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| Some ruins found at the Franny Reese State Park, New York. |
It's funny how a year can make and break you in moments.
I started this year out with high hopes. I wrote about my workshop, which was made possible by an artist grant from the NC Arts Council. I had everything booked and planned. However, before any of that could happen, a lot of things at home happened.
In the last week of April, my mother-in-law went into the hospital. She would be in and out of the hospital and rehab for several months... till mid July. My own mother has been battling cancer for the last eight years and had problems related to that in July and the end of September.
It would be nice to be there for both of them for their health issues, but I live in North Carolina and my family live in South Dakota. It's kind of a long, hard commute and not cheap.
But, I did made it to the workshop. Michal Jasiewicz was amazing. His watercolor paintings are fantastic. His style is fun to paint. I learned a lot... the three-ish days I was there.
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| View of the Hudson River from Balmville, NY |
It was a four day workshop. Yep, you read that correctly. I only manages to get three-ish days of learning. The very first day someone wasn't feeling well and the next day tested positive for covid. So guess what I caught...
I decided to push through as many days as I could before Covid got the best of me. Well, I say me, but my husband was with me...he caught it from me.
The workshop was amazing and I'm sad I didn't get to finish it. We did two paintings a day, which is a lot! The subject matter varied, from landscapes to urban scenes.
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| Michal readying a demo |
The last day I really tried to be at class but covid made it impossible. So we took the rest of the day to get meds and plan to drive home on Saturday - the day we were supposed to go into New York City. I had never been there and was so looking forward to it. 😢
We drove back to North Carolina feeling like crap and spend the next two weeks feeling like crap. Covid wasn't fun and I really hope we don't get it again. While it felt like a bad head cold, it really smashed my energy. We had to recover from the recovery... not fun at all.
As soon as we recovered from that, we had to leave for South Dakota. My mother had her scare and we hurriedly drove out there. I don't fly well. My middle ears have problems which causes pain in elevation changes. Plus, I don't fancy flying in planes where bits could fall off or catch fire at any moment...
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| A minimum maintenance road, South Dakota |
The next day we got back from South Dakota, mother-in-law goes back into the hospital again for an infection which caused sepsis. Yay.
So, it's November. It's been quiet, thankfully, for the last couple weeks. With such a long break between the workshop and finally having some time to paint, it's been hard to try to put all the lessons learned from the workshop into my art. It's slowly coming along.
What I learned most: Confidence.
I'm a mostly self-taught watercolor artist. Everything I've learned on my own or with others or through teaching my own classes help me to own that confidence. I was hesitant before with watercolor, unsure of myself with skill and techniques. The workshop really helped me with that the most.
I'm grateful. It was a manic year but both mothers are doing well, right now. I took some time for myself, to decompress, to process everything and to paint. I'm glad I did that. It's been good for my mental health.
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| Sunrises in South Dakota really shine |
I really want to try again for another workshop, hopefully I can apply for another. I learned so much and there's still so much out there to learn!
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| One of the paintings done at the workshop |
I'm hoping the New Year brings less stress and more wonderful - I could really do with more wonderful. But, I guess that's why I paint, to bring more wonderful into the world.
I hope you all have a joyous holiday and may the New Year ring in all that you hope.
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| Trying to take a picture of a sketchbook piece😂 |
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