Love and paint

Life after divorce: How a watercolor class and a foul-mouthed 13-year-old helped me to lose (and find) myself

Painting by Maria Dal Pan, created Feb. 13, 2021 in a Zoom watercolor class hosted by Uncommon Goods.

Since the pandemic has spoiled so many of my favorite activities, to avoid a complete spiral of despair, I have made it my mission to try new things.

Last March, at the height of my covid anxiety, I began a nightly bath ritual — with candles — as a way to cope with the stress. Then, like a million other people, I tried gardening, hacking up a chunk of yard and triumphing months later when I had enough cucumbers to start having daily Greek salads. I bought pink Nikes and discovered new running routes through my neighborhood with wonderfully vicious hills. And when the weather turned wintry, I purchased a pair of tap shoes, click-clacking the tile floor in my basement each morning to The Pointer Sisters and Jay Z.

So when I saw a friend post that she was helping the online retailer Uncommon Goods launch a new service called “experiences,” I was intrigued. I clicked the link. They offered three choices, all Valentine’s Day themed: a pasta making session, a mixology course and a watercolor portraiture class. Its description caught my eye:

“A LOVING LIKENESS

You’ve gazed at your love for hours upon hours — just like artists do with their…