I’ve been doing something for the past month that I had never anticipated…besides staying home every day! I’ve taken on a “Watercolor 101” video art tutorial series.

As part of Rancho Cordova Arts’ efforts to shift from providing art experiences at public events, we are showing art tutorial videos every weekday at 4pm Pacific Time. We’ve posted about 20 of them - a variety of media and projects, and some videos are loads of fun! (Sabrina Abbott’s ‘Artsy Fartsy Covid Canvas’ is my fave, and her production values are way better!)

My kitchen table has become my video studio, including a camera dangling from the overhead light fixture and two floor lamps trained on the work area. When friends can come for dinner once more, it’ll all come down!

Check out the Rancho Cordova Arts Facebook page for links to my and others’ contributions, or go directly to Rancho Cordova Arts’ YouTube Channel.

Watercolor 101: Values in Watercolor with Marsha Mason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVY71bk9eDg In this introductory watercolors video, Marsha Mason explains how to establish value (lights and darks) when painting, and how to translate those values into color.

Watercolor 101: Textures in Washes with Marsha Mason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTDT37Ks-tU Explore five different ways to add patterns to your watercolor washes, using salt, isopropyl alcohol, more water, and paper towels. Art tutorial with Marsha Mason.

Watercolor 101: Textures in Watercolor II with Marsha Mason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZaqHhuCd8U Explore 5 more techniques to bring interest and life to your watercolors. Includes dry brush, spatter, sponging, stencils with pencil shavings, and bubbles!

Watercolor 101: Split Primary Palette with Marsha Mason https://youtu.be/teIeApHTYbM Master the art of mixing pairs of watercolor paints to get the hue and saturation you want! Did you think that primary colors (red, blue, yellow) are defined as colors you can't mix yourself? Did you think all color wheels are alike? Surprise! Here's a simple strategy for taking control of the colors and saturation you mix from pairs of paints.

Watercolor 101: Masking with Marsha Mason https://youtu.be/ky5ozQI3Py0 Learn how to preserve the bright whites of your paper by masking with tape or masking fluid.

Watercolor 101: DIY Lightfastness Test with Marsha Mason https://youtu.be/bW07GBeoPlk Ever wonder if your watercolor masterpiece will start fading in a couple of months? Learn which of your paint pigments will last in this quick and easy do-it-yourself test. You’ll have the definitive proof of which pigments are fugitive, and when it’s okay to use them.

I couldn’t be more pleased.

It’s been a month since I stepped down as founding President of Rancho Cordova Arts, our town’s nonprofit (501(c)3) visual arts promoter and developer. It took a year and a half to get this new entity up and running - paperwork filed, a board recruited, website (RanchoCordovaArts.org) and event workplans in place, newsletter and membership chairs on board, quarterly newsletter launched. And to cap it off, we have a great new President, Jeremy Rabideau, who brings fresh ideas and vision to fulfill our purpose of benefiting the public through the visual arts.

Yesterday as I paid sales tax collected in 2019, I realized how important it is to me to make sure the taxes collected on income I gained from art sales in the City go back to the City and its Community Enhancement Fund. Dollars from this fund made it possible for Rancho Cordova Arts to grow its capacity and become its own organization.

We’re not the only ones! The City and its Cordova Community Council Foundation ‘incubated’ not just the visual arts, but also three music groups (Symphony d’Oro, Rancho Cordova Concert Band and RC Swing Band), and a theater company. No wonder Rancho Cordova has been chosen twice as an ‘All American City’! One of the impressive things about this, is that these arts groups all coalesced organically. None of this was top-down “We have a plan: you will become an organization”. It’s been grassroots, Power-to-the-People all the way to help make this a vibrant, art-filled city.

I can’t say enough about Cordova Community Council. This mighty powerhouse of an organization is Rancho Cordova Arts’ first sponsor. They’ve been the people who make fun things happen (4th of July, Kids Day in the Park, iFest [International Festival], Concerts in the Park, Movies in the Park, Haunted House, Christmas Tree Lighting), and we are lucky pups, indeed. It’s hard to believe they get so much done with a staff of four, but then, if you knew those four, you’d know how! An amazing team!

They started energizing the visual arts with a quarterly juried art show at City Hall almost 10 years ago, ongoing today. (Catch the ‘Rhythm & Hues’ show through April, and the ‘Diverse-City’ show after that into July.) Some time later they took over running the MACC (Mills Station Arts & Culture Center), an historic building. The City renovated it with a gorgeous art gallery space downstairs, which brings in excellent art and history exhibits almost monthly.

Now Rancho Cordova is in the process of developing an Arts Strategic Plan and an ‘Art Block’ area of town to include the MACC, light rail station, and a 10 acre site across Folsom Blvd at Mather Field Road. We’re excited!

And I’m grateful - so grateful - for the love, the time commitment, the creativity and talent that makes good things happen here. As I step into the Treasurer’s position for Rancho Cordova Arts, I find time to reflect on what an amazing experience it is to watch our community of creatives learn, grow, make connections and friends, and spread the joy to people in our community through fun hands-on art projects. Thank you all for this opportunity to serve. The Best is yet to come!

- Marsha

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