Painting

Have you ever done one of those sip and paint classes? I had wanted to try one for a few years. Several friends and I always planned on doing it “one day,” which let’s face it, never comes. However, about a year and a half ago, one of my friends and I went.

We actually booked a Valentine’s Day special that was themed after 50 Shades of Gray. I was sure I’d destroy my painting, but wanted to give it a try. My friend and I met there, had a drink, painted, laughed, talked, and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

We vowed to do it again. And we did. Plus I got other friends to join me. And my youngest son. And my mother, aunt, and brother. It became a thing in 2019 for me. I’d book the sessions I wanted and put it out to friends and family to see if anyone wanted to go, but I was willing to go by myself because I enjoyed it so much.

It’s really hard to “mess it up.” For one thing, they give you step-by-step, easy instructions. If you’re struggling, they’ll even help you clean it up a bit.

One of my favorite parts is at the end when we all look at each other’s artwork. Everyones is a little different. Some people are extra daring and come out with something drastically different. I got comfortable enough after a few sessions to start playing with my own color palette so the painting would match where I wanted to put it instead of copying exactly what the instructor had.

I painted a sailboat with my son. He wanted his to look like some sort of vortex instead of the sample picture. He used red instead of the blues of the ocean. His painting looked completely unlike anyone else’s, but it was still well done and interesting.

For my mother’s 60th birthday celebration, my brother and I surprised her with a popup visit from my aunt to join us in the weekend festivities, one of which was a painting session. I knew my aunt would do well, as she is incredibly crafty and even owned her own cake decorating bakery once upon a time. My brother is methodical and a math genius, so I was fairly certain his would turn out well. My mom felt like hers wasn’t that great, but she was enjoying just being there with us and creating. Plus it was her first time painting anything since kindergarten.

I’ve gone to a few classes with five different friends or group of friends. Each time I’ve learned something new, about us and painting techniques. Each instructor has shared some little nugget of information about how they paint that has added to my knowledge of how to make my paintings better.

When my aunt took her painting home and showed my cousin (who is like a sister to me), they started painting at home. My cousin can look at a painting and come pretty close to replicating it. She has learned all sorts of little painting hacks and quickly painted over thirty different scenes in a variety of styles from June of 2019 to September 2019 when I went to visit them in Oklahoma.

My cousin and I took some time on a couple of days to paint together. We thoroughly enjoyed that time. She also set up a little paint class of her own for a small group of family and friends. (I helped a little, but she was amazing!)

I’ve painted at least fourteen different paintings now and am planning my next one. I’m not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I find a great peace and joy from painting. Hopefully I get better!

Painting may be your thing. Or maybe not. Either way, what is something you enjoy creating? For example, some people are expert gardeners, so I view that as creating or cultivating life. Others can make music, graphic art, delightful food, etc. What’s your gift of creation?