It started innocently as a way to escape the fiery cauldron of last July, something to do for an hour a day until the heat subsided. A chance encounter with World Watercolour Month tutorials by an Ontario artist who seemed to know her stuff led me to believe that with a few materials I might be able to paint something recognizable. Basic supplies were readily available, so off I went.
I hesitantly joined the Facebook group, but it took me a couple of weeks before I posted anything, convinced I might be drummed out of the group, but quite the opposite: we were all beginners, and every-one was encouraging, upbeat, and eager to show off their work.
It was easy to stick to the daily lessons with short sessions that gave me the incentive to do a couple of paintings a day. But wait — due to the myriad ads on the Facebook site, it was obvious I needed better paper and a couple more brushes, and maybe the Beam paints from Manitoulin Island. Okay, I did need those and am not sorry. It was Christmas in a box when new supplies arrived.
When we got to September and I was still doing my one-a-day art project, I could see I was on to something more than a summer pastime. This was now a genuine hobby with no other goal in mind but to enjoy the time I spent messing with colour. I got myself a tiny easel where I could prop up my latest work and see if it was “frame-worthy”. Most were not. That didn’t stop me.
I joined the Patreon site so I’d get a new tutorial every couple of weeks, and dutifully worked through the seasons with Christmas cards, snowmen, pinecones, fir trees, shamrocks, Easter bunnies, and spring flowers. The sketchbooks were filling up fast, so I took to doing half-page paintings and using both sides of the paper. I had a couple of books on the go at one time.
Was I becoming obsessed? Maybe. Suddenly I was looking at things with fresh eyes. The tulips were a study in colour blending. The lilacs begged to be a loose floral. The birdhouse, even the darn dandelions became fodder for painting. If I wasn’t puddling in the paint pots, I was drawing something on the margin of the newspaper or the memo pad by the phone.
Further, I was checking the Facebook group to make sure I was keeping abreast of everybody’s latest masterpiece. All this was taking time I should have been doing housework (Really? Anything that takes away housework time is a good thing!) or tackling the garden weeds. However, when World Watercolour Month 2026 rolled around this year I was excited for the first day, housework and garden being the last things on my mind.
So here we are at the end of July and what do I have to show for a full year of painting? I’ve got a drawer full of about 300 paintings of every subject you can imagine, from little girls on a beach to those blowsy lilacs. To rein in the pile, I have taken to doing tiny paintings that apparently don’t take up so much space — except if you have far too many. I’ve got three different sizes of paper, all where I can grab them easily. I’ve got a shelf of several paint palettes that I use depending on my mood. The Manitoulin Beam paints are especially fine stored in their little round box. There are brushes, too many pencils, my favourite kneaded eraser, a ruler I used in grade school, masking fluid, paper towel, and a spritz bottle. It’s all useful and necessary, and all right, maybe a bit over the top considering the output.
I have a lot more to show for my endeavours though. After our initial Facebook group disbanded, about 8 of us from east to west and now Australia have remained in a smaller group and have become good friends. We’re all women of a certain age, all beginners, all enjoying a new hobby we never thought we’d master. I’ve discovered that I can entertain myself easily for a few hours enjoying the feeling of colour gliding over the paper. I’ve learned to embrace my painting time as therapy, and whatever I turn out is the best I can do on that day. I have nothing to prove, am not intending to sell any of these, but will keep them as a record of what I have learned over the year.
I don’t think it’s an obsession… yet. However, if you see me in an art store, please distract me before I buy every colour of the rainbow, too many sketchbooks, and really, do I need that many brushes??