Jackie Dowell-Irvine is painting this week as part of the Artists in the Window series at Yukon Artists @ Work.

From Tuesday through Friday, she’s creating daily watercolours as well as branching out into acrylics, continuing the TNT series she’s been doing since the COVID-19 pandemic began early this year.

As a self-employed artist, Dowell-Irvine books various commitments two to three months out, for the most part.

When Yukon Artists @ Work closed down at the end of March, all of her carefully created plans were cancelled – which was financially disconcerting.

But artistically, Dowell-Irvine found it freeing.

“It was as if a wind came in and swept away all the leaves,” she said recently.

So she found herself at her home near Faro, with nothing she was obligated to do for other people.

She had to ask herself: what do I really want to do as an artist?

She found she wanted to make small watercolours, like she did when she began.

So, every day, Dowell-Irvine made a watercolour, painting just what she wanted to paint. She worked less from references and more from her imagination.

She shared her paintings on Facebook, and sent many of them through the post as gifts for friends and family.

Dowell-Irvine hopes that people who buy – or win – these paintings will consider sharing them with their loved ones through the post as well to people they can’t see right now.

She is hosting a daily draw for her tiny watercolours, but fans of her work have to actually come into the Yukon Artists @ Work gallery to be entered into the draw.

“She is keen to share her excitement not only about her artwork but also about the work of all the YA@W members and hopes to draw visitors in to experience it in person,” Yukon Artists @ Work said.

Dowell-Irvine will also be branching out into small acrylics on canvas, not for the draw, but to shake up the medium a bit for herself, during her time painting in the window.

She is in the Yukon Artists @ Work window from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fans can also register for a Zoom artist talk with her at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Drop by YA@W, call 393-4848, or email yaaw@artlover.com to register.

Her work will be featured in the window until Aug. 31.

Jeanine Baker will work on fused glass artworks in the window starting Sept. 2.

The Artists in the Window series continues until Sept. 4, but artists will continue to demonstrate their work in the window in a more informal way this fall and winter.