Getting back into living is fun!
Last night, once again, I stepped out of my comfort zone and straight into Paint Night with my sister, Nan. This was Nan's third Paint Night experience but since it was my first time, I was more than just a little unsure. I wasn't unsure of trying painting but I was incredibly unsure of my ability in the creative painting department since the last time I painted in this type of painting was back in grade school since I always opted for shop classes over art classes in high school.
My sister and I decided to just meet up at our moms house which was close to the Paint Night hosting tavern so we could drive down together in Nan's car and it was a good thing we did because even with arriving a half hour early, the parking was already slim for the pickin' as we arrived. Once inside we made our way to the back room and for maybe the first time in my life I saw my sure and confident sister actually... at a loss. She couldn't decide where she wanted us to sit. "I suck so bad at this... I can never decide where the best spot will be," she said to a totally dumbfounded me! I always just follow my sister because she always just knows what to do..... what the heck was I supposed to do now??? Be an actual big sister and lake the lead????? In the end, it was my Stix that decided where we should sit, the chairs were not 'Stix-lean friendly' so we needed to be close to the wall and opted for the two spots at the end of the table so it was easy getting in and out for me which worked out perfectly.
Even though I knew it was a guided painting class and already knew exactly what we would be painting I found myself feeling a little intimidated with having the blank canvas sitting directly in front of me and practically daring me to even try to make it pretty. But it did pretty quickly become pretty..... pretty darned stressful!!! My sister 🎶tra-lalala-laaaaa'd🎵 her way through the class while I furiously tried to just keep up! I had a really hard time understanding what the lead artist was explaining because the tavern was really noisy and the microphone she used seemed muffled within the crowded area. I found myself constantly asking Nan the things I had missed, "What did she just say? ... What colours did she say to use next? ... What ones did she say to mix for the highlighting? ... How did she say to make the pinky-purple? ... Holi-moli, how did YOU make your beautiful purple??! ... How far down did she say to start the water line? ... What are we supposed to be doing? ... Can we just put more blue to cover if we fuck up on the highlighting??? ......."
I was shocked, but in the end it all seemed to work out and we left with finished paintings that actually resembled paintings, go figure! And as an added plus to the whole night, I realized something else that was pretty awesome... even though I still can't control a pen with my left hand, I can control a paintbrush!!! About halfway through paint night I realized I had been switching back and forth between my right and left hand... talk about a grateful moment! Mine turned out a little cartoonish but for a first ever attempt, I was pretty stoked that it looked kind of like it was supposed to and it was really neat to see how everybody's was so different, our paintings all had their own personalities, just like the painters! I loved how Nan was not afraid, even in the slightest, to try and fix; if she wasn't feeling her first attempt at a brushstroke she just worked it into the canvas and tried again to make it as she wanted. Maybe I will become more comfortable after a few more tries, too.
All in all, it was a really fun evening so a huge thanks to my sister, Nan, for inviting me and getting me out to try something new. If you haven't tried a paint night yet, think about giving it a try because you might just enjoy it, too!
