One... and over the Mooooon at Art Speaks Studio

Matt and I turned one about a month ago. 

To celebrate, Matt took me to Art Speaks Studio and we spent the afternoon painting in acrylic. It has been years since I last picked up a paint brush. In fact, I don't really remember working with acrylic. The only thing I remember from art class was the lesson where we had to "paint" by blowing at the watercolour through a straw.

Which is probably why ten seconds into painting the background, the art teacher stopped me and gave me a lecture on how to glide the brush over the canvas; ten minutes later, she confiscated my brush and finished the background herself. This repeated when I attempted to outline the huge round "moon" in the middle, and when I was filling it in. After a while, I figured it'd be easier if she just did all the finishing touches anyway, and was calling for her every ten minutes.

As she set about evening out the paint and mixing colours, I would look over at Matt and watch his brush glide effortlessly across his canvas. I think his day peaked when the art teacher leaned over excitedly to ask, "have you taken art classes before?". Very, very cunning choice by this "O" level art student to spend our anniversary at an art studio.

Don't get me wrong though. I did enjoy the class. The art teachers knew when to chip in, just in time to salvage my painting. And more than that, I enjoyed learning to mix any colour with white to thicken its texture. I also enjoyed learning how to introduce gradients into my background. But I didn't really enjoy the fact that the six-year old sitting next to me seemed to know it all and was totally kicking my ass with her landscape painting. I am beginning to think my primary school art teacher cheated us of real technique. I haven't come across anybody who "paints" with straws.

After the class, we took a walk around the studio and chanced upon the children's room. 

Other than paint, Art Speaks Studio teaches children to work with other fun materials like pipeliners, cotton wool, etc. It was amazing looking at the children's pieces and how they had reinterpreted scenes from their memories. It felt like I was reading into the children's minds, their moods, their sentiments when they visited those scenes. It felt like I could read into how they had felt at that point.

I started to think about when I last did craft. The last time I did craft, I put together a handmade birthday card with a huge pink cupcake in the front. I had been very proud of that card. I had looked at the bright, pop art colours, and had felt that I had conveyed my blessings well beyond the usual "happy birthday" greeting.

Can you tell what I have tried to figure through my painting this time around? My art teacher couldn't but Matt and I could. And that's arty enough for us :)