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Never thought I would refer to myself as "An Old Dog", but that is how I am beginning to feel during this virus quarantine.  No it's not the pains waking up in the morning, or the news talking about seniors over 55, 60, 65, etc.  For me it's having to use Zoom, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.  Like when my doctor said we would have a virtual appointment.  How did that work?  NOT.  Finally relied 

on the good old telephone to just talk.  Happy nothing serious was wrong.

The exhibitions and museum shows are all virtual too.  Which brings me to the "New Tricks".  I would not say I am a tech genius.  Wow, I can hear my kids laughing in their offices 30 miles away.  But if truth be known, I am more savvy than many, many people.  Websites, blogging, scanning, saving files and work in the cloud, entering competitions, loading and revising images all take some element of technical skill.  This ends my tech bragging

The quarantine and closure and limitations the virus has imposed has forced artists, as well as other businesses, to be creative in marketing

and communications.  This has required me to go to social media and online galleries.  I find myself spending as much time at the computer as I spend at the easel.  Frustrated?  Oh, you bet.  I ask for help where ever it is offered which, sometimes, really does help me figure things out.  I must admit, however, that the air around my desk is at times quit blue as I say nasty things to my computer.  For example, I wasn't able to preform a certain marking function and asked for help online.  The reply was a full page of instructions starting with #1 going to #9.  After reading #1 and not understanding what it said (might just as well have been an alien language), I sent it to my son in-law.  He was able to communicate with the alien and got the problem straightened out.  

In spite of the previous complaints, I have gained an appreciation for the things/tricks I have learned over the past several months.  I have discovered new art sites.  I can see new art works from all over the world.  I have entered competitions that I normally would not have entered.  I have expanded my websites which resulted in me communicating with other artists in other states and countries.  I have found so many online workshops that are available to me,  in addition to art web seminars.  One exciting social media post even had virtual tours of art museums in cities in the United States, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. 

Don't get me wrong.  I am constantly stumbling, frustrated, and being impolite to my computer.   In no way do I get the joy working at the computer that I do working in my studio, so I try to save the office work for late in the day or early evening. But, the art community has changed for sure, and I know that I must change too.   How can I tell?  Because it's all there on social media, email, blogs and newsletters.