Some talk and some action

Away Game:
- Yesterday we tried an online Facebook coaching session to see if that would work in place of the scheduled Courthouse coaching/demo/painting sessions. It was interesting to see a kind of snapshot of where the participants had arrived at that point. Not as much fun as in-person, but better than not knowing. Many were trying paintings beyond the textbook, which is wonderful! That is the objective and seems to happen after the 'bananas' chapter builds confidence. The complexity and variety of extra-curricular subjects was really impressive - keep up the good work, everyone!
(Facebook group: Valley Visual Artists - Merritt)

Home Game:
-  Ah, the self-challenge: ​" I promise to paint a watercolour this weekend! I can't let you think I am all talk and no action."  Ok, I am on it! Today my normal prep for a formal painting in any medium - 3+ hours of serious concentration without actually touching paint:
      - Decide the criteria and select the reference materials (interesting light/colour, local subject, suitable for wc) and decide on size of finished work for the 24x30" frame I have in my stash.
      -  Size the photo reference to match finished work proportions (18x24") and set grid accordingly (3x4 ratio), check grey scale by changing photo to black/white, trace right on the screen and refine the sketch outline.
      -  Draw the image on the wc paper, then erase all unnecessary lines to avoid confusion when painting (erase carefully, brush off eraser crumbs with big clean paintbrush.)

Next step - the paint and brushes will get WET!