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Last week I got the opportunity to attend a flower painting class at one of my very favorite stores in Little Rock, Reinvented Vintage, taught by local (Arkansas) painter Stacy Spangler! Let me preface this post by saying that I am by no means any kind of artist whatsoever. In the past I have created wreaths of all sorts and repurposed furniture (check out my dresser and home bar!!) but that’s as far as my “creative” skills go. I can’t draw anything by hand and I haven’t painted anything on canvas ever so to say this class was a step outside of my comfort zone is an understatement! Plus I went by myself so that was another step outside my comfort zone.
That’s not to say I don’t so things by myself, I go out to eat alone and to the movies and shopping solo all the time. But going to a class where I literally knew no one was new for me and I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself. It was fun to be surrounded by so many creative people and see their work. I would do it again in a heartbeat!!
So let’s get to the class!!
I honestly thought this class was going to be similar to a “Painting with a Twist” class (not that I have ever been to one of those, but from what I can imagine a class like that would be like) in that you just followed the teacher step-by-step in what she did and you walked away with a fun painting. Nope! It was different than that, but in a good way. Stacy wanted each of us to walk away able to recreate this on our home and I can say that I feel semi-confident that I can do that!
Side note- our canvases were pre-textured when we got there and that is key to the funky/cool texture of our final products!!
So what exactly did we do? Let’s get to it…
We got to class, picked a chair, had some snacks, learned a little bit about Stacy and then got to work! The theme for the class was flowers so we Googled flower picks, found some inspiration, sketched our paintings out on paper, laid down our first layer of paint (a bright background/under color), and then sketched out drawings out on our canvas. I chose a bright turquoise because I have been obsessed with that color lately!!! I knew this wound’t be my main painting color but bits of it would peek through from behind my final product. Next we sketched out drawings on our canvases with chalk.
Don’t mind my weird sketch on my canvas, I already told you that I can’t draw! HA!
That is supposed to be a drawing of a vase of roses in case you were wondering…HA!!
Next we put down our back ground color. I chose white because I wanted my painting to pop! And then we roughed in our actually paintings with dark colors. The point is to build your colors up so that you have several showing through to give the pairing depth and even more texture.
On hindsight I think I should have waited and painted my vines on afterwards so they would seem more delicate and not snake like. HA!!! After our rough paint we painted on a few more layers getting lighter and brighter each time.
I don’t know about you but I have been a little bit obsessed with watching patin mixing videos on Instagram…if you don’t know what I’m talking about check out @annettelabedzki on Instagram and you will see what I mean. All of the paint mixing videos I have seen use palette knives to mix with and so I was pumped to use one of those on my painting!! It’s the little things I tell you. HA!!
Anyway, here is my final painting and I am kind of proud of it! Like I said earlier I feel pretty confident that I could create this on my own at home and I may try sometime soon! It was a really fun class and I would definitely do another one of there is one!!
Have you ever taken a painting before??
That sounds like so much fun! I’ve always wanted to learn how to paint, but I’ve never taken the time. This would be PERFECT for me!
I have a friend who has been attending different painting classes. She is getting really good and learning so much about how to paint. Plus is having fun and making new friends.
I’ve never gone to a painting class before, but it sounds fun! This would be a fun thing to do for a girl’s nice out or even with my kids. I like finding things that are a little different to do.
This looks like a blast! I’ve never taken a painting class, but what a fun activity. I’ve seen wine and painting combo classes, I might have to try one.
This turned out so pretty! I’ve never tried a painting class. I’m not sure if I’d be any good. I’d certainly be open to trying one though.
I have taken a few painting classes this year and really found the entire experience to be quite therapeutic. Your flowers are lovely! I like how you layered on the different colors to add more texture.
I’ve not taken a painting class before. However, I have a friend who is an avid painter. She’s brought her goodies over before and we had fun splashing paint on the canvas (me) and painting (her.) I think you did a good job.
I LOVE this!! I have seen a lot of those painting get togethers where you drink wine – which I would also love to do but this is a whole new spin on them!
I would love to do this! I think your painting turned out gorgeous!
This sounds fun. I am not good at painting, but I think I can learn to do this. I love your art work.
I love classes like this! I think it’s relaxing and you get to learn different painting techniques too. I am not an artist, but I appreciate classes like this so much. It’s pretty fun too especially if you have a friend with you!
I’ve seen two of my friends posted their photos for this kind of painting class. And since then I want to participate I am just an ordinary painter but the fund and be creative is what I want to experience.
That turned out really nice. I haven’t painted in such a long time. I think it’s great to do some painting classes and get creative.
I have taken a class like this and my finished result was no where near as nice as yours. When you first started working on it I could not tell what it was going to be, but it all came together beautifully!
This sounds really fun and enjoyable. Aside from Pink, I also love bright turquoise because it gives me good vibes too.
I would love to take a class like this with my daughter. I love how your painting turned out!
I love being crafty especially with pallet workshops. However actually freehand painting can be intimidating to me. This is a fun project!