Wine Down With Nikki Cherry

It's nice to know people who know people.  My good friend Jess (or as the local sub shop screws up her name, Jeff) had been inviting me to Wine Down parties for a few months.  "What's a Wine Down?", you ask.  Does it really matter?  Weren't you hooked at the mere mention of wine??

Actually these "Wine Downs" are painting parties.  You bring a bottle of wine, relax and paint with the local artist Nikki Cherry.  My schedule had never permitted me to go before, but the planets were properly aligned this time, and I could actually throw my bottle in a bag and go get all Bob Ross up in the house!  Back when I was pregnant with the Sound and was too big to, well, move, I loved to paint.  Granted, it was the Donna Dewberry method, but still, it was putting paint on a brush and putting the brush to the canvas (or clothing, walls, or furniture--I was fat & couldn't move.  Sue me.)  I felt so artistic.  And amazed that I could turn out something other than Jackson Pollack style splotches.

This particular class was to paint an owl.  Here is what Nikki's version looked liked to entice us to actually show up:

Kind of psychedelic looking, but still, a brush to canvas & wine!

With a blank canvas in front of me, a filled paint palette to my left, a mason jar full of brushes and water to my right and my Solo cup full of chianti in front of me we began (which reminds me of the bad country lyric, "I'd rather had a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy).

Just the basics; paint, brushes and vino.

I had never been to any kind of painting class (Donna Dewberry gave me private tutorials via VHS, obviously waaaay back in the day), so I didn't know what to expect.  Nikki stood in front and told us which paints and which brushes to use and then demonstrated the stroke.  I was very impressed with her technique and how she put the instructions in easy to understand language.  Terms like volleyball, heart, nickle were used and don't we all know what they are?  Terms like big brush, rounded brush, tiny brush. Got it!

An artiste at work.  Yes, Fotoflexer's collage feature is no where near as good as Picnik.

My owl turned out more psycho than psychedelic, but I had fun.  The Sound & the Fury are arguing over who gets to hang him in their room.  For the time being, he's just scowling down from the mantle.  I'll be sure to hide him before company comes over.

The whole group.  Yes, those eyes will haunt you!  The owl's.  Not mine.