Friday 9 January 2015

What day is it today? Painting day!

After being waylaid once again by fatigue from some minuscule molecule of gluten, I was so   excited to wake up this morning with some energy.  Because .... What day is it today?  Painting day!  It is not that I haven't tried anything new for months or even years but I haven't had this much fun trying something new since I went to Zumba a couple of years ago (with a bunch of six year olds!).

I signed up for water colour painting along with my sister mostly so we would have a scheduled outing together while she is "snow birding"  in the sunny, warm(er) Okanagan Valley.  I showed up with no paints, no paper and only a few brushes and a little paint palette we had laying around the house.


At our first class, we were given some winter scenes to choose from and told to get started!  No "how to do it instructions" - just dig in and go for it.  The class ranges from beginners to professionals so - the instruction is experiential to say the least.  Perfect! I said, in my Perfectionist voice I had hoped to leave in the trunk of the car!  I sent "her" packing and then, with fearlessness bubbling over in my heart and a few whispered suggestions from my sister, I applied the water wash to my paper.  So far, so good!  Now what?  Colour, technique, perspective, hues, values, no matter - I decided to be a kid again and just paint.  Three hours later, we were still painting and I was still having fun!  The instruction was intermittent - with demonstrations on how to paint an evergreen tree and how to apply snow (cheating a little but then, a beginner isn't exactly a purist!) all the way to shadows and perspective.

A month later, I now own a REAL palette like the big kids.  I have my own set of water colour paints (all in cute little tubes...well, I think they are!) and an array of brushes including my very own fan brush for special techniques.  I got all excited when I discovered a natural sea sponge in the makeup department of the local Shoppers Drug Mart - one little trick item I was pining for at breakfast one morning!  And, did you know that Amazon sells water colour paints and paper?  Fantastic!

As a newly retired person (NRP?), I highly recommend taking on something new to kick start your "mojo" if it is lagging just a little this winter-y month.  January is definitely the month of new starts but so many of us focus on a new physical you - lose weight, exercise more, eat healthy foods etc.  Learning a new skill - creative, useful or just plain fun - will move you from the "blahs" to the "vavooms" in no time.  If it doesn't try something else!  You will feel like a kid again - or an adolescent - your choice!  Just do it and have fun.  

2 comments:

  1. That's fantastic about the painting! I'd like to get a bit more crafty once we settle in a bit more, but I am trying to try out some new things. I am all about continuous learning :)

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    1. Great to hear from you! Getting your feet back on the ground is a bit of a project in itself. As you can tell, I am loving this new freedom to do whatever comes my way and choosing a medium other than words to be creative is definitely new to me!!

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