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A short walkthrough of the boards, the posting rules and the pace we keep. Read it once and you will know where to put a question, where to put a work in progress, and what to expect back from other members.
Nobody arrives knowing the rhythm of the boards. This is the rough order most members move through, from a quiet first post to a studio diary that runs for months.
Week one
Most people spend the first few days in the beginner sub-board and the critique rules thread. It is worth it. The posting rules there explain what a useful critique looks like, how to ask for the kind of feedback you actually want, and why a title like "thoughts?" rarely gets a real answer.
Week two
A scan or phone photo of something unfinished, posted in the critique section with two or three specific questions. Members tend to reply within a day or two, and the replies are usually about proportion, value or edge quality rather than encouragement. That is the point of the section.
Week three to four
Plein air meetups are posted in the events thread, usually with a meeting point and a rough weather call. Life drawing sessions around Cape Town and Johannesburg get listed the same way. Turn up with your own materials; there is no fee and no sign-up sheet, just whoever shows.
Month two
The diary area moves slowly by design. Members log what worked that week: a gesso mix that finally dried evenly, a paper that held charcoal without fuzzing, a drying time that shifted with the humidity. Entries are short and unpolished, and that is fine.
Ongoing
Offcuts change hands in the materials thread. Questions about pricing a first small exhibition come up regularly and get answered by people who have done it. Documentation threads cover photographing finished work without a lightbox. None of it requires a follower count or a polished profile.
Onboarding here is not a form you fill in once. It is a short sequence of steps that gets you from reading threads to posting your own work, and it usually takes about a week of ordinary evenings.
Step 1
Spend a few days in the critique and beginner boards. Look at how members phrase feedback, what they attach to a post, and how much context they give. It saves you from posting a photo with no size, medium or intent.
Step 2
What you draw or print, where you work, and what you want out of the place. A kitchen table in Observatory and a shared studio in Braamfontein are both fine answers. No portfolio link required.
Step 3
Unfinished is the point. Say what stage it is at and what you are unsure about. A charcoal study that is still too dark, a linocut that will not register cleanly, a gesso panel that is still tacky after two days.
Step 4
Critique runs both ways. Read the posting rules in that section first, then respond to something specific: a value that reads flat, a composition that crowds the edge, a drying time that seems off for coastal air.
Step 5
Plein air meetups get posted through the week, usually with a meeting point and a rough weather call. Offcuts, spare paper and half-used tubes change hands in the materials board. Show up once and the names stop being strangers.
Step 6
The slow board is where people log what actually worked that week, not what they hoped would. One entry a month is enough. Over a year it becomes the most useful record you have of your own practice.