I suppose I could have taken some really great photos of the gorgeous gardens we passed on our Hot Walk, but I had the handle of my sun-brella in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, and I was too busy checking myself for signs of heat stroke to organize any good photo ops.
After the walk, we went to our friends' house for game night and rehydration. We played a new-to-us game called Bad Bunnies. Having won two games in a row, I claimed the title "Worst Bunny". It's a pretty straightforward card game, around equal parts luck and strategy, lots of fun in a large group. This is my favourite card:
That is exactly how I feel every weekday morning.
In other exciting news of this week, I went to PaintLounge for the first time. It's a studio space in a storefront where you can go, alone or with friends (I went with friends) to do some artsy acrylic painting. I wasn't sure that it would be my thing. I can't even remember the last time I picked up a paintbrush for anything other than slapping a new colour on a wall. On the streetcar, on my way there, I even started to regret my decision to go.
However, once I got there and started squishing colours onto a palette, it wasn't so bad. I got going with brushes, a sponge, and a toothbrush, and created my masterpiece. Of course it turned out relatively crappy, but the process of applying paint and experimenting with colour mixing and other effects was fun. The end product wasn't as terrible as it could have been, thanks to the happy coincidence that one of the women in the group is a professional art teacher! She gave me some extremely helpful tips.
That being said, am I going to post a picture of the end result? No way José! Another friend of mine, who appreciates enthusiastically executed "outsider art", made the mistake of claiming that he doesn't just like my painting, he LOVES it. Therefore I will be holding on to it for a few months and giving it to him as a gag gift on his birthday. I hope he puts it to good use by re-priming the canvas and painting over it.
Would I go back to PaintLounge? Sure! Would I do it differently next time? Absolutely! I'm sure I would have been helped by pondering my inspiration before I actually had the brush in my hand, planning the layering of the paint, having at least one reference photo to work from; in short, there are many ways I could step up my game. I mean, it's fun playing with paint, but next time I wouldn't mind ending up with something that I would actually want to hang on my wall.
8 comments:
I need that bunny card, lol.
I'm sorry it's been so hot there. We've been super lucky so far this year and haven't quite reached those temps, but we're in store for some this week, even up to +32C. (Aren't you proud of me, Spark? I did it in C! :D ) Extreme temps aren't anything my husband or I can deal with very well, so we're plenty thankful for artificial environments.
Your painting class sounds like fun! They had something like that here at the complex recently but I didn't go. It was a wine and painting class - meaning they served wine while you painted. Maybe if you go to your class again, you can suggest a nice Chablis. ;) And then you must post a pic!
*hugs*
I ALSO feel like that on weekdays! Why is it that 7 a.m. on a Saturday and I could start my day but Monday through Wednesday it's torture? If you have PaintNite in Canada, you should definitely try it! A teacher walks you through a painting. Mine was decent enough to hang on the wall and not do so to be funny.
Hey, that sounds like a good time. (The painting, not the Hot Walk.) I think doing something like that with a couple of loved ones might be kind of fun. I hope they do it again here at our complex sometime. Maybe I can do it too.
And go for an abstract if you're unsure of your skills. (Skillz?) That way you can never be wrong. If you can create a pleasing color palette, maybe that's enough to merit wall hanging. :)
We never have a time when summer seems to have arrived here. Or rather we do trustingly believe but we are always disappointed ! Still, the other side of that is that we can have some lovely days in winter ...
Oh and I like the cross bunny card :D
Thank goodness our warm spell has cooled down here in the UK. Can't abide hot and humid weather.
Hope you create a masterpiece at the class. It will, of course, be unique and thus valuable, who knows until you publish it.
That paint class sounds fun! You are probably being too hard on yourself.
It was 98 degrees farenheit yesterday when I got in my car at 5pm. I could just melt into a puddle like Amelie. :)
I could NEVER paint something worth hanging on the wall!
As for your bunny, it might be as well if she lives alone because she does indeed look one very bad bunny.
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