In January 2026, I spent a month working out of the Picton Armoury as part of a PEC Arts Council residency. The space, a heritage building from 1913, offered a large open studio with natural and gallery lighting, and enough room to work on canvases ranging from 2x2 to 8x8 feet.

I came in prepared. All my canvases were built, stretched, and primed ahead of time, along with most of my reference photos. That allowed me to focus entirely on painting. I cleared my schedule and treated the residency like a full-time studio, showing up almost every day and building real momentum.

The work centered on local County scenes, with one piece becoming a bit of a pursuit. I wanted to capture the Regent Theatre at night with its marquee lit. After a few failed attempts due to electrical issues, I finally got the shot on New Year’s Eve, trekking through the snow after a full day of painting. That 8x8 piece is now displayed in the theatre’s lobby.

I used VR to map compositions and painted everything in acrylic, finishing with varnish. Midway through the residency, we opened the studio to the public, and throughout the month, local artists and friends would drop in, adding a sense of community to the process.

The residency ended with an exhibition in the same space, bringing all eight paintings together. More than anything, the experience showed me what a full-time studio practice can feel like, and what’s possible with that level of focus.