Mary Wu spent two years unable to tolerate light, sound or even her daughter's breathing beside her. The Manhattan Beach watercolor artist and teacher, who contracted what she believes was COVID-19 in 2020 and developed long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome, lived inside a modified portable sauna in a Palos Verdes Peninsula home with a 24/7 caretaker, separated from her family.

Now she's releasing her first book and teaching sold-out workshops steps from the beach.

Wu's debut, "DIY Watercolor Cards: Whimsical Projects to Create and Share All Year Long," publishes through Rocky Nook Publishing. The book includes 15 greeting card designs with step-by-step instructions, technique tips and an attached stack of watercolor paper so readers can paint directly into the pages.

Wu told the Daily Breeze in an interview published Aug. 13 that her recovery started with a gift from her father, a retired scientist who became an oil painter. During a particularly bad stretch of illness, he bought her watercolors and urged her to find joy in small moments.

"The world had lost its color," Wu said. "When you're sick, the world has no color. With the brush, I was able to introduce color for the first time."

Art runs four generations deep in Wu's family. Her great-grandfather was a calligrapher, her grandfather pursued traditional Chinese water painting after retiring from medicine, and her father picked up oils after leaving science.

Wu started sharing simple watercolor tutorials online under the handle @mamapandapainter. Her step-by-step videos of puppies, starfish, flowers and avocados have built roughly 388,000 Instagram followers and 351,000 Facebook likes. She now teaches regular workshops at the Manhattan Beach Art Center and ran a summer art camp for kids out of her home this year.

When Rocky Nook initially approached Wu about a book on abstract watercolor, she pitched the greeting card concept instead, wanting something approachable and useful for beginners.

Pages: A Bookstore, at 904 Manhattan Ave. in Manhattan Beach, is hosting a hands-on watercolor workshop with Wu on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 6 to 7 p.m. The response overwhelmed co-owner Jeff Resnik, who told the Daily Breeze that more than 60 people signed up the first weekend, prompting the store to add a second session the same day.

"I think that we both kind of thought 20, 25 people might want to partake in this," Resnik told the Daily Breeze. "Literally, the first weekend, we had over 60 people respond saying they wanted to be part of it."

Both sessions are at capacity. Residents interested in the book or future events can contact Pages directly or follow @mamapandapainter online.

Wu still experiences crashes of exhaustion but has returned to living with her family and is actively teaching and creating. The book will be available at Pages, nationwide retailers and Amazon starting Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Upcoming community events across the South Bay:

• Aug. 26 — Mary Wu watercolor workshop, Pages: A Bookstore, 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach. At capacity; contact store for waitlist.
• Sept. 1 — "DIY Watercolor Cards" book release, available at Pages and online.