My Addiction

My name is Angela.

And I am a paint-a-holic.

Maybe you've heard of Sips N Strokes or Art Buzz... It's my new addiction. The concept is genius. You go to a studio and an instructor leads the class (from 30-75 people) in a painting, the same painting. A monthly calendar is published so you sign up for the night that has the painting you want to do. You can bring your own beverage and all your supplies are provided, including the cork screw. It's become the new Girls' Night Out in Birmingham. At the end of 2 hours, you go home with a new masterpiece. Last night, Allison and I went to Art Buzz in Pelham. This painting's going in the dining room.

I think August was my first taste. After that, I was hooked. I've gone to about 8 classes. Maybe more. My family got paintings for Christmas. I even sold one of them. At one of the classes I thought, "I can do this..." So, I pitched the idea to some guinnea pigs at work and we had our first class in November. It was so much fun, we did it again in December. The first painting I copied from one of the Sips N Strokes paintings. The second one was an original.

I call it Brushes & Booze in the Basement. Here are the two class photos:

What is so fun about this? It feels so good to paint - it's so freeing. I also think it's a kind of therapy. I've observed that our personalities come out while we're painting - both in the process and the final outcome. For some, it's a little harder to let go and just let your strokes be free. These folks want perfection and take great efforts to have precision in their painting.

But, friends, the fact is, painting can't be perfect. And, really, that's not the purpose. If you want it to look perfect, then take a picture. Painting is about expression, letting go, release, using the right side of your brain, creating something yourself. I think it teaches us to not take ourselves so seriously and to love our uniqueness. Because, even though everyone is painting the same thing, they all end up looking very different.

And what's been the most exciting is watching people who have never painted - and never considered painting - taking a chance. And LOVING it. They are finding the inner artist in them and learning that really, art is more about taking risks than it is being skilled.

So, I plan to continue to feed this addiction, as it has provided so much enjoyment and release. My muse is well-pleased.