The Time I Became An Artist for a Night

A few weeks ago, my friend Lacey IMed me.

“I’m thinking of doing a painting class for my birthday–is that weird?”

“NO! That sounds like so much fun.”

Something other than dinner and drinks for a birthday? Sign me up! (To give credit where credit’s due, I think Lacey might have read Casey’s post about the class.)

And so I did sign myself up.

PAINTING.jpg

painting_collage.jpg

Before I continue, let’s keep in mind my lack of artistic ability. When I was little, I told my parents I wanted to be a writer and illustrator when I grew up.

By the time I was six or so, I realized I was going to have to have someone else illustrate my book. (At that time, I obviously wanted to be a children’s book author, since, what else would a six year old think they could write?) By middle school, I realized that while I was in the A-track academic classes, that wasn’t going to apply to art. Or music. I was going to have to stick to the words.

So walking into this class the other night, nearly 30, I wondered how the hell I was going to paint something I’d be happy to bring home.

We were provided with three brushes, 10 paint colors and the blank canvas.

photo 5.JPG

And Lacey provided us with champagne in a can.

We started with painting the right of the canvas the deep blue, and then moved left with lighter blues.

photo 1.JPG

We then added some white lines for what would eventually become the sun…

…and then I stopped taking pictures, but the instructor guided us through layering the yellow on top, then painting on small orbs that would turn into poppies and adding their stems…

photo 4.JPG

Finished product! Picasso, I am not, but I will hang this on my wall.

photo 3.JPG

Everyone’s finished products.

What’s the most interesting way you’ve ever celebrated a birthday? (Yours or someone else’s.) Do you have any artistic talent, or do you stick to the words, too?

21 comments on “The Time I Became An Artist for a Night

  1. Katie @ Talk Less, Say More

    That’s awesome! I used to take painting classes as a kid and for a short amount of time I thought I was good. Then I hit a point that I realized my “good” was nowhere near anyone else’s “good” my age and somewhere I didn’t think I’d advanced enough and painting was no longer fun. I would probably enjoy one of these classes tho…

    Reply
  2. Nicole

    Very cool to see everyone’s variation on the same picture.
    I have 0 artistic talent on paper–I prefer to think my artistic talent comes through in the kitchen.
    But I always say – I can’t even draw a straight line let alone draw a picture!

    Reply
  3. Morgan

    I want to do one of these classes so bad, they look like so much fun, especially with adult beverages and good friends! 🙂

    Have you tried a pottery class yet? They are lots of fun too.

    Reply
  4. Kiersten

    My friend and I are signed up for one of these classes in 2 weeks. I am feeling doubtful, since I have no artistic talent, but you made me feel like I might stand a chance of making something somewhat presentable.

    Reply
  5. Cmaille

    I love the idea of going to some kind of class together! It could be yoga, Crossfit, dancing, cooking, painting, whatever! I had never thought of that before. Looks fun 🙂

    Reply
  6. Ashleigh

    That looks like fun! What a great idea.

    The most interesting way I celebrated a birthday was by flying to Paris for a week to celebrate 🙂
    I may or may not have been trying to avoid the big 3-0.

    Reply
  7. Johanna B

    I can’t draw jack. My daughter, on the other hand, is extremely artistic – with pen and ink and also with a camera. I guarantee she didn’t get it from me. BTW I like your painting.

    Reply
  8. Whitney

    In order to graduate my high school you had to either take a music class or art class. I learned I couldn’t read music in third grad and, lip synced my way through middle school chorus so I decided to battle art. I ended up taking a “design & drawing” class that was largely based on rulers, squares & engineers – luckily my best friend was with me. Though these classes do look like fun.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.