Sippin and a Strokin'

I love Sips n Strokes! The picture above is what we painted, not my actual painting. I have been three times now and I could go every night. Nothing is more fun than drinking wine and painting a picture with your friends. Last night, I got John to go with me, because it was a landscape picture and I felt it was an androgynous subject. Jessica and Deidra made the drive in from Alex City with their entourage and all of us made a night of it.

Just a few shout outs: HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELDA!!! AND GET WELL SOON WANDA!

The main colors in the painting were red, green, and three different shades of yellow. Lovely!

The instructors always refer to us novice painters as Types A and B. I whispered to John at the beginning of the class that he would be Type A for sure. "What does that mean?" he questioned. I explained that it meant he was an engineer and was probably going to be very meticulous about his painting and that it would be a carbon copy of the teacher's. He follows directions well (I, on the other hand, rarely READ the directions on anything I undertake.) Upon my first Sips adventure, I was quickly labeled Type B, as in the person who turns her back to the teacher and lets loose. I was proven right. John's painting was probably the best one there and I had to slab over my trees with some yellow because I made them too thick. "It's my worst ever," I lamented. Deidra quickly made me feel better and told me that I had a "distinct style" and I should be an artist and have my own studio. Thank goodness for friends like that! I think there is something decidedly romantic about being a starving artist, living for your life's work, and finding "meaning" in life.

(Jessica, on the other hand, sweetly pointed out that I needed to have eyeliner on and that my eyes, while very natural, looked sleepy. Well, someone's gotta keep you real. Totally black lined the lids up today!)

Before going to Sips, John and I made a deal that we would swap paintings and hang each other's up at our respective apartments. I am glad that I got his :) Although in the light of day this morning, I was more pleased with mine than I was last night. You are your biggest critic, sadly. Oprah wrote in O magazine this month that 2009 needs to be the year we love ourselves and prioritize taking care of number 1. In other words, be less hard on ourselves. My painting looked pretty good to me. I took it and made it my own, and while I was hard on it last night, John just kept saying it was cool. In regards to art, sometimes WHO painted the painting is the factor that makes it cool rather than the actual painting itself. It's sentimental. John comes from a crafty, artistic family so I knew his painting was going to be good. His mother, Jane, paints for a hobby and I have one of her paintings hanging in my apartment. John admitted that while he enjoyed painting last night, he enjoys designing more, as in product design.

I believe that if you are a creative soul, then that creativity or talent, spills over into any endeavor you are taking on. I do not necessarily think that I am some fantastic painter, but I do like the whole process of being creative, in anything. I've even taken more of an interest in interior design, and I am the type of person who makes a hard pressed effort to even hang up a picture! I have just found some design blogs that I really enjoy reading (see links). Inspiration can be found anywhere, and painting and writing are really not so different. I find both to be stress relievers. I've heard people say, I would love to have a blog, but what would I write about? Or, I'm not a good writer, I could never have a blog. Just go for it, I say. It will give me something to read! I do not think it boils done to whether or not you are a good or bad writer. The blog is fun for me, because it is a casual writing exercise. After spending several years of writing formally in my literature classes, this is a nice change. Go to Sips n Strokes one night, even if you do not think you can paint, because you might just be pleasantly surprised.

TGIF