A Painting We Will Go

Yesterday I started my painting class. It was AWESOME! There was a choice of charcoal, oils, acrylics or water colors. Charcoal or drawing is okay but I need color. Acrylics I've worked with before but they just dry too fast for me. Water colors, well they take a talent all their own to be able to work with them, they are a little unforgiving for me. So oils it was for me. I was nervous but so excited when I opened the front door and stepped in. There was no turning back now. A younger version of me might have not gone, would have stayed home and thought about going, but I walked through that door. The room was divided by a partition and the front half of the room was full of long tables where women were sitting and doing their art. The were laughing and chatting and having a grand time. I think that is the part of the room that is open 5 days a week all day long for you to just go and do your art. On one side table there were bottles of wine, hmmm, I may like this class. Looking back to the back part of the room there were easels and more ladies and one man. I took it that he was my instructor, Ross Myers. I apparently looked lost and kind of nodded in his direction with that look. He waved me back and that was that. I was taking my first class. He was warm and inviting along with another lady that was a student. In total there were 6 women, counting myself. One was doing water color and one was just drawing and the rest of us oils. The lady that was doing the drawing and myself were put aside to have some drawing instruction first, beginning stuff for the first hour. He told us that the class was equivalent to a college class. WHAT! That was great. I felt like I picked up the drawing stuff pretty quick, it all came back to me from junior high. Yes, the last time I really sat in an art class I was 14 years old. After an hour of general instruction I was sent to my easel to get stuff ready. We looked over some of the pictures I brought to paint and finally chose two to work with. We will start with this one:

Next, I have chosen this picture to work on:

The instructor roamed around the room spending time with each and every student helping them. I was given the task of mixing some paints for the background, a short lesson in what you mix to get what colors. That will take time. There was lady at the easel directly behind mine doing some sort of abstract art with oils. Not my favorite subject matter but each to their own. When he stopped to help her he directed some of his instruction to me too telling us how to paint with passion, like we really mean it. Abstract art you don't take the brush and make teensy little brush strokes, you kind of attack the canvas, mean it. I watched him put some stuff on her canvas and listened to him talk and I was almost brought to tears. Oh my God, I was so happy at that moment to be sitting in that chair getting ready to embark on a new adventure. To me this is an adventure. It was beautiful. These past two weeks have been fabulous for me. The writing and now the painting, I'm in heaven. Now if I can just get some stuff on paper and canvas I'll be even more happy.