> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://terrill-welch.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # There Are No Shortcuts in Painting as in Life — Terrill Welch by herself #54 - URL: https://terrill-welch.ghost.io/there-are-no-shortcuts-in-painting-as-in-life-terrill-welch-by-herself-54/ - Published: 2026-09-25T13:00:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-25T13:00:05.000Z - Author: Terrill Welch - Tags: art, artist Terrill Welch, Canadian art, Close to Home series, contempoary art, landscape paintings, terrill welch, Terrill Welch by herself, All Bay in Sidney The low sun pushes its warmth up against my shoulders, connecting me to the gentle rocking of boats across the calm bay. A hospital visit with a long time friend fills an emotional bag that would be heavy enough to offer a secure anchor off the piers. There are no shortcuts. I can take time now or later but this too must be processed and then accepted with just a small sail of hope catching a bit of a breeze with time. The details are personal and private yet intimately familiar to us all. Loss is universal and has no prerequisite criteria. If we have lived, we know loss. Some losses are small and can be transient. Others are sudden and unforgiving. Still other losses take on a grindingly slow decline. However, within it all there is beauty and hope that comes with the smile of a baby in their parent’s arms or the light catching reflections on the water or the sparkle in the eyes of my friend as she faces her adversity. This is what I was thinking as David and I munched on sandwiches we picked up for a picnic in a park by a marina near to the ferries. I watched the light change in the bay and surveyed the scene like an osprey circling and waiting to dive. A soft cloud shifted and the sunlight rested on the boats. Now! I am up off the bench, searching for the angle I want. All other thoughts are suspended. My knees bend to get me low while still high enough to miss the shrubbery on the bank directly in front of me. I have it! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5366.jpeg) Marina at All Bay in Sidney, British Columbia mid September 2026\. Photograph by Terrill Welch. I hadn’t planned on painting this scene. It was just an irresistible moment, like when a dog spots a squirrel. Their reaction is predictable and almost involuntary. My leash was David needing a bathroom and the ones in the park were closed. So we packed up and headed for the ferry with me turning back several times to look at the boats in the marina as we walked along the path back to the car. Their abstract shapes formed an enticing composition that wouldn’t let go of me. The next morning I pulled up the images and thought, if I just take this one small area here on the right, it will make a painting. That small suggestion from my mind to my heart was all it took. Now we have a painting! **NEW WORK ON THE EASEL** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5533.jpeg) Still on the easel - “Harbouring Hope” by Terrill Welch, 23.6 x 27.5 inches (60 x 70 cm) oil on linen. Monday, 21 September 2026. Here is the painting, still shiny and wet, by itself… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5526-1.jpeg) “Harbouring Hope” by Terrill Welch, 23.6 x 27.5 inches (60 x 70 cm) oil on linen. **Artist notes:** I had just come from visiting a friend in the hospital and we stopped to have a picnic dinner in the part beside the marina at (what is now called) All Bay in Sidney, British Columbia. I took some reference images because the shapes and colours felt hopeful and there was a peaceful, reflective, deep calm about munching on sandwiches and looking out into the bay. I want to investigate the big gestures and emotions in this moment without getting caught in the weeds of visual or thought preciseness. The painting is not quite ready for release but inquiries are welcome. I have painted this on archival quality linen that has only a ¾ inch edge. Which means it should be framed in the long run. For now I will finish the edges and see if it will work to add a hanging wire as it is. The structure of these stretched linen surfaces is impressive. Here is what the back looks like so you can see for yourself. I have purchased them from Jackson’s Art in the United Kingdom for their superior quality to anything I have been able to find in Canada now that my custom canvas place has closed. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5558.jpeg) Back of museum quality stretched linen frame by Jackson’s Art. The data collection notes for this painting are available in my Creative Potager art journal at: [Harbouring Hope Painting Data CollectionPainting Data Collection Tuesday, 22 September 2026 Title: Harbouring HopeDate Completed: Monday, 21 September 2026Materials: oil on linenSize: 23.6 x 27.5 inches (60 x 70 cm) Figurative/Abst…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/icon/1eadd9c00680ffb523d5f1b96a58860447a5a1542365a61e0b9404505d8d4d36-df99b257-038d-4e1f-9727-ed610767e384.jpg)Creative PotagerTerrill Welch![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/thumbnail/img_5526-1-7de0a44e-2f34-4e3a-afe7-7751542260da.jpg)](https://creativepotager.com/2026/09/22/harbouring-hope-painting-data-collection/?ref=terrill-welch.ghost.io) **RECORDING OF FIVE SEASONS, MA FINE ART FINAL SHOW PRESENTATIONS** First, thank you to everyone who was able to make it for the live zoom presentations last Thursday. It went really well and we recorded the presentation part of our call that will be available for viewing until the 15th of October when our group show closes. Just so you know, I am the final presenter near the end of the recording. We purposefully turned the recording off before the question and answer to allow more freedom and privacy to participants to ask their questions. This means the whole recording is only 27 minutes long, if you care to watch it at: [https://spaces.oca.ac.uk/mafineartshowcase2026/events/](https://spaces.oca.ac.uk/mafineartshowcase2026/events/?ref=terrill-welch.ghost.io) F.Y.I., this embedded video will not play on my iPad but does work on my iPhone and my laptop and David’s laptop. So try changing devices if you have any trouble getting it to play smoothly. **PLANNING FOR RESILIENCE** Well, that is truly the very last task I had related to my degree program. Ta-da! I have been turning the alarm off at night for several days in a row to celebrate. I wake up about 7:00 or 7:30 and stretch slowly into my day instead of leaping up as my mind schedules several things for the 12 hour structured day ahead of me. How luxurious! But the previous two years of an extended, structured schedule over six months stretches come with a cost that a few days of waking up to no alarm can repair. I need mental, emotional and physical rest. This doesn’t mean a full stop but it does mean extended time of a minimum workload of between 6 to 8 hours over a 14 to 15 hour period with lots of flexibility and time to ponder and poke around. Elder caregiving is a little like raising toddlers or farming. There are chores that need to be done because other living beings depend on you. They cannot generally be put off or rescheduled because routines are crucial for the well-being of those you are responsible for looking after. However, beyond these fixed needs, there can be flexibility and restful and rejuvenating time and space. I can read and pause to think about what I have read. I can write and muse about what might be missing and then go research that specific aspect without feeling rushed. I can paint without having one eye on what else isn’t getting done. Taking on this reduced workload for the next several months is the price that must be paid for pushing so hard over the past two years. Again, there are no shortcuts. If I want to go that hard for that long, I must be prepared to settle into a slower pace when the pressure is off. No signing up for more courses or online residencies. No offering workshops or teaching a series of classes. No planning for big solo shows. Just steady as it goes in my painting practice, until likely around June 2027\. Now just to follow through. As you can likely tell, I am speaking to me as much as I am sharing with you. I am not always as good at this aspect of living. Relaxed, restful, recovery, sleep combined with flow, focus, in person social time, playful unstructured engagements equals resilience for me. I need this so I can go hard at something again, should I wish or need to for some reason. Again, there are no shortcuts. Take the time or suffer the consequences of primarily burnout. But with age, recovery is slower and physical health can also be caught up in the mix. The risks of not taking the necessary quieter schedule for a good six months are too great. The benefits of following through are priceless. **UNTIL NEXT TIME** We have someone looking after our place for the next week and we will depart this morning for an adventure on the southwest corner of Vancouver Island. It looks like we will get a bit of much needed rain after a long dry summer. We will just dress accordingly and enjoy it. The forests will be relieved to finally have some moisture. The other morning we had heavy fog at our house and when I stepped out on the deck, I could smell the scent of the trees as they opened up to capture whatever moisture they could. They need more, much more. Our fire risk indicator is still sitting at extreme. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5511.jpeg) Early morning late September fog in the valley below Terrill Welch’s art studio. The Japanese garden will have its full fall colours on display by the time we return. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/2026/09/IMG_5545.jpeg) The Mayne Island Japanese Memorial Garden late September 2026\. Photograph by Terrill Welch. I am looking forward to both our time away and our return. And one final time, there are no shortcuts to living a full and meaningful life while having an equally full and meaningful painting practice. One must engage with unrelenting vulnerability, curiosity and rigour while consciously building in resilience. All the best as always, Terrill [Online Art Gallery for Terrill Welch Paintings - Terrill WelchExplore Terrill Welch’s online art gallery, featuring her original oil paintings inspired by the rugged beauty of Mayne Island, BC. Browse available artworks or view sold pieces to appreciate her evolving style.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/icon/cropped-artwork-archive-use-of-terrill-welch-painting-in-her-studio-by-allison-mullally-_mg_5876-ed71019d-d159-4a03-b354-36ed7f44e04e.jpg)Terrill Welch![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/6d/fc6d57d1-84f5-451a-9c0b-d6622f52daa6/content/images/thumbnail/3EEB68CF-24BE-41CB-9AB9-116B38EF66D3-4bae68f0-bbc5-4309-9075-bae4e622654c.jpg)](https://terrillwelchartist.com/online-art-gallery/?ref=terrill-welch.ghost.io)