Add Some Color to Your Canvas

Sometimes, I say to myself, "I wish I knew how to do that," or "I wish I had the time, but I just don't..."

But when I heard that my church was organizing a meet-up at Uptown Art - a place where people with no painting experience can learn how to create a beautiful piece in only a few hours time, I realized that God was giving me an opportunity to put an end to all those regrets and excuses!

I could not have been happier to walk into the small, cozy painting shop; my mother and younger sister tagging along. After hanging up our coats and purses, we were escorted into a small room in the back, fit for 20 some painters.

My eyes were instantly drawn to the TV set up on the well, magnifying the canvas that our teacher would demonstrate on. The "60s, 70s, 80s Hits" Pandora station was playing in the background, and would later play catchy songs like "I'm Coming Out," by Diana Ross and "Brown-Eyed Girl," by Van Morrison for us to sing along to.

Our designated painting was of a flower vase set in a bluish, purple background. Each beginner painter was provided with a palate of blue, purple, red, yellow, black and white acrylic paint.

For our first step, we were to paint the blue and purple background on our canvas and let it dry before forming our vase. Being a perfectionist, I took the longest at blending the purple and painting the curve of the vase. The real fun began when we got to let loose and paint as many flower heads as we wanted. I stayed true to the color scheme of purple, pink, blue and white colored flowers, the majority of them being a soft pink pastel.

Though I might have labored too much on perfecting my vase and accenting my flowers, I was very happy with how my painting turned out. It's a work of art that I think any beginner can be proud of!

Here are my mother and sister's paintings as well:

My sister, McKenna

My mother

And none of us are regular painters! I challenge everyone to tackle one of their dreams, no matter how small or petty it might seem. I had always put off my desire in painting because I feared how time-consuming it would be. But now that I went to the painting class and found myself able to paint a decent, pleasant-looking painting in only 2 hours time, I know that it doesn't take much to buy some acrylic paint and a canvas, and sit down to paint sometime simple, yet beautiful!

Look! I'm actually painting!! And what a mess I've made... lol

So if you've ever thought about painting, look up the closest painting shop near you and find a day on the weekend to take a class! Write it down on your calendar and seize the available time you have to do what you've always longed to do.

Share with me some of your interests and goals, and let's find ways to prevent those excuses from holding us back. :)

Sincerely, Madison

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