Never Stop Learning

#5 Take a Fun Class: Art Class

*This post contains affiliates

When Money is tight, and I want to have fun, I turn to Groupon and Living Social. These websites offer huge discounts for products, restaurants, activities and trips for families, children, and adults. For example, we purchased a full car detailing service for $79 and it was originally $169. To have fun, and to fulfill a 30 Before 30 task, I purchased a discounted Art class at Chaos Art Gallery.

Mr. Mind's Snow Covered fence and Cabin
painting and my Flower Dropped Tree

Mr. Mind and I sat in the studio with 8 other eager painters. We had our "painting" clothing on and smiles on our faces. A man walked up to Mr. Mind and said "Awesome, another man. I'm not alone!" Him and his wife were enjoying a long awaited date without children. With a blank white canvas in front of us we learned how to build from the background forward. "Have you ever noticed the background of paintings?" The teachers asked. "If you add the background first, it makes it easier to build forward rather than fill in blank spots later." I glanced at the photo I chose and saw shades of blue. Mr. Mind chose a picture with dark green pine trees in the dull, gray winter. Yikes!

Lesson number two was to pay attention to the second layer in the painting, the main item. For me it was a dark, nearly empty tree. For Mr. Mind, it was a snow covered fence. The third lesson was the embellishments that adorn the photo. Neither one of us are artistic, but we thought...Bring on the challenge!

Time to get to work. With nothing but two hours ahead of us, a glass of wine and a plate full of paints, we began. It was so much fun smearing and spreading paint around the canvas. Sometimes my hand became heavy and I pressed down too hard, but it blended right in. Mr. Mind's creative side came out. He began to paint as if he was in the painting and 10 feet from it's original spot. He added a cabin and I added contrasting white flowers.

I was proud of our efforts. Not only did we have a wonderful date together, but we tried something new. We stepped out of our comfort zones and loved it. Our paintings now decorate our walls, providing funny memories each night we end our busy days.

#5 Completed 7/24/13