Sip and Paint, Anyone?

Have you heard about the sip and paint classes that seem to be popping up all over the place?  After seeing articles about them all over, I finally attended my first class in April at Palettes and Pairings in Kirkland and loved it.  I was initially really nervous about going because I haven't painted anything since junior high, but my painting turned out great! 

Painting 1:  "Serengeti Tree"

The FAQs say that anyone can come and paint and they mean it!  The instructors can work with any skill level and make each class a lot of fun.  P & P offers a large selection of paintings with an added bonus:  they serve delicious crepes!  Here are the rest of my paintings so far:

Painting 2:  "Sunset Space Needle"

Painting 3:  "Seattle Starry Night"

Painting 4:  "Electric Rhodies"

Painting 5:  "Love Song"

Painting 6:  "Tweet Tree"

A few things I learned in my painting adventures:

• Blending is tough.  Don't be surprised if you don't get it the first (or 25th) time around.  It's something I'm striving to work on in my future paintings.
• Be careful when using black paint!  If you mess up, it's going to be hard to fix.  (See painting #5... ick)
• Don't overdo it with your splatter... less is more so squeeze the bottle gently.  If you go overboard like I did(see painting #4) you will have to leave it on a flat surface to dry for 2 full days so it doesn't drip down and ruin everything.
• Be yourself and work with your own style.  Just because you do things your own way or your painting doesn't turn out exactly like the instructor's doesn't mean it's bad.  It's called making it your own.

My girlfriends and I attend one of these classes per month and would highly recommend a sip and paint class at a studio near you (and especially P & P if you're in the Seattle area).  Now get out there and paint!