What a session represents
A session is one recorded period of work on the artwork: for example, a drawing transfer, an underpainting, a glazing session, or a day of surface preparation. Sessions are not separate projects. Each belongs to the open Journal artwork and may contain its own notes, material assignments and WIP media.
The Sessions list is displayed separately from Session details. Selecting a session changes which session you are editing; it does not create a new session and does not affect the global Artwork materials catalog. Its list entry displays the session title and starting date/time.
Add and select sessions
- Create or open a Journal document.
- Click the + button with the tooltip Add session in the Sessions area.
- A session is added with the placeholder title New session and the current date/time. It is selected automatically.
- Enter a meaningful Title and adjust its Date, Time, Duration, and Notes in Session details.
- Select another session in the list to view or edit its details; selecting a session also changes what Session mode displays in the WIP gallery.
A practical naming approach is to use an activity or milestone such as Drawing transfer, First color layer, or Glazing – background. The date and time are stored separately, so they need not be repeated in the title.
Session detail fields
| Field | Meaning and entry rules |
|---|---|
| Title | Free-text label describing the session. It may be left blank, though a descriptive title makes the session list easier to navigate. |
| Date | Calendar date on which the recorded session started. A date is required. |
| Time | Session start time in 24-hour HH:mm format, e.g. 09:30 or 21:05. This is a start time, not a duration. |
| Duration (h:mm) | Time spent on the session. Enter hours and two-digit minutes, e.g. 01:45, 00:30, or 12:30. Minutes must be 00-59; duration must be positive if supplied. Leave the field blank if duration is unknown or was not recorded. |
| Notes | Multiline record of the work: technique, layers, difficulties, drying observations, changes in plan, or anything worth remembering. |
Do not confuse Time and Duration. A session starting at 22:15 and lasting an hour and a half has Time = 22:15 and Duration = 01:30. Duration is entered manually: the Journal does not run a timer or calculate it from the start time.
The Session details area and its material-assignment controls are disabled until a session is selected.
Notes and material usage
Use the large Notes field for what happened during the whole session. For example: “Light sketch completed; shadows blocked in; left the background wet.” Notes about an individual pigment or medium, such as a specific mixture or amount of solvent, belong in Material usage notes for that session’s selected material. That distinction avoids repeating the same details everywhere.
See Artwork Materials and Session Materials for assigning catalog materials to sessions.
Total duration
The Total duration (h:mm) at the bottom of the Sessions area adds the durations recorded for all sessions in the open Journal, not just the selected one. Sessions with a blank duration contribute zero to this sum; the display is a recorded total, not a measured stopwatch total.
Example: three sessions recorded as 01:30, 02:15 and blank produce a total of 03:45. Durations longer than a single day are shown in total hours rather than wrapped into a 24-hour clock.
Remove a session
1. Select the session in the Sessions list.
2. Click the − button with the tooltip Remove session.
3. ARS removes the session from the Journal, including its associated material assignments, usage notes and WIP media entries.
Removing a session does not remove the artwork’s shared material catalog entries or delete externally linked original files. Previously saved copied media and thumbnails belonging to removed entries are cleaned from the current project when the changes are successfully saved. The remove action in the current interface does not* display a separate per-session confirmation dialog, so review the selection before clicking.
Saving and editing safely
The * in the Journal project title means its entries have changed since the last successful save. Save after adding sessions, editing notes or attaching images. When you try to close, replace or open another Journal while changes remain, ARS offers to save, discard or cancel. If an entered date/time/duration is invalid, correct the highlighted value before saving.
