People, I made art. And I don’t hate it. I might hang it up in my house. This is a big deal.

So, originally I had put “take an art class” on my goal list as a way for me to take a formal set of classes and maybe learn a skill– and I may still do that sometime. Wine & Design was not that, but I think it still counts, especially since I ended up with a piece of art done completely by me– that I don’t hate.

I found Wine & Design through a Living Social deal– $17 for a normally $35 evening of making art and drinking. You provide your own wine, they provide everything else. It’s totally fun.

You begin by picking a date based on what you want to paint. Everyone paints the same thing. I chose Van Gogh’s almond blossoms, and then begged and pleaded my Twitter followers to come along with me. The fabulous Mari Freeman stepped up!

Van Gogh's Almond Blossoms-- the original idea behind our class paintings

The example painting, a dumbed down version of Van Gogh's for the class to copy

The hardest part of the whole process, I think, was starting. I was deathly afraid that I would mess something up. It’s paint! And canvas! And I have never painted on canvas in my life! This is where the wine came in. One or two glasses of Pinot Grigio in and I was raring to go.

Mari and I chatted and drank and painted, and two hours later, we were the proud artists of two similar but distinctly different paintings.

Mari

Me

Great evening, lots of fun, and I recommend it if you have such a place in your area! I’m sure I will be going back again.

And all the new artists went home with their paintings and lived happily ever after.