle—including early studies for the Goat Nymph and a newly rearranged workspace that's already changing how I work.

One thing I've been experimenting with is slowing my paintings down. The Goat Nymph took longer than almost anything I've made before; I resisted the urge to solve everything in one sitting. I don't know whether all that time was necessary, but I think it allowed the piece to accumulate meanings and lore than could have arrived at all at once.

I also have a handful of Year of the Horse prints left—signed, numbered editions for $25 if you'd like to give one a home. Shop it here.​

As always, I'd love to hear from you. If something in this letter or on my website speaks to you, just hit reply.

— Austin 💙

​@austinlan.art​

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