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30 | THE COLONY NEWS | MARCH 2026 | Our January class painted a spring bouquet. Although our project looked easy, for some it was not. Everyone, including our new people, did a great job. It had various techniques, including negative painting, a wash and wet-on-dry, and the pattern was very detailed. The class did an outstanding job with the new techniques, which are usually used by more advanced painters. Our project in March will be a lot of fun, so if you are considering our class, please join us. We meet on the last Thursday of each month in the Annex from 9 am to 12:30 pm. Everyone is welcome, but please bring your own art supplies. If you have any questions, please give me a call. I look forward to seeing you in class. Happy painting! Watercolor By Sylvia Maxwell, 818-667-1766 First, a big welcome the new Colony Chorus members. It's great that you've joined our family of singers. For those who are interested in joining us, it's not too late. Welcome! What is our program plan? Think about how you buy your latest music. Of course, many just "rent" their music with Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music. For those who still do their music like me, you commonly purchase it by downloading from some source. Before that, it was probably buying a CD. (I still have several hundred.) Prior to CDs, it could have been buying a cassette tape. But around the beginning of time, we all bought our music on vinyl. LPs followed 45s which had followed 78s. Do you remember those times? This spring, the Colony Chorus wants to revive the spirit of those earlier times. Our concert will be "When Music was Vinyl," featuring songs from the 60s and early 70s — Motown, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Beach Boys, Carole King, Elton John, and, of course, Elvis. Fun music! We will be presenting our concert twice the last weekend of April, on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26. More details to come, but mark your calendars now. Our practice sessions are every Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm in the Annex. If you want to join us, please contact Connie O'Brien at (619)- 322-0144, or just come. No auditions are necessary. Colony Chorus By Ken Luekens Did you know that 20 years ago there was a Colony Writers Workshop? Did you know that several years of their work was printed and put into books that you can see in The Colony library? Well, neither did I until I joined the current writers group. Like that earlier group, we have some residents who are writing their memoirs, some who write entertaining stories, and some who write poetry. If you have ever wanted to write and would like to meet with others of like mind, we encourage you to join us on the first and third Mondays of each month in the Clubhouse Meeting Room at 10:30 am. There is never any pressure to share what you have written, but the group is always receptive, and each presentation seems to give us a prompt for the future. If you are interested in trying us out but need further information, contact me at the above number or email Daphne Iacobo at daphne4300@yahoo.com. "One of the abiding glories of English is that … We spell eight as we do not because it makes sense, but because that is the way we like to spell it." Bill Bryson, Journalist/author Writers Group By Anna Beal, 434-996-6904 I started painting in the late 80s as a self-taught oil painter. My paintings were of the Old Masters style and impressionist. When I moved into The Colony, I joined Taka Ritchie's watercolor class. Thanks to Taka, I have excelled as an award-winning artist in watercolor and now teach here in The Colony. My subjects consist of f lowers, landscapes, birds, fish, insects, still life, abstract, portraits and animals. I continue to take advanced watercolor classes at the Hemet Gallery taught by master award-winning artist and instructor, Betty Pilley. I am a past executive board member of Murrieta Gem of the Valley Art Association. This association made it possible for local artists to hang their artwork in local businesses. One of my past awards includes Best of Show. I hope you enjoy my paintings when you see them. Artist of the Month By Sylvia Maxwell, 818-667-1766