- I briefly thought that self-isolating would mean an "at-home art retreat," but not so :( 
Instead it seems to mean noticing all those to-do things that fell off the list for the past 5 years. However, persevering when the March weather is not for gardening and the floors are spotless ...

Away Game: 
Yes, we got sideswiped by the COVID-19 issues, so all the coaching sessions and final workshop are cancelled. However, we are creative, so the course is extended to the end of April and coaching is moved online - email and a special Facebook group just for us: "Valley Visual Artists - Merritt"
- Most of the class signed up for the Facebook group and some are starting to post their homework on the page. It is amazing how much difference even a little practice makes in the watercolour skills. It really could happen that people will be able to paint independently by the end of the course.
​
​Home Game:
- I painted the second gesso layer (final preparation layer before painting) on more than a dozen canvases and panels that have been waiting patiently in the basement for a couple years. Now they are ready for any acrylic painting I might feel the inspiration to tackle, instead of a task waiting to be done. No more excuses :)
- I finished the black gesso and white acrylic paint "Moonstruck" acrylic painting that I started only a couple weeks ago -record time for me! As usual, I got hung up on perfecting the final little tiny details (like the pointy moon). Enough already! See the sequence below (the colour shifts are just photographing in different light or camera settings.) So now it will be varnished (matte or satin finish) in a couple days when fully dry. Next...

Away Game:
​- The opening instruction class and first coaching session made a great beginning for all these enthusiastic painters. Such excellent questions and care in following the instructions. They even do homework! It makes me think I should have gone into adult education much earlier. 
- I have been working on the Arts Council's Public Artworks program, which buys works by local artists and displays them in various public locations. Currently, we have Cindilla Trent's "Mosaic Butterfly" in the Public Library, Bev Veale's "Hollyhocks" oil paintings at City Hall, and my "Courthouse" watercolour at the old Courthouse. The committee is now working on the details of this year's acquisition. 

Home Game:
​- My moonlight painting got a lot of snow and too much light to be from the moon last week, so I painted out a lot of that white this week. An advantage of just using black and white paint is not having to match the colours.  Now it is ready to put back the pale details, like the distant shore and moonlight on the frozen lake.  
- A brief self-isolation for spouse's (ordinary) flu gave me a chance to see if it could be more positively renamed "art retreat." Well, who knew there could be so many self-distractions inside one house! I never got my studio apron on once in the 48 hours. Disappointing, but note-to-self:  put "painting" higher on the to-do list even when there is nothing else to do.

References for further study, if you are interested:

• Colour; Travels Through the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay - a book on the history of each colour, which involves pirates, beetle juice, poisons, espionage, and other surprises. 
  
• - My go-to website for checking info on any watercolour topic.  http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html The artist, Bruce MacEvoy, also seems to be a chemist and researcher - he actually tests paints and gives practical information on a range of watercolour topics. 
  

Some tips  (sent by email to the workshop participants):
- The textbook, Watercolour in 10 Steps by Patricia Seligman, is just for learning basic painting skills, not creating  beautiful little artworks, so don't try for excellence, just improvement. 
- Use real fruit whenever possible, rather than painting from the book's photos and sketches - recognizing the actual shapes and colours makes for better future paintings. 
- Give an exercise a try or two, and think whether you see what Patricia was trying to teach you. Then move on to the next exercise. After the third one, go back and try the earlier ones again and see if your skills are improving. Repeat :)
- There is no magic, it's just practice. No 'practice makes perfect' either - 'perfect' is not part of learning to paint. 
- Relax - if the painting does not work out, it's just a piece of paper. 

  Home Game:
- A little short on actual wet paint time this week :(  Next week I will schedule it in so other stuff does not take over my art life. 
- I dropped in on the Library Painters on Thursday (10am-2pm) - it is an open, free drop-in for artists to just bring their gear and project and paint with other artists. So great to see how the skills improve that way. Hmmm, I should join them next Thursday...
- I visited Hambleton Gallery in Kelowna, as I do whenever I can. Seeing high quality artwork in person keeps my 'artistic eye' tuned for professional level painting quality and skills.
- updated my website's Portfolio panels with more images, now I need to annotate them with names, sizes, media and prices.
- I have been working on photobooks of my art, since most are now unavailable to me (gifted, donated, or sold.) Now there is a 30% off sale if I can get them finished by Feb 12. There's a goal - and another project that keeps my hands away from actual paint. 

Away Game:
- 10 people registered in the class now, so it is definitely a GO  :)
- I shopped at Opus Art in Kelowna to get supplies for the class - brushes, paper, etc. Opus Art Store donated 15 of their cloth bags to hold the sets! 
- More texts arrived - from Britain and New Zealand! 10 on hand now, only a few more to come.
- I am getting paint kits and palettes ready. I  ordered more paint colours to make sure the palettes will be useful beyond the textbook exercises. 

Away Game:

• Sketch class has ended and attendance was solid. What a treat to have such students! They even did homework! And they are interested in carrying on, so on to Watercolour next.
• Sticker shock on the supplies - watercolour paint prices are about triple now, so changing my plan from giving students a supply list (cost $200+) to buying in bulk from a discount supplier. The strong interest by these students in actually learning to paint (rather than just trying it out) makes a professional kit more practical. It's way less frustrating for all with quality materials, and the kit will last them for years. 
• NVCAC has my application for the WC class, which will be in March to give all my book orders time to arrive, and to get the registrations in, and to create the paint kits. The course is more expensive than I anticipated after all the little things are added in. However, since I am donating my instructor fees back to the NVCAC, it is not so stressful if  I am out of practice with that budget page. 

Home Game:

•  Wow, I did a watercolour painting for the next Gallery show! With people in it!  It does help a lot that they don't have to look like particular people :) 
• Framing will be easy - I started with a frame and mat from my stash and painted to fit it. Why didn't I think of that before - way less expensive than custom framing because of odd sized pictures. (One of the reasons I switched to acrylic on canvas.) 
• Art Avenue, the quarterly magazine from the Federation of Canadian Artists (artists.ca) just arrived - more inspiration to get me going :)

OK, it's starting! 

Home Game: 
I have my studio back and reorganized. The frames and canvases are sorted into a better location and  my paints and tools are ready to use. There were even some great hidden finds - a dozen black 8x10 frames for a long forgotten project, ready-to-use Ampersand boards for oil and even for watercolour. These will give me a head start as they need no prep days.  I stocked up on full sheets of watercolour paper in case I need a little practice painting large before committing to big oil paintings.
 
Away game: 

• First workshop program is ready to go: "Ready, Sketch, Paint" is approved by the NVCAC and the advertising up and running. Now we just need some people to want to do it... I am hoping for 10-12. 
• Second workshop is simmering - a beginners watercolour program using the "Watercolour in 10 Steps" textbook that worked so well in the past. Unfortunately, it is now out-of-print so it will be a challenge to find enough copies, but Amazon.ca seems to be working on it. 

2020 A new year, with new opportunities:
- The Nicola Valley Community Arts Council has a great new Board of Directors and I am now "Past President" with a 'consultant' role so I can use my experience to help them with the rough spots. 
- I now have time for the NVCAC projects that have been on the back burner - like a revival of the Valley Visual Artists as a way to develop local art talent and support the existence of the community art gallery. 
- I can use the NVCAC resources to help new artists get started with workshops, hopefully building the clientele for other instructors and future programs beyond the beginner levels in many media. 
- I can get my own art going again - reclaiming the spare room for my studio and reclaiming my time for painting.
- I can connect again with the artists who got me started and those who keep me going, find some advanced workshops and other sources of inspiration.

I am soooo looking forward to jumping back in to ART!