Call me Monet!

Attention!  Attention! 
I have an important announcement.  

Last Thursday...I ventured out on a different career path.  That's right.  There is something new in store for this gal!  What was it?  I started out my new career.. as... a... Painter!  My first superb portrait is called Whimsical Fall!  It's okay.  You can be jealous of my mad art skills.

The Finished Masterpiece!

Now, I know this may come as a bit of a shock for those of you who know me (or routinely play draw something with me).  Yes, at times I can be the Queen of stick figures and four legged dogfoxcatbears.*  Just call me Queen Sticky!  Although, I'm usually Drawesome!  Woot! Woot!  (Sorry, I might have consumed a large soda before typing up this post.) 

On a serious note: I'm not quitting my day job yet, but I did really enjoy the experience as a whole.  Where did this miracle happen?  I'm glad you asked!  After stalking the website to Pinot's Palette for about two weeks, we finally decided on our first masterpiece.  After calling to interrogate them about what level of painter would really be successful, they convinced me to give it a try.  Yay!  I mean how can a gal go wrong with creating and wine?  And really, why didn't I think of this idea first!?  I'm sure that has nothing to do with my total lack of painting or drawing skills. 

So....After consuming a dainty margarita and a basket of chips, a couple of friends and I arrived and tied on our aprons.  As true participants, we ordered a bottle of Cupcake Moscato.  (Hey!  It's called Pinot's Palette.  If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it all the way!  Remember, when in Rome do as the Romans do!)  Next, we were pointed towards our little easels and mentally prepared for the task ahead.  (Or chatted and drank... whatever you do to prepare for something like this.)   

Luckily, there was an actual artist as the instructor.  This somehow made me feel a bit better, but just because you can paint well, doesn't mean this gal can!**  Then we began...I should let you know that they give you step-by-step instructions.*** Quite literally there were instructions like paint the bottom half yellow.  Add some red lines to the right side.  Start with the red leaves.  The instructor demonstrated each step for us.  Even though we were guided the whole way through, I still doubted at every step.  I kept thinking.. Hey!  You're lines look better than mine!  As you can see in the picture at the right, the pictures were looking pretty well the same.  I'm sure some therapist would have a heyday with my last couple lines.  Analyze away baby!

Anyway, I don't know if it was the wine or just the music and the company, I found my evening of painting quite enjoyable which was slightly surprising for me.  I had already told the ladies that if this picture came out like I thought it would, it would be my next Mother's Day Gift.  (Moms have to love what you make for them or at least they're really good at pretending.)  This is how the night went:  We painted.  We took a break.  We painted some more.  We took another break.  We painted yet again.  Guess what comes next?  A Break!  Who wouldn't love a schedule like that?  We used the small brush.  We used the big brush  We even mixed colors!****  In the end, I was looking at the masterpiece you see at the top of this post.  I feel like it's a great first picture.  I will warn you that like a Monet, it looks better from afar.  Up close and personal it gets a little messy.  Either way, I deemed it worthy of my walls.. at least until someone makes fun of it. :(  If you need a tutorial, just call.  I'm not sure if I can paint anything else or at least not until my next class, but I'm all over Whimsical Fall!   
   
*This is my new word for four legged animals that look a bit like the following animals: dogs, foxes, cats or bears. Unfortunately, it doesn't look enough like any one of these animals to make a clear call. This is where the letters come in quite handy!  Come on.. You know what I'm talking about!

**I want to clarify that just because I'm not a painter, does not mean that I'm not artsy!  I knit.  I bead.  I decorate bachelor party cakes. (Don't ask!) I'm crafty darn it!

***I should let you know I had an extreme moment of laziness right here.  I actually took a moment or two to decide if I was going to backspace to type the -'s in step-by-step.  Seriously.  Sad, I know.

****More asterisks!  I felt like we needed just one more footnote. Or for my data interp friends... I felt like we needed more 'little flowers'.