Call It What You Want...

I have always wanted to be a painter. I want to dab, glob, and swoop paint onto a canvas and come away with something that looks vaguely like a painting of "something". Recently a new company came to Indy that offers just that opportunity -- perhaps minus the globs. Wine and Canvas holds events at their studio in the Keystone area, local restaurants, or in your location (for a private event), providing canvas, paint, apron, brushes, and instruction to create a masterpiece.



    


I have done this twice, once at a restaurant, where I painted Calla Lilies, and once in their studio, where Red Tree was the final product. When a few of us from church painted the Red Tree, we asked why not hold an event at the church? We could certainly get the 15 people needed for an event, and it would be the perfect location!

It was a great time. And for those who ask, how in the world do you do this? Do you have to be an artist?, I present... step by step, my Wine and Canvas night.

Step One: Sky

The instructor helped us blend the right color using basic white, blue and brown, encouraging us to keep it from becoming too uniform.

Step Two: Grass

The grass is blended green, yellow, white, and brown, applied with a large brush (like the sky) in short brush strokes. Some artists used longer strokes and made their grass look "flowing", which also was a neat effect.

Step Three: The Tree Line


Step Four: Flowers

Red flowers (blended with orange, yellow, a little white and brown) work their way across the field, larger up close and smaller as they get further away.

Step Five, Six and Seven: House, Boy and Lady with Parasol

These were harder than the other parts as they actually took a little precision, but they were still, in truth, just blobs and shapes.

Step Eight: Clouds
Because we were short on time, the clouds didn't get the time and attention they deserved, but we'd been having a great time and it was almost 10 pm anyway. You can look at my picture and see my clouds.

FINAL PRODUCT:



All the artists show off their versions of the painting. Notice how much cool variation shows up in the same painting!