I’ve written a few times about how I have been trying to find more fun and social things to do while still being safe. There are a lot of virtual events out there, but I haven’t been doing too many of them. Money issues were one reason why, but also I think I needed a push to sign up for them. And I really wanted to make sure someone else I knew was going to join in because even though everyone was participating at home, I didn’t want to be alone.
When I was in Santa Barbara recently, my friend Dani texted me about a virtual painting class she just signed up for. She wanted to see if I was interested in doing it too. It was through a company that does Paint and Sip nights where it’s a big group hanging out and painting something together. And because of the pandemic, they were doing these nights virtually where they bring you all the supplies you need and you participate over Zoom. I’m not artistic that way (I joke that I can’t even draw a circle), but it wasn’t that expensive and it sounded like something fun to do for an evening. So I decided to sign up for the same class.
All the supplies I needed were dropped off the day before the class.
We got paint, paint brushes, a canvas, a tabletop easel, a water cup, paper towels and plates, an apron, and a photocopy of what we were going to be painting for reference. I asked Dani if she wanted to come over to my house to paint together and she decided to do that. So I covered my dining room table to protect it and set up my art space before the class and left the other side of the table open for Dani to set up.
Even though we were standing close together, we both had iPads with the class on Zoom so it was easy for us both to see what was happening without looking over. And to keep it from being echoey, Dani turned off the sound on her iPad and I put my sound through my Bluetooth speaker so we could hear the class clearly. We kept ourselves on mute for most of the class, but we did turn the microphone on from time to time to chat with the instructor.
I was a bit worried about how my painting would come together. I really cannot draw and I have rarely used paint for anything. I took an art class in college and most of my projects were done with pencil or by making a mosaic out of paper scraps. But I also knew these types of classes were designed for people who aren’t artists, so I was hoping for the best.
I didn’t take a ton of pictures while we were working on the painting since I was focused on making it look ok, but I got a few. We started with mixing some of the colors and thinning them out so we could paint the background. We were given instructions on how to make the colors blend so we didn’t have really harsh lines and I was pretty happy with the background when I was done with that part.
Next, we worked on the moon and some of the branches on the top of the painting. Those were pretty easy, although doing the moon stressed me out because it was a circle. But I got it to a place where I was happy with how it looked. And for the branches, we had a bit more freedom to do what we wanted. I didn’t want to overdo them, but I wanted to have enough to make my painting look full.
And for the flowers, we got some great instructions on how to make them with only a few brush strokes. I was shocked that I was able to do it because I thought they’d be so hard! But it was really only about 4 or 5 brush strokes to create each of the big ones and about 3 to create the little ones. I didn’t know it at the time, but now I wish I had put my flowers a bit higher up. But it’s ok.
At the end of the class, we worked on the stems of the flowers, leaves, grass at the bottom, and any other detail work. Dani and I both played around a bit for this part by adding some details like yellow leaves (since that’s what happens in nature when plants are dying) and some blue flowers on the branches because we both thought that looked pretty.
And after 2 hours, the class was done and I had a completed painting that I was shocked that I was able to create!
I love how even though Dani and I were using the same supplies and colors and following the same instructions, our paintings were identical and I felt they both had some personality to them.
I really loved taking this class. It was a fun way to spend my evening, but it also felt really great to see that I do have more artistic ability than I thought I did. I don’t know where I will hang the painting up because my house doesn’t have a lot of wall space. I might store it away and save it for later. But I’m really proud of what I made and I’m not ashamed that I’m proud of myself. I haven’t had a lot of things that made me proud lately, and this was a great moment for me to remind myself that I am more than what I’ve been doing lately.
I might sign up for another paint night next month and try to see if I can get more friends to do it too. I don’t know if we could all be in the same place while painting (it depends on people being vaccinated), but even if it’s over Zoom I know it would be fun. I’m slowly adding more fun to my life these days, and each time I do something it reminds me of how much I need it. And this was the perfect reminder of what I can still do while being safe but also having a great night!
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