Paint & Pizza

THE DREAM - Having coffee with my friend Jayne, who also happens to be one of the pastors at my church, we got to talking about my art and she came up with the idea of having a paint party similar to ones like Wine and Canvas. We decided on Paint and Pizza. She thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone from our church and advertise on Facebook.

I must admit I was very nervous about leading a painting session for that many people. Purchasing the supplies turned out to be an endeavor in itself. Then, it was up to me to ensure the attendees had a good time, created a painting they were proud of, and do it all in the time frame of only two hours.

The first thing my friend said was I want to paint a cross So, I'm thinking, OK, that is easy enough because it was really quite an easy painting to re-create.

THE PROCESS - I set about coming up with a painting that would be easy to paint and simple for others to follow. I tested out a couple of samples and even had a friend come over to practice like leading a class.

With my husband and friend Karen as assistants, we adventured out to make this paint party a fun and entertaining experience.

I decided I would have them paint the background first and then while that was drying they could have dinner then come back and finish the cross.

After completing the background, I turned the painting in the other direction.

All of the students used a 12 x 14" canvas, generic

1 1/2" sized paintbrushes and plastic paint scrapers served as palette knives.

We used the paintbrushes for the background and the palette knives on the cross.

For demonstration purposes, I used a 32 X 36" Canvas and had a sample of the finished piece sitting on the stage.

When I started to paint in the cross I heard an audible gasp from the entire class. I don't know if it was because they saw how easy it was to use the palette knife or some other reason I'm not really sure.

THE RESULT - Young and old everyone seemed to have a great time with their old and new-found friends.

Everyone's paintings were different and reflected each person's personality and interpretation.

Even all the paintings I did in preparation for the class look different.

Due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, we were unable to have a class in 2020, but I'm looking forward to giving it another try.

Until then there are several things I would change. I know I would choose a painting with fewer colors in the palette.