Pets, Paint, and the Inspiration Station

Candy and I took a class last night at our local "Painting with a Twist".  I've never been but I know that usually everyone in class paints the same picture and there is wine if you want it - but this was different ... it was "pet edition"; so we had to send in a photo of our pet for them to sketch out for us and then everyone painted their own different canvas. Let's be clear here - I am not a painter. I would love to be. It's pretty much the one crafty/artistic thing that I would love to be able to do (insert mental image here of woman standing at an easel, paint pallet in hand, gazing out at the sea or whatever - I so want to be that woman...) but just don't have it. Enter Candy telling me about this fun spin on traditional Painting with a Twist (and the promise of wine while painting) and I'm in. All day long I'm in. 

Here's the photo of Sarge that I submitted for them to sketch on the canvas I was going to paint - our neighbor Kim in CA took it and it's one of my favorites. So hard to get a detailed picture of an all black dog with dark brown eyes!

I honestly went into this thinking there is no way I'm going to be able to paint a picture that actually looks like Sarge. Or even looks like a dog for that matter. So I wasn't worried at all - whatever happens happens. 

this is just for the background! oh no...

But then I got there and started hearing the instructions and had an immediate stressful "oh no what was I thinking" moment... no way this is going to turn out good. The very first thing was choosing and painting a background. Candy wisely chose solid black and was given one color - black - on her paper plate...I picked a turqoise-y color and was told I'd have to mix it, for real they gave me 5 colors to blend together until I got the background color I wanted. Uhhhh....

it's like paint by numbers...without the numbers...

I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was concentrating and so overwhelmed - here is the pencil sketch I started with, which is very similar to a paint-by-number except no one tells you what color to paint. I got a different paper plate full of the colors I would need: white, black, blue, brown, cinnamon. I wish I would have taken a picture of the plate by the time I was done - it was a solid mass of blended together colors, a total mess (as were my hands, paint was everywhere!).

nope, she's not worried at all...!

Candy, as usual, had this project completely under control and wasn't stressed out in the least. I'm gonna need to learn some things from her about not being such a control freak and just having fun. She kept trying to be encouraging - "oh you are doing really good" - but I told her to "shut up, stop trying to make me feel better". I don't think she'll ever let me forget I told her to just shut up already :)

well at least it looks like a Scottie...whew! 

3 hours later. If you told me I could actually finish this project in 3 hours I wouldn't have believed you - but look! It almost, sorta, kinda, looks like Sarge. Or at least looks like a dog anyway...

Sarge and Buddy

Final thought: their beverage/wine counter is called the 'inspiration station'. We have a "beverage center" at home (ha, we have a tiny fridge with drinks in it and a cabinet full of glasses around it that has the very grand title of "beverage center") that is now forever going to be known as the Inspiration Station. It's perfect and makes me laugh!