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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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

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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

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